Western Abenaki and English/Lexical Selection

ABE → ENG

kizos or gizos

• sun
• moon
• month
  • If it is preceded by a number (or is in a plural form -ak), it likely means month.

oji

• from
• for
• since/because

ni

• and
  • Ni adoji pkwami sogwebasob oji akik nȣwat... And when the snow melted from the land long ago...
  • If it followed adoji, meaning then, ni is likely and
• that inanimate one; demonstrative pronoun
  • if the ni is coming from a plural form (nilil), then it is the demonstrative pronoun
    • kanwa nd'asidaldam kia kd'elaldam nilil mijwȣgan waijiwi wlipogwatal namȣn - however I wish you thought those meals were always delicious my son
  • if this words appears sentence-finally, it is likely the inanimate demonstrative pronoun
    • ȣda n'wawaldamowen ni - I don't know that
• there/then

kapi or cape

• IN : coffee <Eng. coffee/Fr. cafe (cf. begigedaôbo)
  • N'cape pita osagipogwad - My coffee tastes very bitter
  • If the word is followed by a consumption verb (eat, drink, etc), it is likely translated as coffee
  • If it is followed by a taste adjectival form (-pogwad) it is likely coffee
• IN pl kapinal : bonnet <Fr. capine (baby's or nun's bonnet)
  • If the word is followed by a wearing verb, it is likely bonnet
  • If the word is plural, it is likely bonnet(s)