Wauja edit

Etymology edit

From kata (that, this) +‎ -pai (imperfective aspect).

Pronunciation edit

Verb edit

katapai

  1. (transitive) there is/are, here is/are, that is/are (something or someone)
    Punupa otukaka, katapai otukake eu. Otukaka akixekojatapai han. Aya ewejeke kawoka. Hoona! uma. Ja toneju, aitsa kixekoja – ahaTAIN ta kixekojapai.
    Her brother, you see, her brother was there. It was her brother that spoke with her. "Let's go play the flutes," [he said]. "Let's!" [she replied]. That woman, she did not speak [out], she spoke only very little [she spoke so softly that she was barely audible].

Related terms edit

  • ojopai (today, nowadays, here, perhaps)

References edit

  • "Punupa otukaka" uttered by Itsautaku, storyteller and elder, recounting the traditional Wauja tale of the "Man Who Drowned in Honey," in the presence of his adolescent son Mayuri, adult daughter Mukura, and others. Recorded in Piyulaga village by E. Ireland, December 1989, transcript p. 3.