Something a bit more difficult to understand for some.
In Potawatomi, you can take a noun and turn it into a “locative.” The meaning of the “locative” form can range from “at the ____”, “in the ____”, “on the ___”,”near the ___”, “by the _____”, “to the ___” etc. There are other words that give specific locations.
Noun Locative
Dopwen (table) Dopwenek
Wawabmowen (mirror) Wawabmonek
Mbagen (bed) Mbagnek
Wigwam (house) Wigwamek
Dabyan (car) Dabyanek
Waséjgen (window) Waséjgenek
Taswen (closet or cabinet) Taswenek
Shkemot (bag) Shkemotek
Gokbenagen (basket) Gokbenagnek
Shkwadém (door) Shkwadémek
Mbes (lake) Mbesek
Zibi (river) Zibik
Mtegwaki (forest) Mtegwakik
Shkwengen (reservation) Shkwengenek
Odan (town) Odanek
Tkep (spring) Tkepik
Gtegan (garden) Gteganek
Buildings
Here are some common buildings, with their plural and locative forms…
Building Plural Locative
Dawéwgemek (store) Dawéwgemgwén Dawéwgemgok
Okyangemek (barn) Okyangemgwén Okyangemgok
Negdoshawgemek (horse barn) Negdoshawgemgwén Negdoshawgemgok
Tasogemek (shed) Tasogemgwén Tasogemgok
Dabyangemek (garage) Dabyangemgwén Dabyangemgok
Dabyankéwgemek (auto shop) Dabyankéwgemgwén Dabyankéwgemgok
Mshenkiwgemek (jail) Mshenkiwgemgwén Mshenkiwgemgok
Tadiwgemek (casino) Tadiwgemgwén Tadiwgemgok
Kigdowgemek (hall for speaking) Kigdowgemgwén Kigdowgemgok
Skonogemek (school) Skonogemgwén Skonogemgok
Zhonyawgemek (bank) Zhonyawgemgwén Zhonyawgemgok
Ogemawgemek (admin office) Ogemawgemgwén Ogemawgemgok
Mshkekiwgemek (hospital, clinic) Mshkekiwgemgwén Mshkekiwgemgok
Wisnewgemek (restaurant) Wisnewgemgwén Wisnewgemgok
Some other words you will need to know…
Shote – Here Ibe – Over there Ézhi – Over there Zhi – There
Zagech – Outside Bidek — Inside
Specific Locatives
These are words that are used to be specific in a description of a location…
Aizhok back and forth
Aidwegmeg on both sides of the house
Aidwe-yégwan on both sides
Azhwe-yégwan on the other side, beyond
Azhokne across the road
Azhodaki, azhodakig over the hill
Azhogmeg behind the house
Azho-odan across town
Azhwekwe beyond the woods
Azhegamdés on the other side of the room
Azhweseg in the next room
Béshoj close
Bijigwan inside of something
Bideg indoors
Bke-yégwan off to the side
Bnoj far away
Gojeg outdoors
Jigateg by trees
Jiggemeg near a house or lodge
Jigigwan near here
Jig-mbes next to the lake
Jig-myéw next to the road
Jig-odaneg near town
Jig-shkwedé by the fire
Jig-zibe next to the river
Kwédagon on top of the snow
Kwédajwen upstream
Kwedaki uphill
Kwédbeg on the roof
Kwédbyég or kwéjbyég on the water
Kwéjgemeg or kwédgemeg on top of a house
Kwéjigwan on top
Mchig in the open, on the ground
Ibe there
Ézhi over there
Shote here
Bijbyék in the water
Bijigwan inside something
Giwta yégwan around something
Jigakwa at the edge of the woods
Jigatek by trees
Jigbyék by the water, on shore
Kwedbyék on the water
Kwejbyék on top of the water
Nambyék under the water
Namkemek under the ground
Namsek in the basement, under the floor, downstairs
Nanaw yégwan in the middle of it
Nbené yégwan on one side of something
Nekmek everywhere, different places
Ngoji anywhere, somewhere
Pemé yégwan on the side of something
Shkwé yégwan at the end, the last
Shpemek above, in the air
Shpemsek upstairs
Shpemsegok somewhere up above, Heaven
Zagje yégwan outside of it
Zhiw, zhi there
Obviatives
The Proximate and the Obviative
When using Transitive Verbs in the “Win” forms…
The first main noun is the “Proximate.”
The secondary noun is the “Obviative.”
The speaker is considered the “1st Person”, and the listener is considered the “2nd Person.” In English, everyone else is considered to be “3rd Person.” However, Potawatomi separates “everyone else” into degrees called “obviatives.” The Potawatomi language is notable for having multiple “degrees” of obviation:
Proximate (3rd) Obviative (4th) Further Obviative (5th)
O bnéshi Ni bnéshiyen Ni bnéshiywnen
Don’t let the “Ni” confuse you, and don’t let the endings confuse you.
Always consider the verb. The verb will tell you if there is a transitive action going on, and what kind of object to expect.
O kwé wabman ni nemoshen (animate object)
O kwé wabdan ni zawjisésen (inanimate object)
If a “fourth person” is doing an action, a different ending is used on the verb:
O nene wabman ni gigabéyen éyayénowet. The man sees the boy laughing.
Wmeshomsen odanek éyénet. His grandfather is in town.
So how do you know which to use as the proximate and which to use as the obviative?
The main noun is the proximate, and the secondary noun is the obviative.
But how do you know which to use as the main noun, and which to use as the secondary noun?
It’s up to the speaker, the narrator, whoever is 1st person. The perspective of 1st person is the deciding factor, not just by which noun is closer, but also which noun is more important to the speaker. This makes the use of the obviative very important to storytellers as a literary device.
Working with Obviatives
The Proximate and the Obviative
When using Transitive Verbs in the “Win” forms, the first main noun is the “Proximate,” and the secondary noun is the “Obviative.”
Don’t let the “Ni” confuse you, and don’t let the endings confuse you.
Always consider the verb. The verb will tell you if there is a transitive action going on, and what kind of object to expect.
O kwé wabman ni nemoshen (animate object)
The woman sees the dog
O kwé wabdan ni zawjisésen (inanimate object).
The woman sees the carrot
Here are more examples of obviatives in action:
Gi jéman o nene ni kwéyen
The man kissed the woman
Gi dbabman o wgyéyom ni penojén
The baby’s mother checked on the baby
Gi miganan o gigabé ni shkenwén
The boy fought the young man
In each of these statements, the subject of the sentence is the proximate, and the object is the obviative. When the INVERSE MARKER IS USED:
O kwé wabmek ni nemoshen (animate object)
The woman is seen by the dog Or The dog sees the woman
Gi jémek o nene ni kwéyen
The man was kissed by the woman Or The women kissed the man
Gi miganek o gigabé ni gigyagoyen
The boy was fought by the girl Or The girl fought the boy
Neaseno 