| Nuapaten akunishkueun. | I see a hat. |
| Uapatamᵘ akunishkueunńu. | S/he sees a hat. |
The ending or suffifix -ńu on akunishkueunńu is the OBVIATIVE. The non-obviative form akunishkueun is called the Proximate. Only one third person in a discourse can be proximate. All other third persons must be obviative.
Obviation is a grammatical category that distinguishes between multiple third persons, where at least one is animate.
Examples:
| Uapameu matsheshua ne auass. | The child sees a fox. |
| Uapatamᵘ akupińu ne auass. | The child sees a coat. |
The form auass is PROXIMATE, while matsheshua and akupińu are OBVIATIVE.
For animate nouns, the obviative suffix is -a, as in matsheshua. The distinction in number is erased: matsheshua can refer to one or many foxes.
| proximate | obviative | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| singular | matsheshu | matsheshua | a fox |
| plural | matsheshuat | matsheshua | foxes |
For animate nouns, the obviative singular has a different suffix: –(i)ńu. The obviative plural is the same as the proximate plural.
| proximate | obviative | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| singular | akup | akupińu | a coat |
| plural | akupa | akupa | coats |
In the following sentences, Mani is proximate and Puna is obviative (marked with the suffix -a).
| Uapameu Mani Puna. | Uapamiku Mani Puna. |
| Mani sees Pun. | Pun sees Mani. |
Regardless of the word order, the agreement between the noun and verb forms indicates which noun (Mani or Pun) is the subject/agent of the sentence. With the direct form uapameu, Mani is the subject/agent, and with the inverse form uapamiku, the subject/agent is Pun (Puna).
See TA Verb Inflection: direct and inverse
Animate nouns possessed by a third person are always obviative.
| tapishkakan | utapishkakana |
| a scarf | her/his scarf/their scarves |
Inanimate nouns possessed by a third person do not take a visible obviative marking, but this hidden obviative becomes visible on the verb with which it agrees.
| mashinaikan | umashinaikan |
| a book | her/his book |
| Tshishpakau mashinaikan. | The book [proximate] is thick. |
| Tshishpakańu umashinaikan. | Her/his book [obviative] is thick. |
See Possessed Nouns. (page in progress)
See also Dependent Nouns.