Dubitative Pronouns

Use a dubitative pronoun to wonder about:

Dubitative pronouns for people or things

Observation
ᒉᐧᑳᒉ ᑳ ᒦᒋᔮᓐ᙮ Click here to hear this word chekwaache kaa miichiyaan. Whatever could I be eating?
ᐊᐧᐁᒉ ᐅᔫ ᐅᒪᔅᒋᓯᓐ᙮ Click here to hear this word aweche uyuu umaschisin. Who’s shoe could this be?

ᐊᐧᐁᒉ aweche and ᒉᐧᑳᒉ chekwaache are made up of the pronouns ᐊᐧᐁᓐ awen and ᒉᐧᑳᓐ chekwaan plus the dubitative inflection. They are used when there is doubt about the person or the thing being discussed. They correspond to English ‘whoever / whatever could she/he/it be’.

Note that we can sometimes hear the trace of a syllable which used to be there but is no longer pronounced. All we hear today is a a little break before the -che, called a glottal stop,  which is not written in Southern East Cree (In the Northern dialect these pronouns are written with an extra -chi).

Dubitative
Proximate Obviative
singular plural singular plural
Animate Click here to hear this word ᐊᐧᐁᒉ Click here to hear this word ᐊᐧᐁᒉᓂᒌ Click here to hear this word ᐊᐧᐁᔨᒉᓐᐦ Click here to hear this word ᐊᐧᐁᔨᒉᓐᐦ
Whoever aweche awechenichii aweyichenh aweyichenh
Who on earth? Click here to hear this word ᐊᐧᐁᒋᒉᓂᒡ Click here to hear this word ᐊᐧᐁᔨᒉᐦ Click here to hear this word ᐊᐧᐁᔨᒉᓂᐦᐄ
awechichenich aweyicheh aweyichenihii
Click here to hear this word ᒉᐧᑳᓃᒉ Click here to hear this word ᒉᐧᑳᒉᓐᐦ Click here to hear this word ᒉᐧᑳᔨᒉ Click here to hear this word ᒉᐧᑳᔨᒉᓐᐦ
Inanimate chekwaaniiche chekwaachenh chekwaayiche chekwaayichenh
Whatever? Click here to hear this word ᒉᐧᑳᒉ Click here to hear this word ᒉᐧᑳᒉᓂᐦᐄ Click here to hear this word ᒉᐧᑳᔨᒉᓂᐦᐄ
chekwaache chekwaachenihii chekwaayichenihii

Examples:

ᐊᐧᐁᒉ ᐊᓂᔫ ᑳ ᐃᐦᑑᑕᐦᒃ᙮ Click here to hear this word aweche aniyuu kaa ihtuutahk. Whoever can have done it?
ᐊᐧᐁᒉ ᐊᓂᔫᐦ ᐅᑖᐹᓈᔅᒄ᙮ Click here to hear this word aweche aniyuuh utaapaanaaskw. Whoever can that toboggan belong to?
ᒉᐧᑳᒉ ᑳ ᐃᔑᓈᑯᐦᒡ᙮ Click here to hear this word chekwaache kaa ishinaakuhch. Whatever can it be?
ᒉᐧᑳᔨᒉ ᐊᓂᔫ ᑳ ᐋᔨᒨᑕᐦᒃ᙮ Click here to hear this word chekwaayiche aniyuu kaa aayimuutahk. Whatever can he be talking about?