title: Coeur d'Alene language
text: # Coeur d'Alene language
  
  Coeur d'Alene (Cœur d'Alène, Snchitsu’umshtsn) is a Salishan language. It was spoken by only two of the 80 individuals in the Coeur d'Alene Tribe on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation in northern Idaho, United States in 1999. It is considered an endangered language. However, as of 2014, two elders in their 90s remain who grew up with Cœur d'Alène as their first language, and the use of the language is spreading among all age groups.
  
     The Coeur d'Alene Names-Places Project visits geographic sites on the reservation recording video, audio, and still photos of Tribal elders who describe the site in both English and Coeur d'Alene languages.
  
  The Coeur d'Alene Tribal Language Program and elders have actively promoted the use of the language, and have created computer sounds that use Snchitsu’umshtsn phrases. Radio station KWIS FM 88.3 in Plummer, Idaho offers programming to preserve the Snchitsu’umshtsn language.
  
  Lawrence Nicodemus, "a retired judge and former tribal council member," became a scholar of the language. He had worked with linguist Gladys Reichard in his youth, and went on to create a grammar, dictionary, and instructional materials. Nicodemus taught language classes until his death at age 94. The Coeur d'Alene Tribe's language program has "taught classes and worked with the language department to record more than 2,000 hours of audio and video." Classes are also available at North Idaho College.
  
  ## Orthography
  
  There are three different orthographies, giving the interpretations of previous scholarly works. Coeur d'Alene examples have been taken from the works of Nicodemus et al. as well as from the COLRC website.
  
  Coeur d'Alene Orthographies (Doak and Montler 2000 modified) :
  
  | Salishan/LPO | Nicodemus/Bitar | Reichard | English Examples | Nicodemus: Coeur d'Alene Examples |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | a | a | a | fɑther | ɑnsh ‘angel’ |
  | e | e | ä, ê | yes | esel ‘two’ |
  | I | i | i | machine | hsil ‘five’ |
  | o | o | ɔ | law | hoy ‘Quit it!’ |
  | u | u | u | Jupiter | upen ‘ten’ |
  | ə | no form | ᴇ,ι, ụ | sofa | no example |
  | p | p | p | spill | pipe’ ‘father’ |
  | pʼ | pʼ | pʼ | | sp’it’m ‘bitterroot’ |
  | b | b | b | boy | bins ‘beans’ |
  | m | m | m | mom | mus ‘four’ |
  | mʼ | ʼm | mʼ | | |
  | w | w | w | wagon | wi’ ‘he/she shouted’ |
  | wʼ | ʼw | wʼ | | s'wa’ ‘cougar’ |
  | t | t | t | star | sti’m ‘what’ |
  | tʼ | tʼ | tʼ | | t'ish ‘sugar’ |
  | d | d | d | dog | tmidus ‘tomatoes’ |
  | n | n | n | now | nune' ‘mother’ |
  | nʼ | ʼn | nʼ | | 'nitshn ‘hotel’ |
  | s | s | s | sun | sikwe’ ‘water’ |
  | c | ts | ts | tsitsi fly | tsunchtm ‘seven’ |
  | cʼ | tsʼ | ts’ | | ts’or ‘salt/sour’ |
  | š | sh | c | shell | shenn ‘he/she worked’ |
  | ǰ | j | dj | jar | lejp ‘he/she was stabbed’ |
  | č | ch | tc | church | chche’ye’ ‘mother’s mother’ |
  | čʼ | ch’ | tc’ | | |
  | y | y | y | yard | speyiy ‘enjoyment’ |
  | yʼ | ʼy | yʼ | | 'yitsh ‘sleeping [Noun]’ |
  | ɡʷ | ɡw, ɡu | ɡw, ɡu | linguist | Gwich ‘he/she saw’ |
  | kʷ | kw, k, ku, ko | kʷ, ku | queen | skwitstm ‘morning’ |
  | kʼʷ | kʼw, kʼu, kʼo | kʼʷ, kʼu, kʼụ | | |
  | xʷ | khw, khu, kho | xʷ, xu | | *tsetkhw ‘house’ |
  | q | q | q | | qine’ ‘father’s mother’ |
  | q’ | q’ | q’ | | |
  | qʷ | qw, qu, qo | qʷ | | ‘oqws ‘she/she drank’ |
  | qʼʷ | q’w, qʼu, qʼo | qʼʷ, qʼu | | *sq’wtu ‘Cataldo’ |
  | x̣ | qh | x̣ | | |
  | x̣ʷ | qhw, qhu, qho | x̣ʷ | | *qhwatqhwat ‘duck’ |
  | l | l | l | like | lut ‘no/not’ |
  | lʼ | ʼl | lʼ | | |
  | ɬ | ł | ł | | |
  | r | r | r | far | Sharshart ‘difficult’ |
  | rʼ | ʼr | rʼ | | |
  | ʕ | (, ) | R | | st(in ‘antelope’ |
  | ʕʼ | ʼ(, ʼ) | Rʼ | | '(ewp ‘it dripped’ |
  | ʕʷ | (w, (u | rʷ | | (wi(lsh ‘he/she vomited’ |
  | ʕʼʷ | ʼ(w, uʼ( | ṛʼʷ | | |
  | ʔ | ʼ | ʼ | uh-uh | tso'ot ‘he/she sobbed’ |
  | h | h | h | hen | hiskwist ‘my name’ |
  
  Notes on writing systems
  
  * LPO, the linguistic phonetic orthography, is a third orthographic system based on a variant of the American Phonetic Alphabet (with some symbols shared with the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)). Many Salishan scholars, such as Lyon Greenwood, call the LPO orthography the Salishan orthography. This system will also be used by the Coeur d'Alene Dictionaries Project in conjunction with the Bitar system.
  * Bitar is another name referring to Lawrence Nicodemus's orthography. Lawrence Nicodemus was one of Gladys Reichard's language consultants, and in collaboration with Joseph Bitar of the Southwest Research Associates of Albuquerque, he created a second orthography, which is less accurate phonetically but reflects the native speaker's interpretation of the sounds, symbols, and words of Coeur d'Alene.
  * Gladys Reichard and James Teit, students of Franz Boas. Reichard conducted early scholarly work of the Coeur d'Alene. Reichard and Teit developed an orthographic system, slightly varied from the Boasian system, which was consistent with phonetic transcriptions of native speakers Reichard worked with as well as consistent with transcriptions from Teit's previous data. This system has come to be known as the Reichard orthography.
  * In Doak and Montler, /e/ is used in the LPO orthography, equated with /ɛ/. Doak explains that /ɛ/ ranges freely between [e], [ɛ], and [æ] with /ɛ/ being the most common variant. This gives clarity to her variance in representing the sound in vowel inventories of her website and her dissertation as /e/ or /ɛ/.
  * Doak and Montler, Doak, and Doak use the notation /x̣/ while Lyon uses the notation /x̌/ to indicate the same phoneme and orthographic symbol. Okanagan also utilizes the wedge notation for this same phoneme: /x̌/.
  * Standard Salishan (LPO) and Doak uses the notation /ɬ/ while Lyon, and Greenwood, Nicodemus et al., and Reichard used the notation /ł/ in consonant inventories and orthographies in reference to the same sound which Doak describes as bilateral.
  
  ## Phonology
  
  ### Consonants
  
  In Coeur d'Alene, there are eleven places of articulation: labial, alveolar, palatoalveolar, lateral, labiovelar, uvular, labio-uvular, coronal pharyngeal, pharyngeal, labiopharyngeal, and laryngeal. Doak identifies six manners of articulation: plain and glottalized voiceless stops and affricates, voiced stops and affricate, voiceless fricatives, and plain and glottalized resonants.
  
  | | | Labial | Alveolar | Alveolar | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Uvular | Pharyngeal | Pharyngeal | Glottal |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | | | Labial | plain | sibilant | lateral | Palatal | labial | plain | labial | plain | labial | Glottal |
  | Stop | tenuis | p | t | t͡s ⟨c⟩ | | t͡ʃ ⟨č⟩ | kʷ | q | qʷ | | | ʔ |
  | Stop | ejective | pʼ | tʼ | t͡sʼ ⟨cʼ⟩ | | t͡ʃʼ ⟨čʼ⟩ | kʼʷ | qʼ | qʼʷ | | | |
  | Stop | voiced | b | d | | | d͡ʒ ⟨ǰ⟩ | ɡʷ | | | | | |
  | Fricative | Fricative | | | s | ɬ ⟨ł⟩ | ʃ ⟨š⟩ | xʷ | χ ⟨x̣⟩ | χʷ ⟨x̣ʷ⟩ | | | h |
  | Sonorant | plain | m | n | | l | j ⟨y⟩ | w | | | ʕ | ʕʷ | |
  | Sonorant | glottalized | ˀm | ˀn | | lˀ | jˀ ⟨yʼ⟩ | wˀ | | | ʕˀ | ʕʷˀ | |
  | Rhotic | plain | | r | | | | | | | | | |
  | Rhotic | glottalized | | rˀ | | | | | | | | | |
  
  ### Vowels
  
  Vowel inventory :
  
  | | Front | Central | Back |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | High | i | | u |
  | Mid | e | (ə) | o |
  | Low | | a | |
  
  * ↑ Doak explains that /ɛ/ ranges freely between [e], [ɛ], and [æ] with /ɛ/ being the most common variant. Above, the phoneme /e/ has been used as Doak does.
  * ↑ The schwa /ə/ only occurs unstressed as a reduced form of some unstressed vowels. It is also used by speakers to break up consonant clusters.
  
  ## Morphology and syntax
  
  Coeur d'Alene is a morphosyntactically polysynthetic language. In Coeur d'Alene, a full clause can be expressed by affixing pronominal arguments and morphemes expressing aspect, transitivity and tense onto one verb stem (Doak,[13] 1997, p. 38). These affixes are discussed below.
  
  ### Basic intransitive clause structure
  
  The basic format of an intransitive thought as Doak identifies can be found below:
  
  * Subject – Aspect – Root
  
  ### Intransitive person markers
  
  The intransitive subjects of Coeur d'Alene appear as clitics (Doak, 1997, p. 53), and their forms as well as examples from Doak (1997, p. 53-54) are found below:
  
  Intransitive Subject Clitics :
  
  | | Singular | Plural |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1st Person Nom. | čn | č |
  | 2nd Person Nom. | kʷu | kʷup |
  | 3rd Person Abs. | Ø (null) | Ø (null) (-ilš) |
  
  Example :
  
  | | Singular | Plural |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1st person | čngʷiččngʷič‘I saw.’ | čgʷiččgʷič‘We saw.’ |
  | 2nd person | kʷugʷičkʷugʷič‘You saw.’ | kʷupgʷičkʷupgʷič‘You folks saw.’ |
  | 3rd person | gʷičgʷič‘He saw.’ | gʷič(ilš)gʷič(ilš)‘They saw.’ |
  
  ### Plural –ilš
  
  To clarify, the parentheses used around the suffix, -ilš, are meant to show that it is optional. This 3rd person plural, optional morpheme is used to give clarity that something within the sentence has plurality, whether it is the subject or the object is a matter of context. To illustrate this more clearly, Doak (1997, p. 59) gives the example:
  
  ʔacqɛʔ
  
  go.out
  
  -m
  
  -m
  
  -st(u)
  
  -CAUS.TR
  
  -Ø
  
  -3.ABS
  
  -s
  
  -3.ERG
  
  -ilš
  
  -PL
  
  ʔacqɛʔ -m -st(u) -Ø -s -ilš
  
  go.out -m -CAUS.TR -3.ABS -3.ERG -PL
  
  ‘He took them out.’/ ‘They took it out.’ / ‘They took them out.’
  
  ### Determiners
  
  There are three determiners and one oblique marker that help specify participants by joining clauses and their main predicates. Doak (1997, p. 46-48).
  
  | Det | label | example |
  | - | - | - |
  | xʷε | det₁ | examples 2,3,4 |
  | cε | det₂ | example 4 |
  | ɬε | det₃ | example 1 |
  | ʔε | oblique | example 3 |
  
  As a general rule, adjuncts that are introduced with a determiner specify the absolutive, accusative and nominative pronominal arguments, while both the determiner and oblique marker introduce ergative arguments. When an indefinite participant is not indicated on the predicate, the oblique alone is used to indicate this participant. — Doak (1997, p. vii)
  
  Examples:
  
  ɬuʔ
  
  prox₃
  
  niʔt̓εk̓ʷus
  
  lay.in.fire
  
  ɬa
  
  det₃
  
  stqʷíl̇k̇ʷup
  
  fire
  
  ɬuʔ niʔt̓εk̓ʷus ɬa stqʷíl̇k̇ʷup
  
  prox₃ lay.in.fire det₃ fire
  
  He lay in the fire.
  
  ni
  
  Q
  
  kʷup
  
  you.folks
  
  ʔáccqεʔ
  
  go.out.PL
  
  xʷε
  
  det₁
  
  Lynn
  
  Lynn
  
  hiɬ
  
  CONN
  
  kʷu
  
  you
  
  ʔε
  
  person
  
  ni kʷup ʔáccqεʔ xʷε Lynn hiɬ kʷu ʔε
  
  Q you.folks go.out.PL det₁ Lynn CONN you person
  
  Did you go out with Lynn?
  
  xεmínčs
  
  he.likes
  
  xʷε
  
  det₁
  
  čεsčšípnc
  
  he.will.chase.it
  
  xʷε
  
  det₁
  
  ʔε
  
  OBL
  
  sčíčεʔ
  
  horse
  
  xεmínčs xʷε čεsčšípnc xʷε ʔε sčíčεʔ
  
  he.likes det₁ he.will.chase.it det₁ OBL horse
  
  The horse likes to chase.
  
  xʷε
  
  det₁
  
  ʔε
  
  OBL
  
  núnεʔs
  
  their.mother
  
  hiɬ
  
  and
  
  cε
  
  det₂
  
  pípεʔs…
  
  their.father…
  
  xʷε ʔε núnεʔs hiɬ cε pípεʔs…
  
  det₁ OBL their.mother and det₂ their.father…
  
  Their mother and their father ...
  
  ### Basic transitive clause structure
  
  The construction of a transitive sentence in Coeur d'Alene is:
  
  * Aspect – Root – Transitivizer – Object – Subject
  
  ### Transitivizers
  
  There are three types of transitives in Coeur d'Alene: simple, causative, and applicative. The different transitivizers in Coeur d'Alene are listed below as described by Bischoff (2011, p. 27 modified).
  
  | | Transitivizing Morphemes |
  | - | - |
  | Simple | -t |
  | Simple | -nt |
  | Causative | -st(u) |
  | Applicative | -łt |
  | Applicative | -tułt |
  | Applicative | -š(i)t |
  
  **The lone -t and directive -nt transitivizers**
  
  The lone -t (-t) and the directive transitivizer -nt (-dt) are the most commonly used in Coeur d'Alene (Bischoff, 2011, p. 27). Doak (1997, p. 115) suggests that these two are alternative forms of one another with the lone -t appearing before a limited number of roots. The person markers that follow these forms are the same in function and form: agent subjects and patient objects. Most often, these transitivizers indicate that the subject is an agent in control of his or her actions (Bischoff, 2011, p. 27).
  
  √t'áp
  
  √shoot
  
  -nt
  
  -DIR.TR
  
  -sɛ
  
  -1.ACC
  
  -s
  
  -3.ERG
  
  √t'áp -nt -sɛ -s
  
  √shoot -DIR.TR -1.ACC -3.ERG
  
  He shot me.' (Doak, 1997, p. 114)
  
  √číł
  
  √give
  
  -t
  
  -TR
  
  -Ø
  
  -3.ABS
  
  -m
  
  -NTE
  
  √číł -t -Ø -m
  
  √give -TR -3.ABS -NTE
  
  'He was given it.' (Bischoff, 2011, p. 28) Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
  
  **Causative transitivizer -st(u)**
  
  The causative transitivizer -st(u) (-ct) has three primary functions. It is used to indicate customary aspect, causative construction where the subject causes something or someone to be something, and topical object construction (Doak, 1997, p. 124). A unique set of m-initial objects for first and second person singular replace the s-initial morphemes when the construction is with a causative -st(u) transitivizer (Bischoff, 2011, p. 29).
  
  ʔɛc-
  
  cust-
  
  √ɡʷíč
  
  √see
  
  -st(u)
  
  -CAUS.TR
  
  -mi
  
  -2.ACC
  
  -t
  
  -1PL.ERG
  
  ʔɛc- √ɡʷíč -st(u) -mi -t
  
  cust- √see -CAUS.TR -2.ACC -1PL.ERG
  
  'We see you.' (Doak, 1997, p. 126)
  
  čic-
  
  DIR-
  
  √xʷuy
  
  √go
  
  -st(u)
  
  -CAUS.TR
  
  -mɛ(l)
  
  -1.ACC
  
  -s
  
  -3.ERG
  
  čic- √xʷuy -st(u) -mɛ(l) -s
  
  DIR- √go -CAUS.TR -1.ACC -3.ERG
  
  'He took me there.' (Doak, 1997, p. 125-126)
  
  **Applicative transitivizers**
  
  Applicative transitivizers introduce a third participant into the argument structure, and alter the role of the object. This means the participant represented by the object person marking morpheme serves as a possessor or dative with the possessor applicative transitivizer -łt (-pra) and as a beneficiary or dative with the benefactive transitivizer -š(i)t (-bt). There is also a third, much less frequent, applicative -tułt. can also indicate a dative construction, indicating the object to which something is given. It is also worthwhile to note that third person arguments are only understood from context because Coeur d'Alene only marks two arguments on the predicate using person marking morphemes (Bischoff, 2011, p. 30).
  
  **Possessor applicative transitivizer -łt**
  
  In transitive constructions with the possessor applicative -łt (-pra), the object marking on the predicate indicates the possessor, rather than the possessed, such as in Examples 1a and 1b below. In some cases, as in Example 1c below, -łt (-pra) serves to indicate a dative construction. In these cases, the role of the object shifts to dative (Bischoff, 2011, p. 30-31).
  
  √q'ʷíc’
  
  √fill
  
  -łt
  
  -POSS.APL.TR
  
  -si
  
  -2.ACC
  
  -n
  
  -1.ERG
  
  √q'ʷíc’ -łt -si -n
  
  √fill -POSS.APL.TR -2.ACC -1.ERG
  
  'I filled it for you.' (Doak, 1997, p. 144)
  
  √cúnmɛʔ
  
  √teach
  
  -łt
  
  -POSS.APL.TR
  
  -si
  
  -2.ACC
  
  -n
  
  -1.ERG
  
  √cúnmɛʔ -łt -si -n
  
  √teach -POSS.APL.TR -2.ACC -1.ERG
  
  'I showed you how it's done.' (Doak, 1997, p. 150)
  
  kʼʷnɛʔ
  
  soon
  
  √cunmɛy+CVC
  
  $√teach+REDUP_{<aug>}$
  
  -łt
  
  -POSS.APL.TR
  
  -ɛlis
  
  -1PL.ACC
  
  -s
  
  -3.ERG
  
  kʼʷnɛʔ √cunmɛy+CVC -łt -ɛlis -s
  
  soon ${√teach+REDUP_{<aug>}}$ -POSS.APL.TR -1PL.ACC -3.ERG
  
  'He will show us [how to do it].' ('He will teach 'x' to us.') (Bischoff, 2011, p. 31; Doak, 1997, p. 149)
  
  **Benefactive applicative transitivizer -š(i)t**
  
  In constructions with the benefactive applicative -š(i)t (-bt), the argument indicated by the ergative is agent and that by accusative/absolutive the beneficiary. The benefactive applicative may also function to characterize an object as a recipient (Bischoff, 2011, p. 31).
  
  √nkʷín
  
  √sing
  
  -šit
  
  -BEN.APL.TR
  
  -si
  
  -2.ACC
  
  -n
  
  -1.ERG
  
  √nkʷín -šit -si -n
  
  √sing -BEN.APL.TR -2.ACC -1.ERG
  
  'I sang to you.' (Doak, 1997, p. 156)
  
  **Dative applicative transitivizer -tułt**
  
  The dative applicative -tułt is very rare, and the role of this applicative is uncertain other than that it introduces another participant into a sentence structure (Doak, 1997, p. 157). The only examples Doak gives only occur with third person or non-topic ergative person marking morphemes (Bischoff, 2011, p. 32).
  
  √tám
  
  √scorch
  
  -tułt
  
  -DAT.APL.TR
  
  -Ø
  
  -3.ABS
  
  -s
  
  -3.ERG
  
  √tám -tułt -Ø -s
  
  √scorch -DAT.APL.TR -3.ABS -3.ERG
  
  'He burned it for somebody.' (Doak, 1997, p. 159)
  
  ### Transitive person markers
  
  Below are the transitive object morphemes, which appear as suffixes. The 3rd person is null. The following examples are taken from Doak (1997, p. 55-64).
  
  Transitive Objects :
  
  | | Singular | Plural |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1st Person Acc. | -sɛ(l)/-mɛ(l) | -ɛl(i) |
  | 2nd Person Acc. | -si/-mi | -ulm(i) |
  | 3rd Person Abs. | Ø (null) | Ø (null) (-ilš) |
  
  Notes on Transitive Objects
  
  * The alternate forms of the 1st person singular accusative -sɛl/-mɛl and 2nd person singular accusative -si/-mi are selected with respect to the transitivizer used in the predicate, those occurring with m primarily occur with the causative transitivizer -st(u)- while all other transitivizers take those with s form. (Bischoff, 2011, p. 16)
  * The /l/ in parentheses indicates optionality in phonetic articulation, due to phonological reductions. The phoneme /l/ appears as in examples 1a and 1b before the non-topic ergative object -m and with the 2nd person plural ergative subject -p.
  
  **Transitive object examples**
  
  √c’uw’
  
  √hit
  
  -nt
  
  -DIR.TR
  
  -sɛl
  
  -1.ACC
  
  -m
  
  -NTE
  
  √c’uw’ -nt -sɛl -m
  
  √hit -DIR.TR -1.ACC -NTE
  
  'I got hit.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
  
  √pulut
  
  √kill
  
  -st(u)
  
  -CAUS.TR
  
  -mɛl
  
  -1.ACC
  
  -m
  
  -NTE
  
  √pulut -st(u) -mɛl -m
  
  √kill -CAUS.TR -1.ACC -NTE
  
  'I got killed.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
  
  √čił
  
  √give
  
  -šit
  
  -bt
  
  -ɛli
  
  -1PL.ACC
  
  -t
  
  -NTE
  
  √čił -šit -ɛli -t
  
  √give -bt -1PL.ACC -NTE
  
  'We were given some.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
  
  √c’uw’
  
  √hit
  
  -nt
  
  -DIR.TR
  
  -si
  
  -2.ACC
  
  -s
  
  -3erg
  
  √c’uw’ -nt -si -s
  
  √hit -DIR.TR -2.ACC -3erg
  
  'He hit you.'
  
  √pulut
  
  √kill
  
  -st(u)
  
  -CAUS.TR
  
  -mi
  
  -2.ACC
  
  -t
  
  -NTE
  
  √pulut -st(u) -mi -t
  
  √kill -CAUS.TR -2.ACC -NTE
  
  'You got killed.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
  
  √mɛy’+CVC
  
  √know+{CVC}
  
  -šit
  
  -bt
  
  -ulmi
  
  -2PL.ACC
  
  -t
  
  -NTE
  
  √mɛy’+CVC -šit -ulmi -t
  
  √know+{CVC} -bt -2PL.ACC -NTE
  
  'You folks were told stories.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
  
  √mɛy’+CVC
  
  √know+{CVC}
  
  -šit
  
  -bt
  
  -Ø
  
  -3.ABS
  
  -mɛt
  
  -1PL.ERG
  
  √mɛy’+CVC -šit -Ø -mɛt
  
  √know+{CVC} -bt -3.ABS -1PL.ERG
  
  'We told him stories.'
  
  √čiɬ
  
  √give
  
  -šit
  
  -bt
  
  -Ø
  
  -3.ABS
  
  -m
  
  -NTE
  
  -ilš
  
  -3PL
  
  √čiɬ -šit -Ø -m -ilš
  
  √give -bt -3.ABS -NTE -3PL
  
  'They were given some.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
  
  There is also a second set of transitive objects in Coeur d'Alene also appear as suffixes, which Doak identifies as non-topic ergative objects (NTE). Following examples from Doak (1997, p. 57-63)
  
  Non-Topic Ergative Objects :
  
  | | Singular | Plural |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1st NTE | -m | -t |
  | 2nd NTE | -t | -t |
  | 3rd NTE | -m | -m (-ilš) |
  
  **Non-topic ergative object examples**
  
  √pulut
  
  √kill
  
  -st(u)
  
  -CAUS.TR
  
  -mɛl
  
  -1.ACC
  
  -m
  
  -NTE
  
  √pulut -st(u) -mɛl -m
  
  √kill -CAUS.TR -1.ACC -NTE
  
  'I got killed.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
  
  √čiɬ
  
  √give
  
  -šit
  
  -bt
  
  -ɛli
  
  -1PL.ACC
  
  -t
  
  -NTE
  
  √čiɬ -šit -ɛli -t
  
  √give -bt -1PL.ACC -NTE
  
  'We were given some.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
  
  √pulut
  
  √kill
  
  -st(u)
  
  -CAUS.TR
  
  -mi
  
  -2.ACC
  
  -t
  
  -NTE
  
  √pulut -st(u) -mi -t
  
  √kill -CAUS.TR -2.ACC -NTE
  
  'You got killed.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
  
  √cun
  
  √point
  
  √mey
  
  √know
  
  -nt
  
  -DIR.TR
  
  -ɛli
  
  -2PL.ACC
  
  -t
  
  -NTE
  
  √cun √mey -nt -ɛli -t
  
  √point √know -DIR.TR -2PL.ACC -NTE
  
  'We were taught.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
  
  'He got hit on the side.'
  
  √čiɬ
  
  √give
  
  -šit
  
  -bt
  
  -Ø
  
  -3.ABS
  
  -m
  
  -NTE
  
  -ilš
  
  -3PL
  
  √čiɬ -šit -Ø -m -ilš
  
  √give -bt -3.ABS -NTE -3PL
  
  'They were given some.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
  
  The transitive subjects of Ergative case also appear as suffixes in Coeur d'Alene, and examples from Doak (1997, p. 56-63) are given below.
  
  Ergative Transitive Subjects :
  
  | | Singular | Plural |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1st Person Erg. | -n | -(mɛ)t |
  | 2nd Person Erg. | -xʷ | -p |
  | 3rd Person Erg. | -s | -s (-ilš) |
  | NTE | -m/-t | -t/-m |
  
  **Ergative transitive subject examples**
  
  √t’ap
  
  √shoot
  
  -nt
  
  -DIR.TR
  
  -Ø
  
  -3.ABS
  
  -n
  
  -1.ERG
  
  √t’ap -nt -Ø -n
  
  √shoot -DIR.TR -3.ABS -1.ERG
  
  'I shot him.'
  
  √maqʷ
  
  √stack
  
  -nt
  
  -DIR.TR
  
  -Ø
  
  -3.ABS
  
  -mɛt
  
  -1PL.ERG
  
  √maqʷ -nt -Ø -mɛt
  
  √stack -DIR.TR -3.ABS -1PL.ERG
  
  'We piled up rocks, sacks of wheat.'
  
  √q’ʷic’
  
  √fill
  
  -ɬt
  
  -POSS.APL.TR
  
  -sɛl
  
  -1.ACC
  
  -xʷ
  
  -2.ERG
  
  √q’ʷic’ -ɬt -sɛl -xʷ
  
  √fill -POSS.APL.TR -1.ACC -2.ERG
  
  'You filled it for me.'
  
  √q’ʷic’
  
  √fill
  
  -ɬt
  
  -POSS.APL.TR
  
  -sɛl
  
  -1.ACC
  
  -p
  
  -2PL.ERG
  
  √q’ʷic’ -ɬt -sɛl -p
  
  √fill -POSS.APL.TR -1.ACC -2PL.ERG
  
  'You folks filled it for me.'
  
  √c’uw’
  
  √hit
  
  -nt
  
  -DIR.TR
  
  -si
  
  -2acc
  
  -s
  
  -3.ERG
  
  √c’uw’ -nt -si -s
  
  √hit -DIR.TR -2acc -3.ERG
  
  'He hit you.'
  
  √ʔacqɛʔ
  
  √go.out
  
  -m
  
  -m
  
  -st(u)
  
  -CAUS.TR
  
  -Ø
  
  -3.ABS
  
  -s
  
  -3.ERG
  
  -ilš
  
  -PL
  
  √ʔacqɛʔ -m -st(u) -Ø -s -ilš
  
  √go.out -m -CAUS.TR -3.ABS -3.ERG -PL
  
  'He took them out.'/ 'They took it out.' / 'They took them out.'
  
  Genitive structures are used to create possessives in Coeur d'Alene (Doak 1997, p. 169). Examples below are taken from Doak (1997, p. 69-71).
  
  Genitive Pronouns :
  
  | | Singular | Plural |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1st Person Gen. | hn- | -ɛt |
  | 2nd Person Gen. | in- | -mp |
  | 3rd Person Gen. | -s | -s (-ilš) |
  
  **Genitive pronoun examples**
  
  hn-
  
  1.GEN-
  
  stiʔ
  
  thing
  
  hn- stiʔ
  
  1.GEN- thing
  
  'It's mine.'
  
  cɛtxʷ
  
  house
  
  -ɛt
  
  -1PL.GEN
  
  cɛtxʷ -ɛt
  
  house -1PL.GEN
  
  'It's our house.'
  
  in-
  
  2.GEN-
  
  stiʔ
  
  thing
  
  in- stiʔ
  
  2.GEN- thing
  
  'It's yours.'
  
  cɛtxʷ
  
  house
  
  -mp
  
  -2PL.GEN
  
  cɛtxʷ -mp
  
  house -2PL.GEN
  
  'It's your (pl.) house.'
  
  stiʔ
  
  thing
  
  -s
  
  -3.GEN
  
  stiʔ -s
  
  thing -3.GEN
  
  'It's his/hers.'
  
  stiʔ
  
  thing
  
  -s
  
  -3.GEN
  
  -ilš
  
  -3PL
  
  stiʔ -s -ilš
  
  thing -3.GEN -3PL
  
  'It's theirs.'
  
  Predicate Pronominal forms may stand alone as predicates or may serve as emphatic adjuncts. The forms are constructed as intransitive predicates with morphology and unanalyzable roots used nowhere else, and examples are given below (Doak, 1997, p. 72-73).
  
  **Predicate pronominal examples**
  
  | | Singular | Plural |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1st person | čn ʔɛngʷt | č lípust |
  | 2nd person | kʷu ʔɛngʷt | kʷup lípust |
  | 3rd person | cɛnil | cənílilš |
  
  ### Aspect
  
  There are three aspects in Coeur d'Alene. The first is the completive, which has no morpheme marker. The completive aspect refers to an action that was completed in the past (Bischoff, 2011, p. 22; Reichard, 1938, p. 574).
  
  čn-
  
  1.NOM-
  
  Ø-
  
  COMP-
  
  √mílxʷ
  
  √smoke
  
  čn- Ø- √mílxʷ
  
  1.NOM- COMP- √smoke
  
  'I smoked.' (Doak, 1997, p. 83)
  
  The second is the customary aspect, characterized by the prefix morpheme, ʔɛc- (Doak, 1997, p. 85).
  
  č-
  
  1PL.NOM-
  
  ʔɛc-
  
  CUS-
  
  √kʼʷúl
  
  √work
  
  č- ʔɛc- √kʼʷúl
  
  1PL.NOM- CUS- √work
  
  'We work.' (Doak, 1997, p. 85)
  
  The third aspect is the continuative, indicated by the prefix morpheme y’c-.
  
  čn-
  
  1.NOM
  
  y’c-
  
  CONT-
  
  √ɡʷíč
  
  √see
  
  čn- y’c- √ɡʷíč
  
  1.NOM CONT- √see
  
  'I am seeing.' (Doak 1997, p. 106)
  
  ### Tense
  
  In addition to aspect in Coeur d'Alene, there is evidence of realis and irrealis. Realis and irrealis marks a distinction between time that the speaker can directly perceive through his or her own knowledge or senses (realis) and that which is conjectured known of hypothetically, distantly, or by hearsay (irrealis). Only examples of irrealis are attested in Coeur d'Alene (Doak 1997,[13] p. 188).
  
  Irrealis is indicated in the same way as an aspect marker, by a particle occurring before the verb. The irrealis particle is nεʔ. There are no examples of both an aspect marker and irrealis occurring in the same predicate (Doak 1997, [13] p. 189).
  
  nεʔ
  
  IRR
  
  uɬ-čic
  
  again-LOC
  
  √ʔεĺ+C₂
  
  √move+NCR
  
  xʷε
  
  det₁
  
  in
  
  2.GEN
  
  √nunεʔ
  
  √mother
  
  nεʔ uɬ-čic √ʔεĺ+C₂ xʷε in √nunεʔ
  
  IRR again-LOC √move+NCR det₁ 2.GEN √mother
  
  "When your mom gets back ..." (Doak 1997, [13]p. 188.) Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
  
  nεʔ
  
  IRR
  
  √ʔεkʷun-stu-ø-mεt
  
  √say-CAUS.TR-3.ABS-1PL.ERG
  
  xʷε
  
  det
  
  √q̀ʷεd=alqs
  
  √black=clothes
  
  nεʔ √ʔεkʷun-stu-ø-mεt xʷε √q̀ʷεd=alqs
  
  IRR √say-CAUS.TR-3.ABS-1PL.ERG det √black=clothes
  
  "We'll tell the black robes" [or monks] (Doak 1997,[13] p. 189.)
  
  