5. Irregular or S~T (NI5) Stems
Of all attested Plains Inanimate Noun Stems, only two stems do not fit perfectly into one of the four main subclasses already described as NI1, NI2, NI3, and NI4 stems. Nor do they exactly match each other’s patterns, though they are both based on yet another (and archaic) sound alternation. As such, no basic paradigm frames need be devised, but each of these stems will simply be provided in their own paradigms. These two stems are the independent noun ōsi “canoe; boat” (and compounds containing it), and the bound nominal ending -waT (-was ~ -wat) “bag, container” (which only occurs in compounds).
ōsi “canoe; boat”
The noun ōsi “canoe; boat” does not even occur in all subdialects of Plains Cree. Where it occurs, it can be the basic word for “canoe” or refer instead to a “wooden boat”, but in other areas, this word is not even used and cīmān (as given as an example of a regular (NI1) stem) is the preferred word for “canoe”. The following paradigm illustrates the forms of the noun ōsi where it is used.
Table I.5.1
ōsi “canoe; boat”
| form | person | stem | ending | Cree word | English translation | |
| singular | ōT– | -i | ōsi | canoe | ||
| 1s | nit- | nitōt | my canoe | |||
| 2s | kit- | kitōt | your (sg) canoe | |||
| 1p | nit- | -inān | nitōtinān | our (excl) canoe | ||
| 21 | kit- | -inaw | kitōtinaw | our (incl) canoe | ||
| 2p | kit- | -iwāw | kitōtiwāw | your (pl) canoe | ||
| 3s | ot- | otōt | his/her canoe | |||
| 3p | ot- | -iwāw | otōtiwāw | their canoe | ||
| 4 | ot- | -iýiw | otōtiýiw | (an)other’s canoe | ||
| plural | ōT– | -a | ōsa | canoes | ||
| 1s | nit- | -a | nitōta | my canoes | ||
| 2s | kit- | -a | kitōta | your (sg) canoes | ||
| 1p | nit- | -ināna | nitōtināna | our (excl) canoes | ||
| 21 | kit- | -inawa | kitōtinawa | our (incl) canoes | ||
| 2p | kit- | -iwāwa | kitōtiwāwa | your (pl) canoes | ||
| 3s | ot- | -a | otōta | his/her canoes | ||
| 3p | ot- | -iwāwa | otōtiwāwa | their canoes | ||
| 4 | ot- | -iýiwa | otōtiýiwa | (an)other’s canoes | ||
| locative | ōT– | -ihk | ōsihk | in the canoe(s) | ||
| 1s | nit- | -ihk | nitōtihk | in my canoe(s) | ||
| 2s | kit- | -ihk | kitōtihk | in your (sg) canoe(s) | ||
| 1p | nit- | -ināhk | nitōtināhk | in our (excl) canoe(s) | ||
| 21 | kit- | -ināhk | kitōtināhk | in our (incl) canoe(s) | ||
| 2p | kit- | -iwāhk | kitōtiwāhk | in your (pl) canoe(s) | ||
| 3s | ot- | -ihk | otōtihk | his/her canoe(s) | ||
| 3p | ot- | -iwāhk | otōtiwāhk | their canoe(s) | ||
| 4 | ot- | -iýihk | otōtiýihk | (an)other’s canoe(s) | ||
| dim | ōT– | -is | ōcis | little canoe | ||
As this paradigm shows, there is an odd /s/~/t/ alternation at work here, plus the stem is itself a single-syllable stem which thus requires the inanimate singular suffix –i. In most forms, the stem acts as if it ends in a /t/, and suffixes are added as if this is a regular stem. Even the diminutive shows the /t/ becoming [c] as expected. However, in the unpossessed singular, plural and locative forms, the stem acts as if it ends in an /s/, and so the singular is ōsi, the plural is ōsa, and the locative is ōsihk. This is the remnant of an old /s/ ~ /t/ alternation that resulted from the Cree reflex of the Proto-Algonquian *θ (and which can still be seen in VTA4 stem alternations). However, it has been altered somewhat to result in this very irregular pattern and is thus simply an irregular noun in Plains Cree. Additionally, this noun ōsi (or the root ōt-) occurs in a number of compounds where the exact effects of this alternation have not been fully explored. Thus, nouns such as those in (36) may follow the pattern in Table I.5.1, or they may have generalized the /s/ of the singular and become regular /s/-final stems. The exact pattern may differ from community to community.
(36) āhpin-ōsi “rawhide boat”
iskotēw-ōsi “steamship”
mistahi-ōsi “large boat”
mistik-ōsi “wooden boat”
oski-ōsi “new boat”
waskway-ōsi “birchbark canoe”
The exact pattern may differ from community to community, and further investigation is necessary.
-was ~ -wat “bag; container”
Another element that exhibits a remnant of this /s/ ~ /t/ alternation is the nominal ending which alternates as either -was or -wat. There are a number of Plains Cree nouns that end in this element loosely meaning “bag; container” with some examples given in (37):
(37) āhpinēkinowas ~ āhpinēkinowat “parchment bag”
misatimwas ~ misatimwat “saddle bag”
mistikowas ~ mistikowat “box”
pimīhkāniwas ~ pimīhkāniwat “pemmican bag”
pōsiwas ~ pōsiwat “suitcase”
watapīwiwas ~ watapīwiwat “woven basket”
In many areas of Plains Cree speech, words such as these have been regularized and simply act as regular noun (NI1) stems ending in a final /t/ in all forms. In some areas, though, the older /s/~/t/ alternation persists, such that all forms of these nouns usually end in /t/, except the singular forms which end in /s/. An example paradigm of this is given as Table I.5.2.
Table I.5.2
mistikowas “box, wooden container”
| form | person | stem | ending | Cree word | English translation | |
| singular | mistikowaT- | mistikowas | box | |||
| 1s | nit- | nimistikowat | my box | |||
| 2s | kit- | kimistikowat | your (sg) box | |||
| 1p | nit- | -inān | nimistikowatinān | our (excl) box | ||
| 21 | kit- | -inaw | kimistikowatinaw | our (incl) box | ||
| 2p | kit- | -iwāw | kimistikowatiwāw | your (pl) box | ||
| 3s | ot- | omistikowat | his/her box | |||
| 3p | ot- | -iwāw | omistikowatiwāw | their box | ||
| 4 | ot- | -iýiw | omistikowatiýiw | (an)other’s box | ||
| plural | mistikowaT- | -a | mistikowata | boxes | ||
| 1s | nit- | -a | nimistikowata | my boxes | ||
| 2s | kit- | -a | kimistikowata | your (sg) boxes | ||
| 1p | nit- | -ināna | nimistikowatināna | our (excl) boxes | ||
| 21 | kit- | -inawa | kimistikowatinawa | our (incl) boxes | ||
| 2p | kit- | -iwāwa | kimistikowatiwāwa | your (pl) boxes | ||
| 3s | ot- | -a | omistikowata | his/her boxes | ||
| 3p | ot- | -iwāwa | omistikowatiwāwa | their boxes | ||
| 4 | ot- | -iýiwa | omistikowatiýiwa | (an)other’s boxes | ||
| locative | mistikowaT- | -ihk | mistikowatihk | in the box(es) | ||
| 1s | nit- | -ihk | nimistikowatihk | in my box(es) | ||
| 2s | kit- | -ihk | kimistikowatihk | in your (sg) box(es) | ||
| 1p | nit- | -ināhk | nimistikowatināhk | in our (excl) box(es) | ||
| 21 | kit- | -ināhk | kimistikowatināhk | in our (incl) box(es) | ||
| 2p | kit- | -iwāhk | kimistikowatiwāhk | in your (pl) box(es) | ||
| 3s | ot- | -ihk | omistikowatihk | in his/her box(es) | ||
| 3p | ot- | -iwāhk | omistikowatiwāhk | in their box(es) | ||
| 4 | ot- | -iýihk | omistikowatiýihk | in (an)other’s box(es) | ||
| dim | mistikowaT- | -is | mistikowacis | little box | ||
Thus, even the diminutive derivation acts as if the stem ends in /t/ (changing to [c]), but the singular form alone retains a final /s/. Again, this is not necessarily the case in all or even many of modern Plains Cree speech communities. Where the singular occurs as mistikowat, with the final /t/, this and other compound stems ending in -waT have been regularized to NI1 stems, and this exception is no longer an exception at all.