🔊 Click any bold native word in the story panels to see its pronunciation and hear it spoken. The "Hear it" button uses your browser's speech synthesis (synthesized, not a native speaker). For recordings by native speakers, click "Dictionary" — it links to entries with real audio where available.
Setting the Scene
Wakíŋyaŋ's grandmother falls ill with a cold. He must help communicate with the visiting nurse and also care for her at home. Through worry and care, he discovers that Dakota body vocabulary runs deep — the body and the emotions are not separate worlds.
🔊 = synthesized speech · Dictionary = recorded native speaker
— heart. As he names each part, grandmother corrects his pronunciation gently. The Dakota word for vein shares its root with the word for road — the body has its own paths.
🔊 = synthesized speech · Dictionary = recorded native speaker
— my heart aches. He says it without thinking, not about a physical pain but about worry. Grandmother looks up and says: that is correct — we say it the same way for both.
4Kinship Terms
The visiting nurse asks who Wakíŋyaŋ is. He explains in Dakota: Uŋčí kiŋ hé miyé.
🔊 = synthesized speech · Dictionary = recorded native speaker
— That is my grandmother. He learns that kinship terms in Dakota change depending on whether you are male or female — his grandmother calls him čhiŋkší