I’ve been reminded that I haven’t yet officially introduced this useful word, although I had promised to in a comment in a previous post. So here it is:
nìfkeytongay (adv., nì.fkey.to.NGAY) ‘actually, as a matter of fact’
The word is most often used to contradict something already said or implied—to “set the record straight,” so to speak. For example:
(NUMEYU: Tok pesenget pamrelìl? Tsat ngal tswolänga’ nìlam.
PAWL: Nìfkeytongay ke tswola’ kaw’it. 🙂 )
Our Neytiri nailed the derivation of this word:
nì-[tìfkeytok+angay]—that is, “true situation-ly.” The historical stages along the way might have been:
*nìtìfkeytokangay > nìtfkeytokngay (unstressed vowels dropped) > nìfkeytongay (consonants at the end of syllables dropped, making the pronunciation easier and more flowing)
Fìtìoeyktìngìri irayo nìtxan!
Aylì’uri apawnlltxe to tìoeyktìngìri ’awa lì’uä stum sunu oer nìltsan. 😉 Tìfmi tìtslusamä lu txantsan ulte kosmana tskxekeng!