ayta
| Pronunciation | [ajtə] |
| Definition | to move by stepping onto a surface, from verb aytana |
| Sensory Modality | MOVEMENT > Haptic MOVEMENT VISUAL |
| Transcription | uɾma muɾu tɕaŋgaŋ ajtə ajtə ajtə, mana voltijaɾinata uɕaɕa |
| Translation | As it falls (backward), its colorful legs will appear (and it will try) to step, step, step, (but) it will not be able to turn itself upright. |
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Commentary
Video 1 Luisa Cadena is taking a break from telling a lengthy traditional narrative to Tod Swanson and Janis Nuckolls about how animals got their markings and colors. At this point in the session, she makes a joke about what she would look like if she accidentally fell backwards in her chair, and she immediately thinks to compare herself to a frog with colorful legs, called a tulumba. She then describes how it would step wildly, flailing its legs in the air in its attempts to step onto a firm surface. The frog's difficulty in regaining its upright position is due to its extremely fleshy, fatty body.
Nuckolls, Janis and Tod Swanson. 2024. ayta. The Quechua Ideophonic Dictionary. Online: https://quechuarealwords.byu.edu/?ideophone=ayta.
