What is the Osage word for “please” (phonetic spelling)?
There are not many speakers of Osage left, but I have a feeling that you may not find a direct word-for-word translation of the English term “Please” (I assume as in “please hand me the spoon”) Osage is a Siouan language, and having browsed a few pages of Lakota, Hocank and Omaha texts I dont see a direct cognate for “Please.” A lot of non-European and non Indo European languages show respect and social grace by using linguistic formulas to convey the sense that saying “please” does in English without using a particular single word. These might be polite/respectful forms of the word “I want” or “I beseech” or use of respectful titles to convey a sense of what English speakers mean when they say “please.
