yoko

[ɟoko]

cause something bad to happen to someone / something

Jarawara - 240 speakers, Amazonas state, Brazil

The subject of the verb is the causer, and the direct object is the person or animal that experiences the bad thing.

aba kitikiti ne hiyokomatamonaka
fish.M it.flapped AUX it.caused.a.bad.thing.to.happen.to.him
'The fish flapping caused a bad thing to happen to him.'

As the man was fishing, the fish flapping on the end of his line attracted the attention of an alligator, which came and bit off the man's arm.

A person can cause a bad thing to happen to themselves, as in the following:

hine yokohabone hinamoneke
self she.will.cause.a.bad.thing.to.happen.to he.said
'He said she deserved the punishment he was going to give her.'

A man's wife had done something that he thought deserved his punishment. The verb means she caused a bad thing to happen to herself.

More about this word / language: https://www.silbrasil.org.br/resources/archives/72031

Source: Vogel, Alan, compiler. 2016. Jarawara-English dictionary. Anápolis, GO: Associação Internacional de Linguística – SIL Brasil.

Credits: Vogel, Alan