I took a bit of a break the past couple of weeks from Wordy Wednesdays so I
could focus on some longer, more involved posts. Today, I thought I'd explore
pasaka - which, as it turns out, makes new words every time you remove a
letter from the start of it. The ending letter, a, isn't really a word (though
I guess you could make the case that it can be used as an onomatopoeic
exclamation).

  * **pasaka** : fairy tale [slider title="decline me"] _pasaka_ , f, 4. dekl.  
_vsk_.: pasaka, pasakas, pasakai, pasaku, ar pasaku, pasakā  
_dsk_.: pasakas, pasaku, pasakām, pasakas, ar pasakām, pasakās [/slider]

Unlike the way fairy tale is often used in English, pasaka refers to most
types of folktales and folk-stories that are fictional. It's not a specific
genre or sub-group as you sometimes find in English, where I would never find
American Indian folk-stories referred to as "fairy tales", for example. In
non-folkloric usage, it generally refers to stories that are similar to
traditional folk-stories. Pasakas are not myths, however, as they do not
purport to be historical.

  * **asaka** : fish-bone [slider title="decline me"] _asaka_ , f, 4. dekl.  
_vsk_.: asaka, asakas, asakai, asaku, ar asaku, asakā  
_dsk_.: asakas, asaku, asakām, asakas, ar asakām, asakās [/slider]

Don't try to refer to the bones of a fish as kauli. They're asakas. All other
types of critters have kauli for bones.

  * **saka, from _sacīt_** : he/she tells from to tell, to say [slider title="conjugate me"] _sacīt_ , 3. konj. (mixed)  
_tag._ saku, saki, saka, sakām, sakāt  
_pag._ sacīju, sacīji, sacīja, sacījām, sacījāt  
_nak._ sacīšu, sacīsi, sacīs, sacīsim, sacīsiet / sacīsit  
_pav._ saki, sakiet [/slider]

This is a synonym for teikt. You'll come across these two verbs a lot in
books! Also, pasaka is derived from sacīt. It's sort of a telling, you might
say, or even a re-telling, which both make sense for a story.

  * **aka** : well [slider title="decline me"] _aka_ , f, 4. dekl.  
_vsk_.: aka, akas, akai, aku, ar aku, akā  
_dsk_.: akas, aku, akām, akas, ar akām, akās [/slider]

There's not much that I can think of to say about wells. They're important
because this is where viensētas would obtain water from if they were not near
a stream, spring or other water-source. It's a fun word to say too.

  * **ka** : that (non-demonstrative) 

This is not the same kind of "that" as _tas_. This is the kind of "that" to
pair with _tāpēc_ to make "because of that", _saka_ or _teica_ for "says
that", or with _tā_ to make "so that". It's also used by itself to start
subordinate clauses such as in this example given in my dictionary: _man bija
žēl, ka tevis tur nebija_ - "I was sorry that you weren't there".

  * **stāstīt** : to tell a story [slider title="conjugate me"] _stāstīt_ , 3. konj. (mixed)  
_tag._ stāstu, stāsti, stāsta, stāstām, stāstāt  
_pag._ stāstīju, stāstīji, stāstīja, stāstījām, stāstījāt  
_nak._ stāstīšu, stāstīsi, stāstīs, stāstīsim, stāstīsiet / stāstīsit  
_pav._ stāsti, stāstiet [/slider]

Of course, it wouldn't be complete without the relevant verb for telling a
story!