ᏞᏍᏗ /tlesdi/ - don't! Used to negate commands
ᏰᏣᎩᎸᏕᏍᏗ /yetsakilvdesdi/ - when y'all will ride it (animate object)
ᏞᏍᏗ ᏰᏣᎩᎸᏕᏍᏗ - y'all don't ride it! (akilvdi)yi- - used with a negation word (ᏞᏍᏗ in the West, ᏤᏍᏗ or ᎮᏍᏗ in NC) to form a negative phrase. Sometimes referred to as the "irrealis prefix", it can be used to form conditional statements and to express doubt or suppositions such as 'if' or 'when'. Ex. ᏱᏣᏚᎵᎭ - If you want it. Can also be used in a question to express "would" or "might". Ex. ᏱᎦᏬᏂᎭᏍ ᏣᎳᎩ? Might he speak Cherokee?
ets- - bound pronoun for 2nd plural
subject + animate/living object used with vowel-stem verbs.
Some bound pronouns (but not all) have different forms if the object
of the verb is animate or living. Since the Turtle is a living,
breathing, walking creature, that form is used here.
See also: look
for him and Pronouns
III - Animate Object Bound Pronouns for more about using
them.
-akilvd- - stem of the verb "to ride".
See: ᎠᎩᎸᏗᎭ - riding
it, straddling it, sitting astride something
-esdi - future progressive suffix meaning
"it will be happening" for whatever verb it's added to. Often used for
commands and negative commands.
A fuller translation of this could be "Y'all don't be riding him/her!"
or "Y'all don't be getting on him/her!