A Comparison of the Obviation Systems of Kutenai and Algonquian

In recent years, the term ÔobviationÕ has been applied to phenomena in a variety of languages on the basis of perceived similarity to the phenomenon in Algonquian languages to which, I assume, the term was originally applied. An example of a descriptive use of the term occurs in Dayley (1989: 136), who applies the terms ÔobviativeÕ and ÔproximateÕ t