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O'odham language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| O'odham Oʼodham ha-ñeʼokĭ, Oʼottham ha-neoki, Oʼodham ñiok |
||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | United States, Mexico | |
| Region: | Primarily south-central Arizona and northern Sonora | |
| Total speakers: | USA: 9595 (2000)[1]; Mexico: 153 (2000)[2] | |
| Language family: | Uto-Aztecan Southern Uto-Aztecan Sonoran Tepiman O'odham |
|
| Official status | ||
| Official language in: | One of the national languages of Mexico[3] | |
| Regulated by: | Secretary of Public Education in Mexico; various tribal agencies in the USA | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | none | |
| ISO 639-2: | nai | |
| ISO 639-3: | ood | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
O'odham (/ɔʔɔdham/) is an Uto-Aztecan language of southern Arizona and northern Sonora where the Tohono O'odham and Pima reside. As of the year 2000, there were estimated to be approximately 9750 speakers in the United States and Mexico combined, although there may be more due to underrepresentation. It is the 10th most-spoken language in Arizona, the 3rd most-spoken indigenous language in Arizona after Apache and Navajo. It is the 3rd most-spoken language in Pinal County and the 4th most-spoken language in Pima County (German is the 3rd). Approximately 8% of speakers in the US speak English "not well" or "not at all", according to results of the 2000 Census. Approximately 13% of speakers in the US were between the ages of 5 and 17, and among the younger speakers, approximately 4% were reported as speaking English "not well" or "not at all".
Native names for the language, depending on the dialect and orthography, include Oʼodham ha-ñeʼokĭ, Oʼottham ha-neoki, and Oʼodham ñiok.
Contents |
Due to the paucity of data on the linguistic varieties of the Hia C-ed O'odham, this section currently focuses on the Tohono O'odham and Akimel O'odham dialects only.
The greatest dialectal differences are between the Tohono O'odham and the Akimel O'odham dialect groupings. Some examples:
| Tohono O'odham | Akimel O'odham | English |
|---|---|---|
| ʼaʼad | hotṣ | to send |
| ñeñida | tamiam | to wait for |
| s-hewhogĭ | s-heubagĭ | to be cool |
| sisiṣ | hoʼiumi (but si:ṣpakuḍ, stapler) | to fasten |
| pi: haʼicug | pi ʼac | to be absent |
| wia | ʼoʼoid | hunt tr. |
There are other major dialectal differences between northern and southern dialects, for example:
| Early O'odham | Southern | Northern | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| *ʼa:pi:m | ʼa:ham | ʼa:pim | you |
| *cu:khug | cu:hug | cu:kug | flesh |
| *ʼe:kheg | ʼe:heg | ʼe:keg | to be shaded |
| *ʼu:pham | ʼu:hum | ʼu:pam | (go) back |
The Cukuḍ Kuk dialect has null in certain positions where other Tohono O'odham dialects have a bilabial:
| Other TO dialects | Chukuḍ Kuk | English |
|---|---|---|
| jiwia, jiwa | jiia | to arrive |
| ʼuʼuwhig | ʼuʼuhig | bird |
| wabṣ | haṣ | only |
| wabṣaba, ṣaba | haṣaba | but |
| Labial | Dental | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosives | p | b | t | d | ɖ | tʃ | dʒ | k | ɡ | ʔ | |
| Fricatives | (v) | s | ʂ | h | |||||||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||||||
| Approximant | w | ɭ | j | ||||||||
The retroflex consonants are apical postalveolar.
In most Papago dialects, the two sounds /v/ and /w/ have merged completely into /w/, whereas in all Pima dialects, the distinction is still made. For example, Pima cu:vĭ /ʧʊːvĭ/ (jackrabbit) is written and pronounced cu:wĭ /ʧʊːwĭ/ in Papago, but Pima wuai /wʊai/ (deer) is pronounced identically in Papago, although it is written huawĭ. Pima wiyoṣa (face) is written wuhioṣa in Papago; Pima wi (eye) is written wuhĭ in Papago. Thus, the letter "v" is not used to write Papago, but it is used to write Pima.
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | ɨ | ʊ |
| Mid | ɔ | ||
| Low | a |
All vowels distinguish three degrees of length: long, short, and extra-short.
- ṣe:l /ʂɨːɭ/ "Seri"
- ṣel /ʂɨɭ/ "permission"
- ʼa:pi /aːpi/ "you"
- da:pĭ /daːpĭ/ "I don't know", "who knows?"
Papago /ɨ/ is pronounced /ʌ/ in Pima.
- /ĭ/ is realized as [i̥], and devoices preceding obstruents: cuwĭ /tʃʊwĭ/ → [tʃʊʍi̥]~[tʃʊʍʲ] "jackrabbit".
- /w/ is a fricative [β] before unrounded vowels: wisilo [βisiɭɔ].
- [ŋ] appears before /k/ and /g/ in Spanish loanwords, but native words do not have nasal assimilation: to:nk [toːnk] "hill", namk [namk] "meet", ca:ŋgo [tʃaːŋgo] "monkey". /p/, /ɭ/, and /ɖ/ rarely occur initially in native words, and /ɖ/ does not occur before /i/.
- [ɲ] and [n] are largely in complementary distribution, [ɲ] appearing before high vowels /i/ /ɨ/ /ʊ/, [n] appearing before low vowels /a/ /ɔ/: ñeʼe "sing". They contrast finally (ʼañ (1st imperfective auxiliary) vs. an "next to speaker"), though Saxton analyzes these as /ani/ and /an/, respectively, and final [ɲi] as in ʼa:ñi as /niː/. However, there are several Spanish loanwords where [nu] occurs: nu:milo "number". Similarly, for the most part [t] and [d] appear before low vowels while [tʃ] and [dʒ] before high vowels, but there are exceptions to both, often in Spanish loanwords: tiki:la ("tequila") "wine", TO weco / AO veco ("[de]bajo") "under".
There are two orthographies commonly used for the O'odham language, Alvarez-Hale and Saxton. The Alvarez-Hale orthography is officially used by the Tohono O'odham Nation and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, and is used in this article, but the Saxton orthography is also common and is official in the Gila River Indian Community. It is relatively easy to convert between the two, the differences between them being largely no more than different graphemes for the same phoneme, but there are distinctions made by Alvarez-Hale not made by Saxton.
| Phoneme | Alvarez-Hale | Saxton | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| /a/ | a ʼaʼal | a a'al | baby |
| /b/ | b ban | b ban | coyote |
| /tʃ/ | c cehia | ch chehia | girl |
| /d/ | d da:k | th thahk | nose |
| /ɖ/ | ḍ meḍ | d med | run |
| ? | ḏ juḏum | d judum | bear |
| TO /ɨ/, AO /ʌ/ | e ʼeʼeb | e e'eb | stop crying |
| /g/ | g gogs | g gogs | dog |
| /h/ | h haʼicu | h ha'ichu | something |
| TO /i/, AO /ɨ/ | i ʼi:bhai | i ihbhai | prickly pear cactus |
| /dʒ/ | j ju:kĭ | j juhki | rain |
| /k/ | k ke:k | k kehk | stand |
| /ɭ/ | l lu:lsi | l luhlsi | candy |
| /m/ | m mu:ñ | m muhni | bean(s) |
| /n/ | n na:k | n nahk | ear |
| /ɲ/ | ñ ñeʼe, mu:ñ | n, ni ne'e, muhni | sing, bean(s) |
| /ŋ/ | ŋ aŋhil, wa:ŋgo | ng, n anghil, wahngo | angel, bank |
| /ɔ/ | o ʼoʼohan | o o'ohan | write |
| /p/ | p pi | p pi | not |
| /s/ | s sitol | s sitol | honey |
| /ʂ/ | ṣ ṣoiga | sh shoiga | pet |
| /t/ | t to:bĭ | t tohbi | cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii) |
| /u/ | u ʼu:s | u uhs | tree, wood |
| /v/ | v vainom | v vainom | knife |
| /w/ | w wuai | w wuai | male deer |
| /j/ | y payaso | y pa-yaso | clown |
| /ʔ/ | ʼ ʼaʼan | ' a'an | feather |
| /ː/ | : ju:kĭ | h juhki | rain |
The Saxton orthography does not mark word-initial /ʔ/ or extra-short vowels. Final generally corresponds to Hale-Alvarez <ĭ> and final
- Hale-Alvarez to:bĭ vs. Saxton tohbi /toːbĭ/ "cottontail rabbit"
- Hale-Alvarez ʼaːpi vs. Saxton ahpih /ʔaːpi/ "I"
There is some disagreement among speakers as to whether the spelling of words should be only phonetic, or whether etymology should be concerned.
For example: oamajda vs. wuamajda ("frybread"; some people may also use a c instead of a j), oam means "yellow/brown/orange" and thus this is a compound word of sorts. Some people believe it should begin like any word that starts with a /ʊa/, wua, while others think its spelling should match that of the word oam (oam is in fact a form of s-oam, so while it could be spelt wuam itself, it is not because it is just a different declension of the same word) to reflect its etymology.
According to the regulatory bodies, "oamajda" is better, but they are always careful not to make any definitive rules on grammar, pronunciation, or minor orthographic issues because people are often very proud of their dialect or may feel very strongly about such issues.
O'odham is notable for being non-configurational; for example, all of the following sentences mean "the boy brands the pig":
- ceoj ʼo g ko:ji ceposid
- ko:ji ʼo g ceoj ceposid
- ceoj ʼo ceposid g ko:ji
- ko:ji ʼo ceposid g ceoj
- ceposid ʼo g ceoj g ko:ji
- ceposid ʼo g ko:ji g ceoj
In principle, these could also mean "the pig brands the boy", but such an interpretation would require an unusual context.
Despite the general freedom of sentence word order, O'odham is fairly strictly verb-second in its placement of the auxiliary verb (in the above sentences, it is ʼo):
- cipkan ʼañ "I am working"
- but pi ʼañ cipkan "I am not working", not *pi cipkan ʼañ
Verbs are inflected for aspect (imperfective cipkan, perfective cipk), tense (future imperfective cipkanad), and number (plural cicpkan). Number agreement displays absolutive behavior: verbs agree with the number of the subject in intransitive sentences, but with that of the object in transitive sentences:
- ceoj ʼo cipkan "the boy is working"
- cecoj ʼo cicpkan "the boys are working"
- ceoj ʼo g ko:ji ceposid "the boy is branding the pig"
- cecoj ʼo g ko:ji ceposid "the boys are branding the pig"
- ceoj ʼo g kokji ha-cecposid "the boy is branding the pigs"
The main verb agrees with the object for person (ha- in the above example), but the auxiliary agrees with the subject: ʼa:ñi ʼañ g kokji ha-cecposid "I am branding the pigs".
Three numbers are distinguished in nouns: singular, plural, and distributive, though not all nouns have distinct forms for each. Most distinct plurals are formed by reduplication and often vowel loss, plus other occasional morphophonemic changes, and distributives are formed from these by gemination of the reduplicated consonant:
- gogs "dog", gogogs "dogs", goggogs "dogs (all over)"
- ma:gina "car", mamgina "cars", mammagina "cars (all over)"
- mi:stol "cat", mimstol "cats"
O'odham adjectives can act both attributively modifying nouns and predicatively as verbs, with no change in form.
- ʼi:da ṣu:dagĭ ʼo s-he:pid "This water is cold"
- ʼs-he:pid ṣu:dagĭ ʼañ hohoʼid "I like cold water"
The following is an excerpt from [7]. It exemplifies the Salt River dialect.
- Na:nse ʼe:da, mo: hek jeveḍ ʼu:d si ve:coc, ma:ṣ hek Taḏai siskeg ʼu:d ʼuʼuhig. Hek ʼaʼanac c vopo:c si vo skegac c ʼep si cecvac. Kuṣ ʼam hebai hai ki g ʼOʼodham ṣam ʼoʼoidam k ʼam ʼupam da:da k ʼam ce: ma:ṣ he:kai cu hek ha na:da. ʼI:dam ʼOʼodham ṣam ʼeh he:mapa k ʼam aʼaga ma:ṣ has ma:sma vo bei hek na:da ʼab ʼamjeḍ hek Tatañki Jioṣ. Ṣa biʼi ʼa ma:ṣ mo ka:ke hek Taḏai ma:ṣ mo me:tk ʼamo ta:i hek na:da ha ve:hejeḍ ʼi:dam ʼOʼodham. Taḏai ṣa: ma so:hi ma:ṣ mo me:ḍk ʼamo ta:i g na:da hek Tatañki Jioṣ. Tho ṣud me:tkam, ʼam “si ʼi nai:ṣ hek vo:gk” k gau mel ma:ṣ ʼam ki g Tatañki Jioṣ.
In Saxton orthography:
- Nahnse ehtha, moh hek jeved uhth sih vehchoch, mahsh hek Tadai siskeg uhth u'uhig. Hek a'anach ch vopohch sih vo skegach ch ep sih chechvach. Kush am hebai hai kih g O'ottham sham o'oitham k am upam thahtha k am cheh mahsh hehkai chu hek ha nahtha. Ihtham O'othham sham eh hehmapa k am a'aga mahsh has mahsma vo bei hek nahtha ab amjeth hek Tataniki Jiosh. Sha bi'ih a mahsh mo kahke hek Tadai mahsh mo mehtk amo tah'ih hek nahtha ha vehhejed ihtham O'ottham. Tadai shah ma sohhih mahsh mo mehdk amo tah'ih g nahtha hek Tataniki Jiosh. Tho shuth mehtkam, am “sih ih naihsh hek vohgk” k gau mel mahsh am kih g Tataniki Jiosh.
Translation:
- ^ http://www.mla.org/map_data_states&mode=lang_tops&lang_id=954
- ^ http://cdi.gob.mx/index.php?id_seccion=660
- ^ http://www.sep.gob.mx/work/resources/LocalContent/62817/12/ley_gen_derechos_ling_indigenas_2.htm
- ^ Saxton, Dean, Saxton, Lucille, & Enos, Susie. (1983). Dictionary: Tohono O'odham/Pima to English, English to Tohono O'odham/Pima. Tucson, AZ: The University of Arizona Press
- ^ Saxton, Dean. (1963). Papago Phonemes. International Journal of American Linguistics, 29, 29-35
- ^ Zepeda, Ofelia. (1983). A Tohono O'odham Grammar. Tucson, AZ: The University of Arizona Press.
- ^ Oʼodham Piipaash Language Program. Taḏai. Salt River, AZ: Oʼodham Piipaash Language Program