Cahuilla language
| Cahuilla | |
|---|---|
| Ivia | |
| Native to | USA |
| Region | Southern California |
| Ethnicity | 800 Cahuilla (2007)[1] |
|
Native speakers
|
35 (2009)[1] |
|
Uto-Aztecan
|
|
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | chl |
| Glottolog | cahu1264[2] |
Cahuilla /kəˈwiːə/ is an endangered Uto-Aztecan language, spoken by the Cahuilla tribe, living in the Coachella Valley, San Gorgonio Pass and San Jacinto Mountains region of Southern California.[3] Cahuilla call themselves Iviatim, speakers of 'Ivia' - the 'original' language.[4] A 1990 census revealed 35 speakers in an ethnic population of 800. It is nearly extinct, since most speakers are middle-aged or older.
Three dialects are known to have existed, referred to as Desert, Mountain, and Pass Cahuilla.[5]
Contents
Use and revitalization efforts[edit]
Alvino Siva of the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians, a fluent speaker, died on June 26, 2009. He preserved the tribe's traditional bird songs, sung in the Cahuilla language, by teaching them to younger generations of Cahuilla people.[6] Katherine Siva Saubel (b. 1920 - d. 2011) was a native Cahuilla speaker dedicated to preserving the language.[7]
In April 2014, the University of California, Riverside offered free public workshops in the Cahuilla language.[8]
Phonology[edit]
Cahuilla has the following vowel and consonant phonemes (Bright 1965, Saubel and Munro 1980:1-6)
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | iː i | uː u |
| Mid | eː e | (oː) |
| Low | a |
Long /oː/ only appears in borrowings.
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | labial. | |||||||
| Nasal | m [m] | n [n] | ny [ɲ] | ng [ŋ] | ||||
| Stop | voiceless | p [p] | t [t] | k [k] | q [q] | qw [qʷ] | ' [ʔ] | |
| voiced | (d [d]) | |||||||
| Affricate | ch [t͡ʃ] | |||||||
| Fricative | voiceless | (f [f]) | s [s] | sh [ʃ] | x [x] | h [χ] | xw [χʷ] | |
| voiced | v [v] | (z [z]) | (g [ɣ]) | |||||
| Approximant | w [w] | y [j] | ||||||
| Lateral | l [l] | ll [ʎ] | ||||||
| Flap | r [ɾ] | |||||||
Consonants in parentheses only occur in loans. Material in ⟨brackets⟩[where?] after a consonant shows how it is spelled in the practical orthography of Saubel and Munro (1980).
Morphology[edit]
Verb morphology[edit]
Cahuilla verbs show agreement with both their subject and object. Person agreement is shown by prefixes and number agreement is shown by suffixes. (Saubel and Munro p. 29)
| kúp-qa |
| sleep-singular:present |
| 'He is sleeping.' |
| hem-kúp-we |
| 3rd-sleep-plural:present |
| 'They are sleeping.' |
Basic sample vocabulary[edit]
- One: Súplli'
- Two: Wíh
- Three: Páh
- Four: Wíchiw
- Five: Nemaqwánang
- Man: Náxanish
- Woman: Nícill
- Sun: Támit
- Moon: Ménill
- Water: Pál[9]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Cahuilla at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
- ^ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Cahuilla". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
- ^ "Cahuilla." Ethnologue Report for the Language Code: chl. (retrieved 13 Dec 2009)
- ^ "Cahuilla Indian Language (Iviatim)." Native Languages of the Americas. 2009 (retrieved 13 Dec 2009)
- ^ Shipley, William F. (1978). "Native Languages of California". In R.F. Heizer. Handbook of North American Indians. 8, California. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution. pp. 80–90.
- ^ Waldner, Erin. "Cahuilla elder, one of last fluent in language, dies." The Press-Enterprise. 9 July 2009 (retrieved 13 Dec 2009)
- ^ Elaine Woo (2011-11-06). "Katherine Siva Saubel obituary: Preserver of Cahuilla Indian culture dies at 91". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-12-02.
- ^ Victoria, Anthony (2014-04-15). "UCR to offer free workshops on endangered Native American language". University of California, Riverside Highlander. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
- ^ "Vocabulary Words in Native American Languages: Cahuilla." Native Languages of the Americas. 2009 (retrieved 13 Dec 2009)
- Saubel, Katherine Siva, Pamela Munro, Chem'ivillu' (Let's Speak Cahuilla), Los Angeles, American Indian Studies Center, University of California, 1982.
- Seiler, Hansjakob, Cahuilla Texts with an Introduction, Bloomington, Language Science Monographs, Indiana University Press, 1970.
- Seiler, Hansjakob, Cahuilla Grammar, Banning, Malki Museum Press, 1977.
- Seiler, Hansjakob, Kojiro Hioki, Cahuilla Dictionary, Banning, Malki Museum press, 1979.
External links[edit]
- The Limu Project active language revitalization
- Resources in and about the Cahuilla language
- Cahuilla pronunciation guide
- Cahuilla grammar, available through the Long Now Foundation
- Cahuilla language overview at the Survey of California and Other Indian Languages
- OLAC resources in and about the Cahuilla language
- Cahuilla basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database
- "Cahuilla sound recordings". Collections Search Center, Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
- David Olson (2011-01-26). "Pauline Murillo, 76, San Manuel tribal elder". PE.com - Press-Enterprise. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
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