Southern Athabaskan languages

Southern Athabascan
Apachean
Geographic
distribution:		 Southwestern United States
Linguistic classification:

Dené–Yeniseian?

Subdivisions:
ISO 639-2 / 5: apa
Glottolog: apac1239[1]

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Historical distribution of Southern Athabaskan languages

Southern Athabaskan (also Apachean) is a subfamily of Athabaskan languages spoken primarily in the Southwestern United States (including Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Sonora) with two outliers in Oklahoma and Texas. Those languages are spoken by various groups of Apache and Navajo peoples.

Self-designations for Western Apache and Navajo are Nnee biyáti’ or Ndee biyáti’ and Diné bizaad or Naabeehó bizaad, respectively.

There are several well-known historical people whose first language was Southern Athabaskan. Geronimo (Goyaałé) who spoke Chiricahua was a famous raider and war leader. Manuelito spoke Navajo and is famous for his leadership during and after the Long Walk of the Navajo.

Family division

The seven Southern Athabaskan languages can be divided into 2 groups according to the classification of Harry Hoijer: (I) Plains and (II) Southwestern. Plains Apache is the only member of the Plains Apache group. The Southwestern group can be further divided into two subgroups (A) Western and (B) Eastern. The Western subgroup consists of Western Apache, Navajo, Mescalero, and Chiricahua. The Eastern subgroup consists of Jicarilla and Lipan.

I. Plains (AKA Kiowa–Apache)

II. Southwestern

A. Western
1. Chiricahua-Mescalero
a. Chiricahua
i. Chiricahua proper
ii. Warm Springs
b. Mescalero
2. Navajo (Navahu˙)
3. Western Apache (AKA Coyotero Apache)
a. Tonto (Northern Tonto, Southern Tonto)
b. White Mountain
c. San Carlos
d. Cibecue (ˀa˙paču)
B. Eastern
1. Jicarilla (Apaches De La Xicarilla)
2. Lipan

Hoijer's classification is based primarily on the differences of the pronunciation of the initial consonant of noun and verb stems. His earlier 1938 classification had only two branches with Plains Apache grouped together with the other Eastern languages (i.e. with Jicarilla and Lipan).

Mescalero and Chiricahua are considered different languages even though they are mutually intelligible (Ethnologue considers them the same language). Western Apache (especially the Dilzhe'e variety) and Navajo are closer to each other than either is to Mescalero/Chiricahua. Lipan Apache and Plains Apache are nearly extinct (in fact Lipan may already be extinct). Chiricahua is severely endangered. Mescalero, Jicarilla, and Western Apache are considered endangered as well, but fortunately children are still learning the languages although the number of child speakers continues to decline. Navajo is one of the most vigorous North American languages, but use among first-graders has declined from 90% to 30% in recent years (1998 N.Y. Times, April 9, p. A20).

Sounds

All Southern Athabaskan languages have somewhat similar phonologies. The description below will concentrate mostly on Western Apache. One can expect minor variations of this description in other related languages (such as Navajo, Jicarilla, Chiricahua).

Consonants

Southern Athabaskan languages generally have a consonant inventory similar to the set of 33 consonants below (based mostly on Western Apache):

  Labial Alveolar Alveolar Lateral Palatal Velar Glottal
(affricate series)
Stop unaspirated p t ts tɬ tʃ k (kʷ)  
aspirated   tʰ tsʰ tɬʰ tʃʰ kʰ (kʷʰ)  
glottalized   tʼ tsʼ tɬʼ tʃʼ kʼ ʔ
prenasalized/
voiced		 (ⁿb) (ⁿd/d/n)          
Nasal simple m n          
glottalized (ˀm) (ˀn)          
Fricative voiceless     s ɬ ʃ x h
voiced (v)   z ɬ ʒ ɣ (ɣʷ)  
Approximant         j (w)  

Orthography (consonants)

The practical orthography corresponds to the pronunciation of the Southern Athabaskan languages fairly well (as opposed to the writing systems of English or Vietnamese). Below is a table pairing up the phonetic notation with the orthographic symbol:

IPA spelling IPA spelling IPA spelling IPA spelling
[t] d [tʰ] t [tʼ] t’ [ j ] y
[k] g [kʰ] k [kʼ] k’ [h] h
[ts] dz [tsʰ] ts [tsʼ] ts’ [ʔ] ’
[tʃ] j [tʃʰ] ch [tʃʼ] ch’ [l] l
[tɮ] dl [tɬʰ] tł [tɬʼ] tł’ [l] ł
[p] b [pʰ] p [ⁿb] b/m [ⁿd] d/n/nd
[s] s [ʃ] sh [m] m [n] n
[z] z [ʒ] zh [ˀm] ’m [ˀn] ’n
[x] h            
[ɣ] gh            

Some spelling conventions:

  1. Fricatives [h] and [x] are both written as h. (see also #2 below)
  2. The fricative [x] is usually written as h, but after o it may be written as hw, especially in Western Apache (may be pronounced [xʷ]).
  3. The fricative [ɣ] is written gh the majority of the time, but before i and e it is written as y (& may be pronounced [ʝ]), and before o it is written as w (& may be pronounced [ɣʷ]).
  4. All words that begin with a vowel are pronounced with a glottal stop ’ [ʔ]. This glottal stop is never written at the beginning of a word.
  5. Some words are pronounced either as d or n or nd, depending on the dialect of the speaker. This is represented in the consonant table above as [ⁿd]. The same is true with b and m in a few words.
  6. In many words n can occur in a syllable by itself in which case it is a syllabic [n̩]. This is not indicated in the spelling.

Vowels

Southern Athabaskan languages have four vowels of contrasting tongue dimensions (as written in a general "practical" orthography):

  Front   Central   Back  
  High   i    
  Mid   e   o
  Low     a  

These vowels may also be short or long and oral (non-nasal) or nasal. Nasal vowels are indicated by an ogonek (or nasal hook) diacritic ˛ in Western Apache, Navajo, Mescalero, and Chiricahua while in Jicarilla the nasal vowels are indicated by underlining the vowel. This results in sixteen different vowels:

  High-Front Mid-Front Mid-Back Low-Central
Oral short i e o a
long ii ee oo aa
Nasal short į ę ǫ ą
long įį ęę ǫǫ ąą

IPA equivalents for Western Apache oral vowels:

i = [ɪ], ii = [iː], e = [ɛ], ee = [ɛː], o = [o], oo = [ʊː], a = [ɐ], aa = [ɑː].

In Western Apache, there is a practice where orthographic vowels o and oo are written as u in certain contexts. These contexts do not include nasalized vowels, so nasal u never occurs in the orthography. This practice continues into the present (perhaps somewhat inconsistently).

However, in Harry Hoijer and other American linguists' work all o-vowels are written as o. Similarly, Navajo does not use orthographic u, consistently writing this vowel as o.

In Chiricahua and Mescalero, this vowel is written as u in all contexts (including nasalized ų).

Other practices may be used in other Apachean languages.

Tone

Southern Athabaskan languages are tonal languages. Hoijer and other linguists analyze Southern Athabaskan languages as having 4 tones (using Americanist transcription system):

Rising and falling tones are less common in the language (often occurring over morpheme boundaries) and often occur on long vowels. Vowels can carry tone as well as syllabic n (Example: ń).

The practical orthography has tried to simplify the Americanist transcription system by representing only high tone with an acute accent while leaving low tone unmarked:

So now niziz is written instead of the previous nìzìz.

Additionally, rising tone on long vowels is indicated by an unmarked first vowel and an acute accent on the second, vice versa for falling tone:

Nasal vowels carry tone as well, resulting in a two diacritics on vowels with high tone: ą́ (presenting problems for computerization). Recently, de Reuse (2006) has found that Western Apache also has a mid tone, which he indicates with a macron diacritic ¯, as in ō, ǭ. In Chiricahua, a falling tone can occur on a syllabic n: n̂.

Here are some vowel contrasts involving nasalization, tone, and length from Chiricahua Apache:

cha̧a̧  'feces'
chaa  'beaver'
shiban  'my buckskin'
shibán  'my bread'
bik’ai’  'his hip'
bík’ai’  'his stepmother'
hah’aał  'you two are going to chew it'
hah’ał  'you two are chewing it'

Comparative phonology

The Southern Athabascan branch was defined by Harry Hoijer primarily according to its merger of stem-initial consonants of the Proto-Athabascan series *k̯ and *c into *c (in addition to the widespread merger of *č and *čʷ into *č also found in many Northern Athabascan languages).

Proto-
Athabascan		 Navajo Western
Apache		 Chiricahua Mescalero Jicarilla Lipan Plains
Apache
*k̯uʔs "handle fabric-like object" -tsooz -tsooz -tsuuz -tsuudz -tsoos -tsoos -tsoos
*ce· "stone" tsé tséé tsé tsé tsé tsí tséé

Hoijer (1938) divided the Apachean sub-family into an Eastern branch consisting of Jicarilla, Lipan, and Plains Apache and a Western branch consisting of Navajo, Western Apache (San Carlos), Chiricahua, and Mescalero based on the merger of Proto-Apachean *t and *k to k in the Eastern branch. Thus, as can be seen in the example below, when the Western languages have noun or verb stems that start with t, the related forms in the Eastern languages will start with a k:

Western Eastern
Navajo Western
Apache		 Chiricahua Mescalero Jicarilla Lipan Plains
Apache
"water" tó tū tú tú kó kó kóó
"fire" kǫʼ kǫʼ kųų kų ko̱ʼ kǫǫʼ kǫʼ

He later revised his proposal in 1971 when he found that Plains Apache did not participate in the *k̯/*c merger to consider Plains Apache as a language equi-distant from the other languages, now called Southwestern Apachean. Thus, some stems that originally started with *k̯ in Proto-Athabascan start with ch in Plains Apache while the other languages start with ts.

Proto-
Athabascan		 Navajo Chiricahua Mescalero Jicarilla Plains
Apache
*k̯aʔx̣ʷ "big" -tsaa -tsaa -tsaa -tsaa -cha

Morris Opler (1975) has suggested that Hoijer's original formulation that Jicarilla and Lipan in an Eastern branch was more in agreement with the cultural similarities between these two and the differences from the other Western Apachean groups. Other linguists, particularly Michael Krauss (1973), have noted that a classification based only on the initial consonants of noun and verb stems is arbitrary and when other sound correspondences are considered the relationships between the languages appear to be more complex. Additionally, it has been pointed out by Martin Huld (1983) that since Plains Apache does not merge Proto-Athabascan *k̯/*c, Plains Apache cannot be considered an Apachean language as defined by Hoijer.

Other differences and similarities among the Southern Athabaskan languages can be observed in the following modified and abbreviated Swadesh list:

  Navajo Chiricahua Western Apache
(San Carlos)		 Jicarilla Lipan
I shí shí shíí shí shí
you ni ⁿdí ⁿdi ni ⁿdí
we nihí náhí nohwíí nahí nahí
many łą́ łą́ łą́ą́ łá łą́
one ła’ ła’ ła’- ła’ ła’-
two naaki naaki naaki naaki naaki
big -tso -tso -tso -tso -tso
long -neez -neez -neez -ⁿdees -ⁿdiis
small -yáázh -zą́ą́yé -zhaazh -zhááh -zhą́ą́yí
woman ’asdzání ’isdzáń ’isdzánhń ’isdzání ’isdzání
man diné nⁿdé nnéé diⁿdé diⁿdí
fish łóó’ łóí’ łóg łógee łǫ́’
dog łééchą́ą́’í kéjaa łį́į́chaayáné łį́’chaa’á nii’łį́
louse yaa’ yaa yaa’ yaa’ yaa
tree tsin tsin ch’il nooshchíí chish
leaf -t’ąą’ -t’ąą -t’ąą’ -t’ąą’ -t’ąą’
meat -tsį’ -tsįį -tsį’ -tsį -tsįį
blood dił dił dił dił dił
bone ts’in ts’į’ ts’in -ts’in -ts’įh
grease -k’ah k’ah k’ah xéh xáí
egg -yęęzhii -gheezhe -ghęęzh -gheezhi -ghaish
horn -dee’ -dee’ -dee’ -dee’ -dii’
tail -tsee’ -tsee’ -tsee’ -tsee’ -dzistsii’
feather -t’a’ -t’a’ -t’a’ -t’a’ -t’a’
hair -ghaa’ -ghaa -ghaa -ghaa’ -ghaa
head -tsii’ -tsii -tsii -tsii -tsii’
ear -jaa’ -zhaa -jaa -jaa -jaa
eye -náá’ -ⁿdáa -náá -ⁿdáá -ⁿdáa
nose -´-chį́į́h -´-chį́ -chį́h -chį́sh -´-chį́sh
mouth -zéé’ -zé -zé’ -zé’ -zí’
tooth -woo’ -ghoo -ghoo’ -ghoo -ghoo
tongue -tsoo’ -zaade -zaad -zaadi -zaadi
claw -s-gaan -s-gan -gan -s-gan -s-gąą
foot -kee’ -kee -kee’ -kee -kii
knee -god -go’ -god -go’ -goh
hand -´-la’ -laa -la’ -la’ -laa’

Grammar

References

  1. ↑ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Apachean". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Athabaskan.
  • Cremony, John Carey. 1868. Life Among the Apaches. A. Roman, 1868. Length 322 pages. Chapter XX discusses the Apache language, number system, and grammar.
  • Hoijer, Harry. (1938). The southern Athapaskan languages. American Anthropologist, 40 (1), 75-87.
  • Hoijer, Harry. (1945). Classificatory verb stems in the Apachean languages. International Journal of American Linguistics, 11 (1), 13-23.
  • Hoijer, Harry. (1945). The Apachean verb, part I: Verb structure and pronominal prefixes. International Journal of American Linguistics, 11 (4), 193-203.
  • Hoijer, Harry. (1946). The Apachean verb, part II: The prefixes for mode and tense. International Journal of American Linguistics, 12 (1), 1-13.
  • Hoijer, Harry. (1946). The Apachean verb, part III: The classifiers. International Journal of American Linguistics, 12 (2), 51-59.
  • Hoijer, Harry. (1948). The Apachean verb, part IV: Major form classes. International Journal of American Linguistics, 14 (4), 247–259.
  • Hoijer, Harry. (1949). The Apachean verb, part V: The theme and prefix complex. International Journal of American Linguistics, 15 (1), 12–22.
  • Hoijer, Harry. (1956). The Chronology of the Athapaskan languages. International Journal of American Linguistics, 22 (4), 219-232.
  • Hoijer, Harry. (1963). The Athapaskan languages. In H. Hoijer (Ed.), Studies in the Athapaskan languages (pp. 1–29). University of California publications in linguistics 29. Berkeley: University of California Press.
  • Hoijer, Harry (Ed.). (1963). Studies in the Athapaskan languages. University of California publications in linguistics 29. Berkeley: University of California Press.
  • Hoijer, Harry. (1971). The position of the Apachean languages in the Athapaskan stock. In K. H. Basso & M. E. Opler (Eds.), Apachean culture history and ethnology (pp. 3–6). Anthropological papers of the University of Arizona (No. 21). Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
  • Hymes, Dell H. (1957). A note on Athapaskan glottochronology. International Journal of American Linguistics, 22 (4), 291-297.
  • Liebe-Harkot, Marie-Louise. (1984). A comparison of Apachean languages, exemplified by the verb system for handling verbs. In H. Krenn, J. Niemeyer, & U. Eberhardt (Eds.), Sprache und Text: Akten des 18: Linguistischen Kolloquiums, Linz 1983. Linguistische Arbeiten (Max Niemeyer Verlag) (Nos. 145-146). Tübingen: Max Niemeyer Verlag. ISBN 3-484-30145-7 (Bd. 1); ISBN 3-484-30146-5 (Bd. 2).
  • de Reuse, Willem J. (2001). Prototypes and fuzziness in the system and usage of Apachean classificatory verb stems. In S. Tuttle & G. Holton (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2001 Athabaskan Languages Conference (No. 1, pp. 75–94). Fairbanks, AK: Alaska Native Language Center.
  • Sapir, Edward. (1936). Linguistic evidence suggestive of the northern origin of the Navaho. American Anthropologist, 38 (2), 224-235.
  • Young, Robert W. (1983). Apachean languages. In A. Ortiz, W. C. Sturtevant (Eds.), Handbook of North American Indians: Southwest (Vol. 10, pp. 393–400). Washington: Smithsonian Institution. ISBN 0-16-004579-7.
Chiricahua
  • Hoijer, Harry. (n.d.). Chiricahua Apache stems. (Unpublished manuscript).
  • Hoijer, Harry. (1938). Chiricahua and Mescalero Apache texts. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-404-15783-1.
  • Hoijer, Harry. (1939). Chiricahua loan-words from Spanish. Language, 15 (2), 110-115.
  • Hoijer, Harry. (1946). Chiricahua Apache. In C. Osgood (Ed.), Linguistic structures in North America. New York: Wenner-Green Foundation for Anthropological Research.
  • Opler, Morris E., & Hoijer, Harry. (1940). The raid and war-path language of the Chiricahua Apache. Language, 42 (4), 617-634.
  • Pinnow, Jürgen. (1988). Die Sprache der Chiricahua-Apachen: Mit Seitenblicken auf das Mescalero [The language of the Chiricahua Apache: With side glances at the Mescalero]. Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag.
  • Webster, Anthony K. (1999). Sam Kenoi's "Coyote and the Whiteman": Contact in and out of a Chiricahua narrative. In A. Trefzer & R. L. Murray (Eds.), Reclaiming Native American cultures, proceedings of the Native American Symposium (pp. 67–80). Durant, OK: Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
  • Webster, Anthony K. (1999). Sam Kenoi's coyote stories: Poetics and rhetoric in some Chiricahua Apache narratives. American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 23, 137-163.
  • Webster, Anthony K. (1999). Lisandro Medez's "Coyote and Deer": On reciprocity, narrative structures, and interactions. American Indian Quarterly, 23, 1-24.
  • Webster, Anthony K. (2006). On Speaking to Him (Coyote): The Discourse Function of the yi-/bi- Alternation in Some Chiricahua Apache Narratives. Southwest Journal of Linguistics, 25(2), 143-160.
Mescalero
  • Breunginger, Evelyn; Hugar, Elbys; & Lathan, Ellen Ann. (1982). Mescalero Apache dictionary. Mescalero: NM: Mescalero Apache Tribe.
  • Hoijer, Harry. (1938). Chiricahua and Mescalero Apache texts. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-404-15783-1.
  • Pinnow, Jürgen. (1988). Die Sprache der Chiricahua-Apachen: Mit Seitenblicken auf das Mescalero [The language of the Chiricahua Apache: With side glances at the Mescalero]. Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag.
  • Rushforth, Scott. (1991). Uses of Bearlake and Mescalero (Athapaskan) classificatory verbs. International Journal of American Linguistics, 57, 251-266.
Jicarilla
  • Goddard, Pliny Earle (1911). Jicarilla Apache texts. The Trustees. Retrieved 24 August 2012.  Anthropological papers of the American Museum of Natural History (Vol. 8). New York: The American Museum of Natural History.
  • Phone, Wilhelmina; Olson, Maureen; & Martinez, Matilda. (forthcoming). Abáachi mizaa łáo iłkee’ shijai: Dictionary of Jicarilla Apache. Axelrod, Melissa; Gómez de García, Jule; Lachler, Jordan; & Burke, Sean (Eds.). UNM Press. (Estimated publication date: summer 2006).
  • Phone, Wilma; & Torivio, Patricia. (1981). Jicarilla mizaa medaóołkai dáłáéé. Albuquerque: Native American Materials Development Center.
  • Tuttle, Siri G.; & Sandoval, Merton. (2002). Jicarilla Apache. Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 32, 105-112.
  • Vicenti, Carson. (1981). Jicarilla Apache dictionary. Native American Materials Development Center, Ramah Navajo School Board.
  • Wilson, Alan, & Vigil Martine, Rita. (1996). Apache (Jicarilla). Guilford, CT: Audio-Forum. ISBN 0-88432-903-8. (Includes book and cassette recording).
Navajo
Main article: Navajo language § Bibliography
Western Apache
  • Basso, Keith H. (1979). Portraits of "the whiteman": Linguistic play and cultural symbols among the Western Apache. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-29593-9.
  • Basso, Keith H. (1990). Western Apache language and culture: Essays in linguistic anthropology. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. ISBN 0-8165-1323-6.
  • Basso, Keith H. (1996). Wisdom sits in places: Landscape and language among the Western Apache. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 0-8263-1724-3.
  • Bray, Dorothy, & White Mountain Apache Tribe. (1998). Western Apache-English dictionary: A community-generated bilingual dictionary. Tempe, AZ: Bilingual Press. ISBN 0-927534-79-7.
  • Durbin, Marshall. (1964). A componential analysis of the San Carlos dialect of Western Apache: A study based on the analysis of the phonology, morphophonics, and morphemics. (Doctoral dissertation, State University of New York, Buffalo).
  • Goddard, Pliny Earle (1919). San Carlos Apache texts. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 24 August 2012.  Anthropological papers of the American Museum of Natural History, (Vol. 24, Part 3). New York: The American Museum of Natural History.
  • Goddard, Pliny Earle (1920). White Mountain Apache texts. The Trustees. Retrieved 24 August 2012.  Anthropological papers of the American Museum of Natural History, (Vol. 24, Part 4). New York: The American Museum of Natural History.
  • Goodwin, Grenville. (1939). Myth and tales of the White Mountain Apache. New York: American Folk-Lore Society (J. J. Augustin). ISBN 0-8165-1451-8
  • Gordon, Matthew; Potter, Brian; Dawson, John; de Reuse, Willem; & Ladefoged, Peter. (2001). Phonetic structures of Western Apache. International Journal of American Linguistics, 67 (4), 415-481.
  • Greenfeld, Philip J. (1971). Playing card names in Western Apache. International Journal of American Linguistics, 37 (3), 195-196.
  • Greenfeld, Philip J. (1972). The phonological hierarchy of the White Mountain dialect of Western Apache. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Arizona, Tucson).
  • Greenfeld, Philip J. (1978). Some special phonological characteristics of the White Mountain dialect of Apachean. Anthropological Linguistics, 20 (1), 150-157.
  • Greenfeld, Philip J. (1984). A treatment for stress in Apache. International Journal of American Linguistics, 50 (1), 105-111.
  • Hill, Faith. (1963). Some comparisons between the San Carlos and White Mountain dialects of Western Apache. In H. Hoijer (Ed.), Studies in the Athapaskan languages (pp. 149–154). University of California publications in linguistics 29. Berkeley: University of California Press.
  • Mierau, Eric. (1963). Concerning Yavapai-Apache bilingualism. International Journal of American Linguistics, 29 (1), 1-3.
  • Potter, Brian. (1997). Wh/indefinites and the structure of the clause in Western Apache. (Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles.
  • de Reuse, Willem J. (1993). Stylistic and dialectal variation in Western Apache phonology. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson.
  • de Reuse, Willem J. (2006). A practical grammar of the San Carlos Apache language. Lincom Studies in Native American Linguistics 51. Lincom. ISBN 3-89586-861-2.
  • White Mountain Apache Culture Center. (1972). Western Apache dictionary. Fort Apache, AZ: White Mountain Apache Culture Center.
  • White Mountain Apache Culture Center. (1983). New! keys to reading and writing Apache (rev. ed.). Fort Apache, AZ: White Mountain Apache Culture Center.
Other
  • Hoijer, Harry. (1975). The history and customs of the Lipan, as told by Augustina Zuazua. Linguistics, 161, 5-38.
  • Bittle. 1963. “Kiowa–Apache.” In Studies in the Athapaskan Languages. (Ed. Hoijer, Harry). University of California Studies in Linguistics vol. 29. Berkeley: California UP. 76-101.

External links

* Wikipedia in Navajo

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