Nuu-chah-nulth language

This article is about the Nuu-chah-nulth language, often called Nootka. For other uses of the word Nootka, see Nootka (disambiguation).
Nuu-chah-nulth
Nuučaan̓uł
T'aat'aaqsapa
Pronunciation [nuːt͡ʃaːnˀuɬ]
Native to Canada
Region West coast of Vancouver Island, from Barkley Sound to Quatsino Sound, British Columbia
Ethnicity 7,680 Nuu-chah-nulth (2014, FPCC)[1]
Native speakers
 130 (2014, FPCC)[1]
Wakashan

  • Southern

    • Nuu-chah-nulth
Language codes
ISO 639-3 nuk
Glottolog nuuc1236[2]

Nuu-chah-nulth (Nuučaan̓uł),[3] also called Nootka /ˈnuːtkə/,[4] is a Wakashan language spoken in the Pacific Northwest of North America, on the west coast of Vancouver Island from Barkley Sound to Quatsino Sound in British Columbia, by the Nuu-chah-nulth peoples. Nuu-chah-nulth is a Southern Wakashan language related to Nitinaht and Makah. The provenance of the term "Nuu-chah-nulth", meaning "along the outside [of Vancouver Island]" dates from the 1970s, when the various groups of speakers of this language joined together, disliking the incorrect term "Nootka" (which means "go around" and was mistakenly understood to be the name of the place, which was actually called Yuquot). The name given by earlier sources for this language is Tahkaht; that name was used also to refer to themselves (the root aht means "people").[5]

It is the first language of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast to have documentary written materials describing it. In the 1780s Captains Vancouver, Quadra, and other European explorers and traders frequented Nootka Sound and the other Nuu-chah-nulth communities, making reports of their voyages. From 1803–1805 John R. Jewitt, an English blacksmith, was held captive by chief Maquinna at Nootka Sound. He made an effort to learn the language, and in 1815 published a memoir with a brief glossary of its terms.

Sounds

Consonants

The 35 consonants of Nuu-chah-nulth:

 Consonants[6]
Bilabial Alveolar1 Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyn-
geal		 Glottal
central lateral plain labial plain labial
Nasal plain m n
glottalized2 ˀm ˀn
Stop plain p t k kʷ q qʷ ʔ
ejective pʼ tʼ kʼ kʷʼ
Affricate plain t͡s t͡ɬ t͡ʃ
ejective t͡sʼ t͡ɬʼ t͡ʃʼ
Fricative s ɬ ʃ x xʷ χ χʷ ħ h
Approximant plain j w ʕ3
glottalized2 ˀj ˀw
  1. Of the alveolar consonants, nasal and laterals are apico-alveolar while the rest are denti-alveolar.
  2. Glottalized sonorants (nasals and approximants) are realized as sonorants with pre-glottalization. They are arguably conceptually the same as ejective consonants, though a preglottalized labial nasal could be analyzed as the stop–nasal sequence /ʔm/, as a nasal preceded by a creaky voiced (glottalized) vowel, or a combination of the two.
  3. The approximant /ʕ/ is more often epiglottal and functions phonologically as a stop.

The pharyngeal consonants developed from mergers of uvular sounds; /ħ/ derives from a merger of /χ/ and /χʷ/ (which are now comparatively rare) while /ʕ/ came about from a merger of /qʼ/ and /qʷʼ/ (which are now absent from the language).[7]

Vowels

Vowels of Nuu-chah-nulth. From Carlson, Esling & Fraser (2001)

Nuu-chah-nulth vowels are influenced by surrounding consonants with certain "back" consonants conditioning lower, more back vowel allophones

Vowels
Front Central Back
long short long short long short
Close iː i uː u
Mid1 (ɛː) (ə) (ɔː)
Open aː a

The mid vowels [ɛː] and [ɔː] appear in vocative forms and in ceremonial expressions. [ə] is a possible realization of /a/ after a glottalized sonorant.[7]

In the environment of glottalized resonants as well as ejective and pharyngeal consonants, vowels can be "laryngealized" which often means creaky voice.[7]

In general, syllable weight determines stress placement; short vowels followed by non-glottalized consonants and long vowels are heavy. In sequences where there are no heavy syllables or only heavy syllables, the first syllable is stressed.[7]

Nuu-chah-nulth has phonemic short and long vowels. Traditionally, a third class of vowels, known as "variable length" vowels, is recognized. These are vowels that are long when they are found within the first two syllables of a word, and short elsewhere.

Vocabulary

The Nuu-chah-nulth language contributed much of the vocabulary of the Chinook Jargon. It is thought that oceanic commerce and exchanges between the Nuu-chah-nulth and other Southern Wakashan speakers with the Chinookan-speaking peoples of the lower Columbia River led to the foundations of the trade jargon that became known as Chinook. Nootkan words in Chinook Jargon include hiyu ("many"), from Nuu-chah-nulth for "ten", siah ("far"), from the Nuu-chah-nulth for "sky".

A dictionary of the language, with some 7,500 entries, was created after 15 years of research. It is based on both work with current speakers and notes from linguist Edward Sapir, taken almost a century ago. The dictionary, however, is a subject of controversy, with a number of Nuu-chah-nulth elders questioning the accuracy of the terminology, and the author's right to represent their language.

Dialects

Nuu-chah-nulth has 12 different dialects:

Translations of the First Nation names

Translations of place names

Nuuchahnulth had a name for each place within their traditional territory. These are just a few still used to this day:

Resources

A Ehattesaht iPhone app was released in January 2012.[10] An online dictionary, phrasebook, and language learning portal is available at the First Voices Ehattesaht Nuchatlaht Community Portal.[11]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Nuu-chah-nulth at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Nuu-chah-nulth". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  3. ↑ "About the Language Program". Hupač̓asatḥ. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  4. ↑ Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student’s Handbook, Edinburgh
  5. ↑ Some account of the Tahkaht language, as spoken by several tribes on the western coast of Vancouver island , Hatchard and Co., London, 1868
  6. ↑ Carlson, Esling & Fraser (2001:276)
  7. 1 2 3 4 Carlson, Esling & Fraser (2001:277)
  8. ↑ "First Nations". Friends Of Clayoquot Sound. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  9. ↑ Source: Ha-shilth-sa newspaper, 2003. All translations were compiled with consulation from Nuuchahnulth elders. Ha-shilth-sa (meaning 'interesting news') is the official newspaper for the Nuu-chah-nulth nation.
  10. ↑ "FirstVoices Apps". FirstVoices. Retrieved 2012-10-04.
  11. ↑ "FirstVoices: Ehattesaht Nuchatlaht Community Portal". Retrieved 2012-10-04.

References

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