Sahaptian languages

Last updated
Sahaptian
Sħaptian
Geographic
distribution
Pacific Northwest
Linguistic classification Plateau Penutian
  • Sahaptian
Subdivisions
Glottolog saha1239

Sahaptian (also Sahaptianic, Sahaptin, Shahaptian) is a two-language branch of the Plateau Penutian family spoken by Native American peoples in the Columbia Plateau region of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho in the northwestern United States.

Contents

The terms Sahaptian (the family) and Sahaptin (the language) have often been confused and used interchangeably in the literature.

Family division

Sahaptian includes two languages:

1. Nez Perce (Niimiʼipuutímt)
2. Sahaptin (Sħáptənəxw)

Nez Perce has two principal dialects, Upper and Lower. Sahaptin has somewhat greater internal diversity, with its main dialects being Umatilla and Yakama.

Nodel Rude's (2012) classification of Sahaptian is as follows. [1]

Proto-language

Proto-Sahaptian
Reconstruction ofSahaptian languages

Work on Proto-Sahaptian reconstruction has been undertaken by Noel Rude (2006, [2] 2012 [1] ).

Proto-Sahaptian consonants: [1] :306

Bilabial Alveolar Post-
alveolar
Velar Uvular Glottal
plainlateralcentralplainlabializedplainlabialized
Stop/Affricate ptƛcčkqʔ
Ejective ƛ̓čk̓ʷq̓ʷ
Fricative łsšxx̣ʷh
Sonorant plainmnlyw
glottalized

Proto-Sahaptian vowels: [1] :293

frontcentralback
highiɨu
mido
lowæɑ

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Umatilla people</span> Indigenous people of America

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Nez Perce, also spelled Nez Percé or called nimipuutímt, is a Sahaptian language related to the several dialects of Sahaptin. Nez Perce comes from the French phrase nez percé, "pierced nose"; however, Nez Perce, who call themselves nimiipuu, meaning "the people", did not pierce their noses. This misnomer may have occurred as a result of confusion on the part of the French, as it was surrounding tribes who did so.

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The Sinkiuse-Columbia are a Native American tribe so-called because of their former prominent association with the Columbia River. They belong to the inland division of the Salishan group, with their nearest relatives being the Wenatchis and Methows. The Sinkiuses call themselves .tskowa'xtsEnux, or .skowa'xtsEnEx, or Sinkiuse. They apply the name to other neighboring Interior Salish peoples, potentially originating from a band that once inhabited the Umatilla Valley.

Umatilla is a variety of Southern Sahaptin, part of the Sahaptian subfamily of the Plateau Penutian group. It was spoken during late aboriginal times along the Columbia River and is therefore also called Columbia River Sahaptin. It is currently spoken as a first language by a few dozen elders and some adults in the Umatilla Reservation in Oregon. Some sources say that Umatilla is derived from imatilám-hlama: hlama means 'those living at' or 'people of' and there is an ongoing debate about the meaning of imatilám, but it is said to be an island in the Columbia River. B. Rigsby and N. Rude mention the village of ímatalam that was situated at the mouth of the Umatilla River and where the language was spoken.

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Molala is an extinct language once spoken by the Molala people of Oregon. Currently it is included among the Plateau Penutian language family, with Klamath and Sahaptin being considered the closest related.

Bruce Rigsby was an American-Australian anthropologist specializing in the languages and ethnography of native peoples on both continents. He was professor emeritus at Queensland University, and a member of both the Australian Anthropological Society and the American Anthropological Association.

The Yakima practical alphabet is an orthography used to write Sahaptin languages of the Pacific Northwest of North America.

Virginia R. Beavert was a Native American linguist of the Ichishkíin language at the University of Oregon.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Rude, Noel. 2012. Reconstructing Proto-Sahaptian Sounds. In Papers for the 47th International Conference on Salish and neighbouring languages, 292-324. Working Papers in Linguistics (UBCWPL). Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.
  2. Rude, Noel. 2006. Proto-Sahaptian vocalism. In Papers for the 41st International Conference on Salish and neighbouring languages, 264-277. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.