Arapaho language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Arapaho Hinóno'eitíít | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | United States | |
| Region: | The Wind River Reservation, Wyoming | |
| Total speakers: | ~1,000 | |
| Language family: | Algic Algonquian Plains Algonquian Arapaho | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | none | |
| ISO 639-2: | arp | |
| ISO/FDIS 639-3: | arp | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See IPA chart for English for an English-based pronunciation key. | ||
The Arapaho language (also Arapahoe) language is a Plains Algonquian language (an areal rather than genetic grouping) spoken almost entirely by elders in Wyoming. The language, which is in great danger of becoming extinct, has diverged very significantly phonologically from its posited proto-language, Proto-Algonquian (Proto-Algonquian *maɬkwa, "bear," became Arapaho wox, and Proto-Algonquian *we-ɬari, "her husband," became Arapaho ííx).
Contents |
[edit] Sounds
As mentioned above, the Plains Algonquian languages are phonologically very distinct from other people in the great basin speak Algonquian languages and from Proto-Algonquian.
[edit] Vowels
Arapaho has a series of four short vowels /i e ɔ u/ and four long vowels /iː eː ɔː uː/. It also contains three diphthongs, /ei/, /ɔu/, and /ie/.
[edit] Consonants
The consonant inventory of Arapaho is given in the table below. /j/ is normally transcribed as <y>, /ʧ/ as <c>, /ʔ/ as <'>, and /θ/ is sometimes written <3>.
| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | b | t | k | ʔ | ||
| Affricate | ʧ | |||||
| Fricative | θ | s | x | h | ||
| Nasal | n | |||||
| Semivowel | w | j |
[edit] Prosody
Arapaho is a tonal language. Vowels can have a mid tone (unmarked), high tone (marked with an acute accent), or falling tone (marked with a circumflex).
[edit] Grammar
[edit] Gros Ventre
Gros Ventre (also known as Atsina), a divergent dialect of Arapaho, has three additional phonemes, /tʲ/, /ʦ/, and /bʲ/, and lacks the velar fricative /x/.
[edit] External links
- Ethnologue Report for Arapaho
- The Arapaho Language
- Arapaho Language Archives, with many dialogues and narratives in Arapaho with glosses
- A Guide to Learning the Northern Arapaho Alphabet
- Heebe Boo'oobe'! - How to say "hello" in Arapaho
[edit] References
- Goddard, Ives. 1974. "An Outline of the Historical Phonology of Arapaho and Atsina." International Journal of American Linguistics 40:102-16.
- Mithun, Marianne. 1999. The Languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.br:Arapahoeg
