Catawba language

Catawba
Ye Iswą
Pre-contact distribution of the Catawba Language.
Native toUnited States
RegionSouth Carolina
EthnicityYe Iswąre (Catawba)
Language codes
ISO 639-3chc
Glottologcata1286
ELPCatawba
Linguasphere64-ABA-ab

Catawba (/kəˈtɔːbə/) is one of two Eastern Siouan languages of the eastern US, which together with the Western Siouan languages formed the Siouan language family.

The last native, fluent speaker of Catawba was Samuel Taylor Blue, who died in 1959.[1] The Catawba people are now working to revitalize and preserve the Catawba language.

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive voiceless p t k ʔ
voiced b d
Affricate
Nasal m n
Fricative s ʃ h
Trill r
Approximant w j
  • /ʃ/ rarely occurs.
  • There is also a [ɡ] sound, which occurs as an allophone of /k/.

Vowels

  • Short vowel sounds /i, e, a, u/ can be heard as lax, ranging to [ɪ, ə~ɛ, ɑ, ʊ].
  • /u/ can range to [o], and a short /a/ can range to a back vowel sound [ɑ].[2]

Orthography

This is The Official Catawba Alphabet created for the Catawba Language. A revitalization Effort for the language is getting revived by The Catawba Language Project, a language revitalization Project to revived the Extinct language “Catawba” and created an app for it. [1]

(Ye Iswąʔre) Catawba Alphabet
A a Ą ą Aa aa α B b Č č
D d E e Ę ę Ee ee Ɛ ɛ G g
H h I i Į į Ii ii K k M m
N n P p R r S s T t U u
Ų ų Uu uu W w Y y ʔ ʰ
Á á ά É é έ Í í Ú ú
Ą́ ą́ Ę́ ę́ Į́ į́
  • the Aspirated "ʰ" is used in the word: "hawuʰ" means: Thank you.

Vocabulary

Here’s a format of Catawba Vocabularies

Word lists

Numbers
English Catawba
One dαpinɛ
Two nąpαri
Three naminα
Four pαrapαri
Five paktαri
Six dipkuura
Seven wasisiniyα
Eight dαbusa
Nine wąɁča
Ten pičinɛ


Greetings
Catawba English
Tαnakɛ Hello
Kuri Good
Yawab kuri Good Morning
Yab kuri Good Day
Wičawaséɂ kuri Good Evening
Wiičawa kuri Good night
Tiine yiiéduu How are you
Yį yat tanenɛ What is your name
…Nii yat My name is…
Dehare It’s me
Tiine wiiéduu How are you all
Tαną kureɂ How goes
Tαnąčuharɛ Ok (I’m alright)
Baraɂharɛ It’s not good
Wanαsárɛ I feel sick
Síiɂserɛ I am tired
Mąsačure I am so happy
Hawuʰ Thank you
Katé Later (Goodbye)


Catawba Vocabulary
English Catawba
Tree yap
Grass sαrak
Cloud nɛmą
And derα
Yes himbá
No waharé
That ma
River iswą
Water
Earth mánuuwa
Sun nųti
Moon wičawa nųti
Blessings dúupa wiiyukαrį
Loss dečere
Dog tąsi
Cat hapkę
Horse witsakway
Turtle kayaɁ
Fish yii
Butterfly dapanenei
Deer widαbuye
Bird kučin
Blue jay tiinde
Woodpecker wačαk
Robin wiispαkpαk
Goose ahą
Eagle wikčiči
Chipmunk dɛpendαtaksusuɁ
Squirrel payą
Snake yaɁ
Bear nimęɁ
Chicken watką
Turkey witką teruu
Corn kus
Milk witas
Potato witiki
Sweet Potato witiki čuwa
Egg hinu
Apple triɁi
Blueberry wuuii aru
Pear tri
Food nuuyą
Vegetable kus mirúu
Fruit trii
Dry Goods nuuyą yiire
Family yemą
Grandfather tatéwa
Grandmother isčuu
Father nane
Mother yaksu
Son kuríi
Daughter ɛnuwa
Drum tushakehi
Office suukiatéru
House suuk
Bathroom ísuk
Kitchen hiriʰsahęʰ
Farm Yabsigre
Cash register yekąwą dyákere
Dollar suntarúu
Hunter yękurepahą
Red siiką
Blue wuuii
Green wiiyą
Yellow wiiyę
White takčii
Black hawakče

Errata

Red Thunder Cloud, an impostor, born Cromwell Ashbie Hawkins West, claimed to be Catawba and the last speaker of the Catawba language. He was promoted by anthropologist Frank Speck, who introduced West to the Catawba community. The Catawba told Speck that West was not Catawba, but Speck ignored them and continued to promote West and include him in his work, even recommending him as an expert to other anthropologists. (Speck is also the source of the theory that Catawba is a Siouan language; at one time he also insisted that the Cherokee language is Siouan.) At his death in 1996 it was revealed that West was neither Catawba nor even Native American, but had learned what he knew of the language from books, and from listening to the last known native speaker, Samuel Taylor Blue and his half-sister, Sally Gordon, when Speck brought him to the Catawba reservation.[3] This had apparently been enough to fool the non-Native ethnologists who wrote about him.[3]

References

  1. ^ Thomas J. Blummer, Catawba Indian Nation: Treasures in History (The History Press, 2007), p. 101
  2. ^ Rudes, Costa, Blair, David (2003). Essays in Algonquian, Catawban, and Siouan Linguistics in Memory of Frank T. Siebert, Jr.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b Goddard, Ives (2000). "The Identity of Red Thunder Cloud" (PDF). The Newsletter -- Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas. 19 (1): 7–10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2021.

External links

  • Ives Goddard, 2000. "The Identity of Red Thunder Cloud", Smithsonian Institution, reprinted from Society for the Study of Indigenous Languages of the Americas Newsletter. (accessed 2021-05-25)
  • Catawba Texts "Catawba Language App"


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