Endangered Uto-Aztecan language of California
Cahuilla
, or
Ivilyuat
(
?ivil?u?at
or
Ivil?u?at
IPA:
[?iv????at]
), is an endangered
Uto-Aztecan
language, spoken by the various tribes of the
Cahuilla
Nation, living in the
Coachella Valley
,
San Gorgonio Pass
and
San Jacinto Mountains
region of southern
California
.
[3]
The Cahuilla demonyms include
?ivil?uwenetem
or
Iviatam
?speakers of Ivilyuat (Ivi?a)?or
taxliswet
meaning "person."
[4]
[5]
A 1990 census revealed 35 speakers in an ethnic population of 800. With such a decline, Ivilyuat is classified as "critically endangered" by the
UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
as most speakers are middle-aged or older with limited transmission rates to children.
Three dialects are known to exist: Desert, Mountain and Pass,
[6]
as well as some other sub-dialects.
[7]
Classification
[
edit
]
Cahuilla is found in the
Uto-Aztecan language family
where it is denoted alongside
Cupeno
to be a Cupan language within the larger Californian language subgroup where it joins
Serrano
,
Kitanemuk
,
Luiseno
and
Tongva (Gabrielino)
. This Californian subgroup consisting of
Cupan
and
Serran languages
was once titled the
Takic group
which has fallen out of use.
Exonyms and endonyms
[
edit
]
One of the indigenous
designations
for the language is
?ivil?u?at
, alongside
?Ivillu?at
, where Cahuilla could call themselves
?ivil?uqalet
(s)/
?ivil?uwenetem
(pl.), 'speaker(s) of ?ivil?u?at.' Other variations include
Ivilyuat
and
Ivia
. However, both the language and the people are oftentimes called 'Cahuilla.'
Phonology
[
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]
Cahuilla has the following
vowel
and
consonant
phonemes (Bright 1965, Saubel and Munro 1980:1-6, Seiler and Hioki 1979: 8-9):
[8]
Consonants
[
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]
Consonants in parentheses only occur in loans.
Vowels
[
edit
]
- /?/
and
/?/
are allophones of
/i/
and
/u/
, respectively, when in an unstressed or secondary stress position. However, both
/?/
and
/?/
appear in the stressed position and are preceding any of the following consonants:
/k/
,
/k?/
,
/q/
,
/p/
,
/?/
. Lengthened version of both result in their opened variant occurring. Finally, word final instances of
/i/
and
/u/
are always open (
/i/
and
/u/
are considered word final even when followed by
/h/
).
- Both long
/oː/
and short
/o/
only appear in borrowings.
- As an allophone of
/e/
,
/?/
-distribution is unclear, conforming to the same rules of
/i/
and
/u/
sometimes. The word final variant of
/e/
is always the open
[æ]
.
- Similar to the high and mid vowels,
/a/
sees similar allophonic distribution where
/?/
occurs under stress and
/a/
falls in unstressed positions.
/a/
is found in monosyllabic and polysyllabic words containing only one instance of the
/a/
.
- The semivowels,
/j/
and
/w/
, are difficult to distinguish from their counterpart
diphthongs
:
/i?/
and
/u?/
. When the semivowel is following an
/i/
or
/u/
, it is realized as
/?i?/
or
/?u?/
(
/?j/
or
/?w/
). When
/i/
,
/u/
or
/?/
is followed by
/a/
, the
/a/
usually becomes half-long.
Voiceless vowels
[
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]
A salient feature found in Ivilyuat is the phenomenon of
voiceless vowels
which occur in word-final positions or around
/?/
. Word-finally, voiceless vowels occur as -Vh (a vowel followed by
/h/
).
- [muwt??h]
=
/muwt/
'owl'
- [net??h]
=
/net/
'ceremonial chief'
- [tukumulu?uk??h]
=
/tukumulu?uk/
'the day before yesterday'
|
- [nepi???h]
=
/nepi?/
'my breast'
- [hemu???h]
=
/hemu?/
'his nose'
- [nesek??a]
=
/nesek?a/
'my shoulder'
|
Phonotactics
[
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]
Words in Ivilyuat may never start with a vowel, and
consonant clusters
generally indicate the break between morphemic units. Whereas
/?/
is treated as a regular consonant in word-initial locations, it occurs in consonant clusters via infixation or insertion and is not representative of a morphemic break.
Stress
[
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]
There are three primary types of stress in Ivilyuat: primary, secondary and unstressed. Primary is distinguished from an unstressed syllable by loudness and elevation of pitch. Secondary stress carries less volume and the pitch is not as elevated as with primary stress. Generally, stress falls on the first syllable of the root, however there are numerous cases of doubt and ambiguity. The general pattern is: ... CV?CVCV?CVCV?CVCV? ..., where regular alternation occurs after the primary stress and secondary stress is added to the first syllable if followed by an additional -CV- group without stress. Long vowels function also as a distinct -CV- unit and take stress with the following syllable unit also taking stress: ... CV?VCV? ... This process can be seen here:
- CV?VCCV?CVC : [qaanki?em] 'palo verde,' plur.
- CV?CVCV?CVC : [takali?em] 'one-eyed ones'
Grammar
[
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]
Ivilyuat is an
agglutinative language
. It uses various
affixes
, alternating between
prefixes
and
suffixes
, to change the meaning and grammatical function of words. As well, Ivilyuat leans heavily on descriptive properties in the construction of nouns, turning
predicates
into nouns.
Morphology
[
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]
Ivilyuat consists of rich morphological phenomena, especially through its descriptive properties. For example, the word 'arrow,' or
huyal
, is derived from 'it is straightened' (
huya
) which has been transformed into 'that which is straightened' or 'the straightened one' (
huya
+
-l
), where the verb stem 'to straighten' is immediately recognizable. This phenomenon permeates the language such that some words are examples of a double derivation, such as 'blue/green' (
tukva?neki?
). The word for the colour,
tukva?neki?
, is derived from 'that which comes from heaven' which in turn comes from 'the thing where carrying [of the sun?] takes place,' where
tukva?
means 'sky' and
-nek
is from
nek-en
('to carry' with
-en
being the realized suffix).
[8]
Nouns and noun phrases
[
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]
Some, but not all, nouns occur in two different states: absolutive and construct. Outside of these two states fall certain other nouns that both refuse to take a P
1
(see below) nor a construct state form such as
?awal
('dog') and almost all additional animal terms which cannot be directly possessed; however, there is indication that some of these nouns show historical ties to both states, and issues present with either state usage tend to be semantic.
Distinguishing a noun from a verb can sometimes be difficult in Ivilyuat, however, whereas both verbs and nouns can take P
1
prefixes, only nouns can take P
2
ones.
Absolutive and construct states
[
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]
Absolutive, also known as non-possessed nouns (NPN),
[9]
and
construct states
help in the classification of nouns. For nouns that take either state, the process can either exhibit itself where the noun takes one form, both forms or even more productive derivations. For example, the word for (its) flower/blossom can be:
se?i?
('the flower' or 'the blossom'),
se?i
('its blossom'),
se?i?ki
('its flower') where
se?-
means to blossom and
i?
is the relativizing and absolutive suffix. Thus,
se?i?
means 'blossom/flower' or, more literally, 'having completed the act of blossoming.'
The absolutive state occurs when a relational expression is transformed into an absolute expression, or when a predicate becomes an argument that can then be assigned to a particular place in a predicate. This state is constructed using the absolutive suffix, being one of four consonants (
-t
,
-?
,
-l
,
-l?
). The suffix often is found in amalgamation with the preceding vowel, mostly
-a
or
-i
; however the case may be that there are more complex underlying functions than just that of the absolutive suffix.
The construct state is marked with P
1
relational constructions and translates very roughly to possession.
constr.
- ne-pu?
: 'my eye'
- ne-?a?
: 'my pet'
- ne-teviŋiki
: 'my little basket'
|
npn
- pu?-il?
: 'the eye, seed(s)'
- ?a?-il?
: 'the pet'
- teviŋi-l?
: 'the little basket'
|
npn & constr.
- ne-teviŋi-l?-ki
: 'my little basket'
|
Inflection
[
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]
Prefixes
[
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]
Inflection in Ivilyuat is realized through both prefixation and suffixation, where prefixes mark the distinction of persons and suffixes mark plurality and case. Both O and P
2
may co-occur, which sees O precede P
2
; P
2
may precede P
1
. Never can all three prefixes occur simultaneously. O, for example, cannot combine with P
1
within nouns (it can within verbs); P
2
can only occur in nouns.
Verbs
|
Nouns
|
Nouns
|
O + P
1
|
P
2
+ P
1
|
O + P
2
|
O or Object Prefixes
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st
|
ne-
|
?eme-
|
2nd
|
?e-
|
?eme-
|
3rd
|
pe-
|
me-
|
|
P
2
Prefixes
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st
|
hen-
|
?e?-
|
2nd
|
?et-
|
?eme-
|
3rd
|
-y- or Ø
2
|
Ø
|
|
P
1
Prefixes
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st
|
ne-
|
?em-
|
2nd
|
?e-
|
?em-
|
3rd
|
he- or Ø
1
|
hem-
|
|
- he-
is only found alongside monosyllabic noun stems.
- -y
only occurs if an O prefix precedes it.
Suffixes
[
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]
Number
is marked with the suffixes
-m
,
-em
,
-im
and
-am
(
taxliswetem
'the Indigenous people'), making a simple singular/plural distinction. Some nouns are not pluralizable, such as
k?inil?
'acorn(s)' or
meniki?
'mesquite bean(s).'
The object is marked with the
oblique case suffix
(
obl
)
-i
,
-y
and
-iy
which sometimes includes
glottalization
either through insertion or infixation:
- taxliswet
: 'the Indigenous person' (sing. subject)
- taxliswe?t-i
: 'id.' (sing. object)
|
- taxliswet-em
: 'the Indigenous people' (plur. subject)
- taxliswet-m-i
: 'id.' (plur. object)
|
The other
cases
are the:
locative
-ŋa
(
loc
),
lative
-(i)ka
(
lat
) and
abl
-ax
(
abl
), marking roughly location/placement, direction/towards and point of departure, respectively. The lative case appears to combine only with construct state nouns only:
- ku-t
: 'fire' (
-ku-
+
npn
)
- ku-t-ŋa
/
ku-ŋa
: 'in the fire'
- ku-yka
/ *
kut-ika
: 'into the fire'
Case and plural endings can combine with one another, especially the locative and ablative:
- taxliswet-m-i
: 'the Indigenous people'
- tema-l-ŋa-x
/
tema-ŋa-x
: 'from the earth'
Pronouns
[
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]
Pronouns in Ivilyuat can be broken down into three categories: personal, question/answer ? indefinite and non-personal ? non-question/answer ? non-indefinite.
Independent Personal Pronouns
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
|
Accented
|
Clitic
|
Accented
|
Clitic
|
1st
|
subj.
|
ne?
|
ne?
|
?emem
?em
|
?em
|
obj.
|
ne?iy
|
|
?ememi
|
|
2nd
|
subj.
|
?e?
|
?e
|
?emem
?em
|
?em
|
obj.
|
?e?iy
|
|
?ememi
|
|
Nominalizers
[
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]
Nominalization
, or the creation of nouns from verbs and adverbs as is the case in Ivilyuat, occurs fairly frequently.
Verbial nominalizers
[
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]
Seiler lists ten nominalizers attached to the verb playing a wide range of functions.
-ka(t) 'inceptive'
Using Seiler's terminology, this nominalizer indicates an oriented relationship in the noun/action, very similar to the nominal suffix '-ka(t)' (see below). As tense plays little role in the language, this should not be taken to mean 'future.'
SUFF:suffix
PRON:pronoun
STEM:stem
P2:P2 prefix
P1:P1 prefix
O:object prefix
me?k?akatem
me? ?e?? k?a ?kat ?em
O- P2- STEM -SUFF -SUFF
3SG 1PL eat NOM PL
them we eat
lit.
'We are one who are going to eat them.';
'We are going to eat them.'
|
?eme?emki?iwen ?eme?wayikinikatem
?eme? ?em? ki?iw ?wen .. ?eme? e?? wayikini ?kat ?em
O- P1- STEM -SUFF .. O- P2- STEM -SUFF -SUFF
2PL 1PL wait DUR .. 2PL 1PL feed NOM PL
you we wait .. you we feed
'We are waiting for you so that we may be going to feed you.'
|
-(a)k(t) 'excellence'
This denotes goodness or excellence.
?e? ?etmuak
?e? .. ?et? mu ?ak
PRON .. P2- STEM -SUFF
2SG .. 2SG shoot NOM
you .. you shoot excelling
'You are a good shooter.'
|
ne? hennehak
neh
STEM
weave baskets
weave baskets
ne? .. hen? neh ?ak
PRON .. P2- STEM -SUFF
1SG .. 1SG {weave baskets} NOM
I .. I {weave baskets} excelling
'I am a good basket weaver.'
|
-nax(t) 'supposed to fulfill function'
This denotes where one is supposed to fulfill a specialized function, notably in a socio-cultural context.
peypii?nax
pe? y? pii? ?nax
O- P2- STEM -SUFF
3SG 3SG bewitch NOM
'the one supposed to bewitch him.'
|
taxmu?nax
taxmu? ?nax
sing NOM
'one who is supposed to sing'
|
-(i)? 'completed action or process'
Denotes a completed action or being completed as a process.
tamiiti piytehwi?
tamiit ?i .. pi? y? tehw ?i?
STEM -SUFF .. O- P2- STEM -SUFF
sun OBL .. 3SG 3SG find NOM
'the one that found the sun'
-va? 'performing in a special situation'
Denotes performing an act in a specially defined situation. Compare the following examples:
penpayniqal
pe? n? pay ?ni ?qal
O- P1- STEM -SUFF -SUFF
3SG 1SG daylight CAUS DUR
'I'm making it daylight' i.e., 'I'm sitting up all night.'
peypayniva?
pe? y? pay ?ni ?va?
O- P2- STEM -SUFF -SUFF
3SG 3SG daylight CAUS NOM
'the one that makes it daylight' i.e., 'the morning star'
-wet/-et 'habitual or competent performer'
Functioning similarly to '-va?,' denotes a competent or habitual performer. When in combination with the durative (
dur
, '-qal'/'-wen') or
stative
(
stat
, '-wen'), it takes the form '-et.' Compare the following examples:
nu?inqalet
nu?in ?qal ?et
STEM -SUFF -SUFF
tell DUR NOM
'the one that tells (people) what to do,' 'leader'
nu?inwenetem
nu?in ?wen ?et ?em
STEM -SUFF -SUFF -SUFF
tell DUR NOM PL
'the ones that tell (people) what to do,' leaders'
|
taxnu?inqal
tax? Ø? nu?in ?qal
O- P1- STEM -SUFF
INDEF 3SG tell DUR
'He tells [indef.] what to do.'
taxnu?inqalet
tax? Ø? nu?in ?qal ?et ?em
O- P1- STEM -SUFF -SUFF -SUFF
INDEF 3SG tell DUR NOM PL
'Leaders'
|
hi?iwet
hi?i ?wet
go NOM
'one that habitually goes.'
|
-?a & -at/-(?)il? 'abstract nominalizers'
These makes abstract verbs into nouns. Where '-at' and '-il?'/'-?il?' can attach to abstract verbs with few restrictions, '-?a' is restricted to abstract verbs which are then possessed once nominalized.
?aminat
?amin ?at
throw NOM
'the throwing,' 'the orphan'
ne?amin?a
ne? ?amin ??a
1SG throw NOM
'my throwing'
|
k?a?isni?il?
k?a?isni ??il?
write NOM
'the writing'
nek?a?isni?a
ne? k?aisni ??a
1SG write NOM
'my writing'
|
-pi? 'unrealized subordination'
Nominalizes verbs that both indicates subordination and something that has not yet happened.
vuvanpi?
vuvan? pi?
hit NOM
'an insect that stings'
-vel/-ve 'event already occurring or occurred'
Nominalizes verbs in regard to occurrence of the action.
kupvel
kup ?vel
sleep NOM
'the bed'
|
nekupve
ne? kup ?ve
1SG sleep NOM
'my bed'
|
-va?al 'located event'
A complex of suffixes where the verbal suffix '-va?' indicates 'locale, place' such as:
pa hem?eŋenva?
pa .. hem?Ø? ?eŋen ?va?
there .. 3PL dance place
'Where they are dancing.'
Combining with '-al,' the abstract nominalizer, there become forms such as:
pisiva?al
pis? iva? ?al
{go out} place NOM
'the place to go out,' 'toilet'
|
hempisiva?a
Ø? hem? pis? iva? ?a
3rd 3PL {go out} place NOM
'their toilet'
|
Adverbial nominalizers
[
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]
There is only one adverbial nominalizer according to Seiler's
Grammar
, which is '-vi?.' It can either affix to adverbs to denote being from a place or time or denote ordering.
- Place/Time
ki?anxwanvi?em
ki?an? xwan ?
vi?
?em
SOUTH 'toward'
NOM
PL
'ones who are from the South.'
|
- Place/Time
vaaniŋaxvi?em
vaani?
Banning (place name)
vaani? ?ŋa ?x ?
vi?
?em
{Banning (place name)} LOC ABL
NOM
PL
'ones who are from Banning.'
|
- Ordering
muluk(u)vi?
muluk(u) ?
vi?
first
NOM
'one who is first.'
|
Declension
[
edit
]
There are three major forms of
declension
in Ivilyuat: oriented relationship,
diminutive
(DIM) and special marking.
The suffix '-ka(t)' indicated an oriented relationship which is used most notably in kinship terms, '-mal'/'-mal?'/'-ma' marks the diminutive and '-(V)k(t)' indicates someone or something that is marked in a special or notable way.
- Oriented Relationship
peynesik
pe? y? nesi ?
k
O- P2- STEM -
SUFF
3SG 3SG niece
ORIENT.REL
'She (is) who is related to her, the niece.'
|
- Diminutive
wayi?malem
wayi? ?
mal
?em
{bowl of clay}
DIM
PL
'(diminutive) bowls of clay'
|
- Special Marking
hennaqak
hen? naqa ?
k
P2- STEM -
SUFF
3PL ears
SPEC.MARK
'I am one who is marked with regard to their (e.g. big) ears.'
|
Verbs and verb phrases
[
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]
Ivilyuat verbs show agreement with both their subject and object. Person agreement, of which there are three, is shown by prefixes and number agreement, of which there are two, is shown by suffixes. Additionally, verbs take both inflectional and derivational affixes, where derivational are formed in the root. As such, an inflectional affix can follow a derivational affix, but a derivational affix can never follow an inflectional one. To be classed as a verb, the word must include both a subject prefix and at least one non-personal inflectional affix; transitive verbs must include also an object prefix.
Within verbs of the Desert dialect, tense plays almost no role, expressing past on nouns and noun phrases with the suffix
-?a
. Kinship terms, though, are excluded and use a form roughly translated to be 'past existence of kinsperson.' However, while
tense
plays little role within the verb phrase,
aspect
and
mode
are present throughout.
- Aspect
- Status
(actuality of event)
- + Realized
- ? Realized
- Possible
(mode)
- Expected
(mode)
- Desired
(mode)
- Perspective
Inflection
[
edit
]
Every verb must take both -2 (subject) and at least on inflectional affix from -1 or +1 alongside the necessary stem. -1 and +1 are incompatible as is -4 and -1, as -4 only occurs in combination with +1's
-nem
.
Inflection Positioning
?4
|
?3
|
?2
|
?1
|
STEM
|
+1
|
?ax-
expect., absol.
(
pros
)
|
ne-
Obj. 1sing.
|
ne-
Subj. 1sing.
|
pe
2
-
localis
|
|
-?i
realized, absol.
(
perf
)
|
Ø
expect., non-absol.
|
?e-
2 sing.
|
?e-
2 sing.
|
|
|
-Ø
non-realized, non-absol.
|
|
pe-
3 sing.
|
Ø-
3 sing.
|
|
|
-nem
expect.
|
|
?eme-
1 plur.
|
?em-
1 plur.
|
|
|
-pulu
possib.
(
sjv
)
|
|
?eme-
2 plur.
|
?em-
2 plur.
|
|
|
-e
injunctive, absol., sing.
(
imp
)
|
|
me-
3 plur.
|
hem-
3 plur.
|
|
|
-am
injunctive, absol., plur.
(
imp
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
-na
injunctive, non-absol.
(
inj
)
|
|
tax-
reflex.
/indef.
|
|
|
|
-ve
subordin., realized
|
|
|
|
|
|
-pi
subordin., non-realized
|
|
|
|
|
|
-nuk
subordin.,
gerundial
|
|
|
|
|
|
-pa
subord., when
|
Derivation
[
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]
Derivation within the verb phrase takes on a variety of characteristics. Derivational affixes can be classified into one of two categories: endocentric and exocentric, where endocentrically deriving affixes occur about twice as often as exocentric ones. The difference is established upon the change in distribution class which can take the form of a derivation of a verbal stem from a nominal basis or a transitive stem from an intransitive one.
Derivational Positioning
|
?1
|
ROOT
|
+1
|
+2
|
position
shiftable
|
+3
|
+4
|
+5
|
Endo.
|
yu-
|
|
-vi-
-lu-
|
-ni-
caus
|
-max-
|
-wen
|
|
|
Exo.
|
?e-
pe
3
-
(ke-)
vuk-
|
'distrib.':
redupl.
variant
|
'distrib.':
suff.
variant
|
|
|
-puli-
-ŋi-
-i?i-
-vaneken
-ikaw-
-vi?u-
|
-law-
|
-qal
|
|
Definition Divergence
Affix
|
-max-
'benefactive'
ben
|
-wen-
'state'
|
-puli-
'goal-oriented movement'
|
-ŋi-
'do sth. surpisingly'
'do sth. all ver the place'
|
-i?i-
'do sth. on one's way'
|
-ikaw-
'do sth. in different places'
|
-qal-
'durative'
dur
|
Root
|
-max-
'to give'
|
-wen-
'to be placed'
|
-puli-
'to fall'
|
-ŋii-
'to return'
|
-hi?i-
'to go'
|
-yekaw-
'to collect'
|
-qal-
'to lie'
|
|
Syntax
[
edit
]
Although Ivilyuat employs a relatively free word order, its underlying classification is that of a
subject?object?verb
(or SOV) language. Its verbs show heavy agreement, indicating the subject and object even when not overtly present, and the subject and object may appear after the verb, highlighting specific usage.
Classifiers
[
edit
]
Ivilyuat contains about a dozen or so
classifiers
notably indicating the type of noun being modified or possessed. Classifiers cover nouns ranging from general, inanimate items
-?a
in
ne-m-exam-?a
'it (is) my thing' lit., 'it (is) somehow doing this way,' to trees, plants, fruits, meats, animals and
moieties
.
General
|
Trees, plants and their fruits
- ki?iw?a
- ?ay?a
- ?i?a
- wes?a
- sex?a
|
Kinds of meats
|
Animals
|
Moieties
|
For all non-animate nouns, the general classifier
-?a
is used, otherwise classifiers distinguish the nouns themselves. For trees, plants and their fruits, there are five classifiers.
ki?iw?a
is used for trees and certain plants/fruits found in a naturally occurring group, and this is used to help denote legal claims as members of certain lineages had grouping-specific sites of harvest. The word derives from the verb stem 'to wait' as visible:
pe-n-ki?iw-qal
'I am waiting for it' ...
ne-ki?iw-?a
'It (is) my waiting' i.e., 'It is the thing that I am waiting for' or 'It is my claim.' Generally,
pinyons
,
mesquites
and oaks factor into this usage.
?ay?a
is used for fresh fruit and blossoms picked from trees and stems from the verb 'to pluck' or 'to pick' (
pe-n-?ay-?a
'I am plucking or picking it' ...
ne-?ay-?a
'It (is) my plucking or picking'). Individual beans or acorns are not compatible with this classifier.
?i?a
is used to describe picking up edible items after they have fallen to the ground such as mesquite beans, acorns, black beans and possibly corn.
wes?a
applies to plants and their fruits which have been planted (in a row) by individuals. Plants such as corn, watermelon, cacti, wheat and palm trees fall under this classifier. Finally,
sex?a
indicates food items that are being or have been cooked such as black beans, corn or jerked meat.
Other classifiers include kinds of meat, animals and moieties. Meat breaks down into
wa?
/
wawa
,
?axni
and
teneq
(roasted, melted and barbecued, respectively). The most important classifier for animals is the relation to animals as pets, expressed with
?a?
, which includes horses (
pasukat
), cottontail rabbits (
tavut
), turtles (
?ayil?
), coyotes (
?isil?
), bears (
hunwet
), snakes (
sewet
), fish (
kiyul
) and eagles (
?aswet
) amongst others; however, this does not include wild cat (
tukut
). Finally, ?ivil?uwenetem were broken down into two moieties: ?isil? (coyote) and tukut (wildcat) where individuals needed to marry outside of their moiety, i.e. a Wildcat man must marry a Coyote woman and vice versa. This was expressed using
kil?iw
(
ne-kil?iw
'my partner' or
tukut
/
?isil? ne-kil?iw
'my partner, the wildcat/coyote').
Demonstratives
[
edit
]
Ivilyuat uses a single demonstrative
?i(?)
("this/that") that takes the form
?i
before
sonorants
and
?i?
elsewhere.
It can be modified with
deictic
markers meaning local or distant/remote.
|
Proximal
|
Distal
|
|
simple
|
complex
|
simple
|
complex
|
sing. subj.
|
?et
|
?evat
|
pe?
|
pevat
|
sing. obj.
|
?etiy
|
?evatiy
|
pe?iy
|
pevatiy
|
plur. subj.
|
?etem
|
?evatem
|
pe?em
|
pevatem
|
plur. obj.
|
?etemi
|
?evatemi
|
pe?emi
|
pevatemi
|
The complex and simple forms have no difference in perceived meaning according to Seiler. The inflection agrees with the sentence itself where the deictic marker co-ordinates with the subject or verb such as in "?i? pe? menil?" meaning "this over there, the moon," as
pe?
is inflected to mark the singular subject
menil?
. Additionally, there are
clitic
forms of this marker:
pe
,
pee
and
pey
.
Vocabulary
[
edit
]
Word origins
[
edit
]
A vast majority of Ivilyuat words come from Uto-Aztecan roots and there is a large shared vocabulary between neighbouring languages such as
Luiseno
or
Serrano
. Due to language contact, however, many Spanish words have been adopted into the language, such as
mays
('corn') or
?avugaadu?
('lawyer') from Spanish
maiz
and
abogado
, respectively. Conversely, Ivilyuat has taken little to no English loan words.
Kinship terms
[
edit
]
Ivilyuat can either express kinship terms relationally or through an establishing expression.
- Relational
nesi
nesi
STEM
sister's daughter
Ø? Ø? nesi
P2- P1- STEM
{} {} {sister's daughter}
She (is) her niece (sister's daughter).
|
- Establishing
peynesik
?k
-
SUFF
.
ORIENT.REL
related to
pe? y? nesi ?k
O- P2- STEM -SUFF.
ORIENT.REL
her she niece {related to}
She is related to her [who is] the niece.
|
Numerals
[
edit
]
Ivilyuat uses a base-ten system with unique words for 'five' and 'ten.'
Basic sample vocabulary and language comparison
[
edit
]
English
|
Ivilyuat
[5]
[10]
|
Cupeno
[11]
|
Luiseno
[12]
|
Gabrielino/Tongva
[13]
|
Juaneno
[14]
|
Serrano
[15]
|
one
|
supl?e
|
suplawut
|
supul
|
pukuu?
|
supul
|
howpk
|
two
|
wih
|
wi
|
weh
|
wehee?
|
wex
|
werh
|
three
|
pah
|
pa
|
paahay
|
pahee?
|
paahay
|
paahi?
|
four
|
wi?iw
|
wichu
|
wasa
|
watsaa?
|
wasa
|
wacha
|
five
|
namek?anaŋ
|
numaqananax
|
mahaar
|
mahaar
|
mahaar
|
maharc
|
man
|
naxani?
|
naxanis
|
ya?a?
|
kworooyt
|
ye?ich
|
wecershc
|
woman
|
ni?il?
|
muwikut
|
?ungaal
|
tokoor
|
shongwaala
|
neerht
|
sun
|
tamit
|
tamyut
|
timet
|
taamit
|
temet
|
taamit
|
moon
|
menil?
|
munil
|
mooyla
|
muwaar
|
moyla
|
muac
|
water
|
pal
|
pal
|
paala
|
paara?
|
paal
|
pat
|
Place names
[
edit
]
Few place names within Cahuilla remained the same over the years with English or Spanish names taking over. Here are several examples:
Writing systems
[
edit
]
Cahuilla has been and, to an extent, still is an unwritten language. Between IPA and
NAPA
, there are ways to write the language down, but there is no agreed-upon script used Nationwide. That being said, the most employed orthography is that of a modified NAPA found in Seiler and Hioki's "Cahuilla Dictionary". The alphabet has 35 letters with an accent (either
⟨´⟩
or
⟨`⟩
) over vowels denoting stress patterns. Words that begin in a vowel can be written without the glottal stop (
⟨? ?⟩
), but the sound is still present.
Cahuilla Alphabet
|
a
|
aa
|
b
|
?
|
d
|
e
|
ee
|
g
|
h
|
i
|
ii
|
k
|
k?
|
l
|
l?
|
m
|
n
|
n
|
ŋ
|
o
|
oo
|
p
|
q
|
r
|
s
|
?
|
t
|
u
|
uu
|
v
|
w
|
x
|
x?
|
y
|
?
|
IPA notation
[
edit
]
Consonants
Letter
|
Pronunciation
|
b
|
b
|
?
|
t??
|
d
|
ð
|
g
|
?
|
h
|
h
|
k
|
k
|
k?
|
k?
|
l
|
l
|
l?
|
?
|
m
|
m
|
n
|
n
|
n
|
?
|
ŋ
|
ŋ
|
p
|
p
|
q
|
q
|
r
|
?
|
s
|
s
|
?
|
?
|
t
|
t
|
v
|
v
|
w
|
w
|
x
|
x
|
x?
|
x?
|
y
|
j
|
?
|
?
|
|
Vowels
Letter
|
Pronunciation
|
a
|
a
?
|
aa
|
?ː
|
e
|
e
?
æ
|
ee
|
?ː
|
i
|
i
?
|
ii
|
?ː
|
o
|
o
|
oo
|
oː
|
u
|
u
?
|
uu
|
?ː
|
|
|
Use and revitalization efforts
[
edit
]
Alvin Siva of the
Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians
, a fluent speaker, died on June 26, 2009. He preserved the tribe's traditional bird songs, sung in the Cahuilla language, by teaching them to younger generations of Cahuilla people.
[16]
Katherine Siva Saubel
(b. 1920 - d. 2011) was a native Cahuilla speaker dedicated to preserving the language.
[17]
In April 2014, the
University of California, Riverside
offered free public workshops in the Cahuilla language, later making a full four-class course in the language available to undergraduates and members of the Cahuilla tribal community beginning in the fall of 2020.
[18]
[1]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Baltazar-Martinez, Sandra (2020-09-18).
"UCR offers the first Cahuilla language course in UC system"
.
University of California, Riverside Highlander
. Retrieved
2020-09-25
.
- ^
Cahuilla
at
Ethnologue
(23rd ed., 2020)
- ^
"Cahuilla."
Ethnologue Report for the Language Code: chl.
(retrieved 13 Dec 2009)
- ^
"Cahuilla Indian Language (Iviatim)."
Native Languages of the Americas.
2009 (retrieved 13 Dec 2009)
- ^
a
b
Sieler, Hansjakob; Hioki, Kojiro (1979).
Cahuilla Dictionary
. Morango Indian Reservation, Banning, CA: Malki Museum Press.
- ^
Shipley, William F. (1978). "Native Languages of California". In R.F. Heizer (ed.).
Handbook of North American Indians
. Vol. 8, California. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution. pp. 80?90.
- ^
"Cahuilla"
. Limu Project. Archived from
the original
on 18 September 2015
. Retrieved
12 March
2016
.
- ^
a
b
Sieler, Hansjakob (1977).
Cahuilla Grammar
. Morango Indian Reservation, Banning, CA: Malki Museum Press.
- ^
Hill, Jane H. (2003).
Formal Approaches to Function in Grammar: In honor of Eloise Jelinek
. John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp. 207?227.
ISBN
9789027227850
.
- ^
"Vocabulary Words in Native American Languages: Cahuilla."
Native Languages of the Americas.
2009 (retrieved 8 March 2016)
- ^
"Vocabulary Words in Native American Languages: Cupeno."
Native Languages of the Americas.
2009 (retrieved 8 March 2016)
- ^
"Vocabulary Words in Native American Languages: Luiseno."
Native Languages of the Americas.
2009 (retrieved 8 March 2016)
- ^
"Vocabulary Words in Native American Languages: Gabrielino/Tongva."
Native Languages of the Americas.
2009 (retrieved 8 March 2016)
- ^
"Vocabulary Words in Native American Languages: Juaneno."
Native Languages of the Americas.
2009 (retrieved 8 March 2016)
- ^
"Vocabulary Words in Native American Languages: Serrano."
Native Languages of the Americas.
2009 (retrieved 8 March 2016)
- ^
Waldner, Erin.
news/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_E_eobit10.4511347.html "Cahuilla elder, one of last fluent in language, dies."
[
permanent dead link
]
The Press-Enterprise
. 9 July 2009 (retrieved 13 Dec 2009)
- ^
Elaine Woo (2011-11-06).
"Katherine Siva Saubel obituary: Preserver of Cahuilla Indian culture dies at 91"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
2012-12-02
.
- ^
Victoria, Anthony (2014-04-15).
"UCR to offer free workshops on endangered Native American language"
.
University of California, Riverside Highlander
. Retrieved
2014-04-21
.
- Saubel, Katherine Siva
,
Pamela Munro
,
Chem'ivillu' (Let's Speak Cahuilla)
, Los Angeles, American Indian Studies Center, University of California, 1982.
- Seiler, Hansjakob,
Cahuilla Texts with an Introduction
, Bloomington, Language Science Monographs, Indiana University Press, 1970.
- Seiler, Hansjakob,
Cahuilla Grammar
, Banning, Malki Museum Press, 1977.
- Seiler, Hansjakob, Kojiro Hioki,
Cahuilla Dictionary
, Banning, Malki Museum press, 1979.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Italics
indicate extinct languages
|
Indigenous
| |
---|
Non-Indigenous
| |
---|
|
|
---|
Languages in
italics
are extinct.
|
English
| |
---|
Oral Indigenous
languages
| Families
| |
---|
Others
| Isolates
| |
---|
Mixed or trade
Languages
| |
---|
|
---|
|
---|
Manual Indigenous
languages
| Hand Talk
|
- Anishinaabe Sign Language
- Blackfoot Sign Language
- Cheyenne Sign Language
- Cree Sign Language
- Navajo Sign Language
|
---|
Isolates
| |
---|
|
---|
Oral settler
languages
| |
---|
Manual settler
languages
| |
---|
Immigrant languages
(number of speakers
in 2021 in millions)
| |
---|