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Nez Perce language

April 19, 2023

Nez Perce, also spelled Nez Percé or called nimipuutímt (alternatively spelled nimiipuutímt, niimiipuutímt, or niimi'ipuutímt), is a Sahaptian language related to the several dialects of Sahaptin (note the spellings -ian vs. -in). 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.[3] This misnomer may have occurred as a result of confusion on the part of the French, as it was surrounding tribes who did so.[3]

Nez Perce
niimiipuutímt
Native toUnited States
RegionIdaho
Ethnicity610 Nez Perce people (2000 census)[1]
Native speakers
20 (2007)[2]
Language codes
ISO 639-3nez
Glottolognezp1238
ELPNez Perce
Pre-contact distribution of Plateau Penutian languages

The Sahaptian sub-family is one of the branches of the Plateau Penutian family (which, in turn, may be related to a larger Penutian grouping). It is spoken by the Nez Perce people of the Northwestern United States.

Nez Perce is a highly endangered language. While sources differ on the exact number of fluent speakers, it is almost definitely under 100. The Nez Perce tribe is endeavoring to reintroduce the language into native usage through a language revitalization program, but (as of 2015) the future of the Nez Perce language is far from assured.[4]

Phonology

The phonology of Nez Perce includes vowel harmony (which was mentioned in Noam Chomsky & Morris Halle's The Sound Pattern of English), as well as a complex stress system described by Crook (1999).

Consonants

The sounds kʷ, kʼʷ, qʷ, qʼʷ and ʃ only occur in the Downriver dialect.[5]

Vowels

Nez Perce has an average-sized inventory of five vowels, each marked for length. Unusually for a five-vowel system, however, it lacks a mid front vowel /e/, with low front /æ/ in its place. Such an asymmetrical configuration is found in less than five percent of the languages that distinguish exactly five vowels, and among those that do display an asymmetry, the "missing" vowel is overwhelmingly more likely to be a back vowel /u/ or /o/ than front /e/. Indeed, Nez Perce's lack of a mid front vowel within a five-vowel system appears unique, and contrary to basic tendencies toward triangularity in the allocation of vowel space. A potential reason for this peculiarity is discussed in the section on vowel harmony below.

Vowel phonemes of Nez Perce[5]
Front Central Back
High i iː u uː
Mid o oː
Low æ æː ⟨e ee⟩ a aː

Stress is marked with an acute accent (á, é, í, ó, ú).

Diphthongs

Nez Perce distinguishes seven diphthongs, all with phonemic length:

Front Central Back
High (level) iu̯ iːu̯ ui̯ uːi̯
Mid (rising) oi̯ oːi̯
Low (rising) æu̯ æːu̯ æi̯ æːi̯ au̯ aːu̯ ai̯ aːi̯

Vowel harmony

Nez Perce displays an extensive system of vowel harmony. Vowel qualities are divided into two opposing sets, "dominant" /i a o/ and "recessive" /i æ u/. The presence of a dominant vowel causes all recessive vowels within the same phonological word to assimilate to their dominant counterpart; hence /tsǽːqæt/ cé·qet "raspberry" becomes /tsáːqat'ajn/ cá·qat'ayn "for a raspberry" with the addition of the dominant-marked suffix /-ʔajn/.[6] With very few exceptions, therefore, phonological words may contain only vowels of the dominant or recessive set. Despite occurring in both sets, /i/ is not neutral; instead, it is either dominant or recessive depending on the morpheme in which it occurs.

This system presents a challenge to common concepts of vowel harmony, since it does not appear to be based on obvious considerations of backness, height, or tongue root position. To account for this, Katherine Nelson (2013) proposes that the two sets be considered as distinct "triangles" of vowel space, each by themselves maximally dispersed, where the recessive set is somewhat retracted (further back) in comparison to the dominant:

Recessive → dominant Front Central Back
High i (→ i) u → o
Low æ → a

This dual system would simultaneously explain two apparent phonological aberrances: the absence of a mid front vowel /e/, and the fact that phonemic /i/ can be marked either as dominant or recessive. Since the three vowels of a given set are placed with regard to the other vowels of the same set, the low height of the front vowel /æ/ appears natural (that is, maximally dispersed) against its high counterparts /i u/, as in a three-vowel system such as those of Arabic and Quechua. The high front vowel /i/ meanwhile, is retracted much less in the transition from recessive to dominant - little enough that the distinction does not surface phonemically - and therefore can be placed near to the crux around which the triangle of vowel space is "tilted" by retraction.[7]

Syllable structure

The Nez Perce syllable canon is CV(ː)(C)(C)(C)(C); that is, a mandatory consonant-vowel sequence with optional vowel length, followed by up to four coda consonants. The arrangement of permitted coda clusters is summarized in the following table, where segments in each column can follow those to their right (C' represents any glottalized consonant), except when the same consonant would occur twice:

C1 V(ː) C2 C3 C4 C5 Example
(Any consonant) (Any vowel) NOT (k, q, h, C') téhes "ice"
NOT (ɬ, C') NOT (k, q, h, C') só·ts "deep water"
NOT (p, t, k, q, C') p, t, c, q, x, y t, c, s, x lílps "mushroom sp."
p, ʔ, h, x t, c, n, y, w, s p, k, s, x, q t, c, s t̓úxsks "I smashed with hand"

Writing system

Nez Perce alphabet (Colville Confederated Tribes)[8]
a a· c c’ e é· h i í· k k’ l l’ ł ƛ m m’ n n’ o
ó· p p’ q q’ s t t’ u ú· w w’ x x̂ y y’ ʔ

Grammar

 
Nez Perce chiefs

As in many other indigenous languages of the Americas, a Nez Perce verb can have the meaning of an entire sentence in English. This manner of providing a great deal of information in one word is called polysynthesis. Verbal affixes provide information about the person and number of the subject and object, as well as tense and aspect (e.g. whether or not an action has been completed).

ʔaw̓líwaaʔinpqawtaca

ʔew

1/2-3.OBJ

-

-

ʔilíw

fire

-

-

wee

fly

-

-

ʔinipí

grab

-

-

qaw

straight.through

-

-

tée

go.away

-

-

ce

IMPERF.PRES.SG

ʔew - ʔilíw - wee - ʔinipí - qaw - tée - ce

1/2-3.OBJ - fire - fly - grab - straight.through - go.away - IMPERF.PRES.SG

'I go to scoop him up in the fire' (Cash Cash 2004:24)

hitw̓alapáyna

hi

3.SUBJ

-

-

tiw̓ele

in.rain

-

-

pááy

come

-

-

e

PAST

hi - tiw̓ele - pááy - e

3.SUBJ - in.rain - come - PAST

'He arrived in the rain' (Aoki 1979)

History

Asa Bowen Smith developed the Nez Perce grammar by adapting the missionary alphabet used in Hawaiian missions, and adding the consonants s and t.[9] In 1840, Asa Bowen Smith wrote the manuscript for the book Grammar of the Language of the Nez Perces Indians Formerly of Oregon, U.S..[10] The grammar of Nez Perce has been described in a grammar (Aoki 1973) and a dictionary (Aoki 1994) with two dissertations (Rude 1985; Crook 1999).

Case

In Nez Perce, the subject of a sentence, and the object when there is one, can each be marked for grammatical case, an affix that shows the function of the word (compare to English he vs. him vs. his). Nez Perce employs a three-way case-marking strategy: a transitive subject, a transitive object, and an intransitive subject are each marked differently. Nez Perce is thus an example of the very rare type of tripartite languages (see morphosyntactic alignment).

Because of this case marking, the word order can be quite free. A specific word order tells the hearer what is new information (focus) versus old information (topic), but it does not mark the subject and the object (in English, word order is fixed — subject–verb–object).

Nouns in Nez Perce are marked based on how they relate to the transitivity of the verb. Subjects in a sentence with a transitive verb take the ergative suffix -nim, objects in a sentence with a transitive verb take the accusative suffix -ne, and subjects in sentences with an intransitive verb don’t take a suffix.

Ergative Accusative Intransitive subject
suffix -nim suffix -ne
(here subject to vowel harmony, resulting in surface form -na)

ᶍáᶍaas-nim

grizzly-ERG

hitwekǘxce

he.is.chasing

ᶍáᶍaas-nim hitwekǘxce

grizzly-ERG he.is.chasing

‘Grizzly is chasing me’

ʔóykalo-m

all-ERG

titóoqan-m

people-ERG

páaqaʔancix

they.respect.him

ᶍáᶍaas-na

grizzly-ACC

ʔóykalo-m titóoqan-m páaqaʔancix ᶍáᶍaas-na

all-ERG people-ERG they.respect.him grizzly-ACC

‘All people respect Grizzly’

ᶍáᶍaac

grizzly

hiwéhyem

has.come

ᶍáᶍaac hiwéhyem

grizzly has.come

‘Grizzly has come’ (Mithun 1999)

This system of marking allows for flexible word order in Nez Perce:

Verb–subject–object word order

kii

this

pée-ten’we-m-e

3→3-talk-CSL-PAST

qíiw-ne

old.man-OBJ

’iceyéeye-nm

coyote-ERG

kii pée-ten’we-m-e qíiw-ne ’iceyéeye-nm

this 3→3-talk-CSL-PAST old.man-OBJ coyote-ERG

‘Now the coyote talked to the old man’

Subject–verb–object word order

Kaa

and

háatya-nm

wind-ERG

páa-’nahna-m-a

3→3-carry-CSL-PAST

’iceyéeye-ne

coyote-OBJ

Kaa háatya-nm páa-’nahna-m-a ’iceyéeye-ne

and wind-ERG 3→3-carry-CSL-PAST coyote-OBJ

‘And the wind carried coyote here’

Subject–object–verb word order

Kawó’

then

kii

this

háama-pim

husband-ERG

’áayato-na

woman-OBJ

pée-’nehnen-e

3→3-take.away-PAST

Kawó’ kii háama-pim ’áayato-na pée-’nehnen-e

then this husband-ERG woman-OBJ 3→3-take.away-PAST

‘Now then the husband took the woman away’ (Rude 1992).

References

  1. ^ Nez Perce language at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ "UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in danger". www.unesco.org. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  3. ^ a b "Facts for Kids: Nez Perce Indians (Nez Perces)". www.bigorrin.org. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
  4. ^ "Nimi'ipuu Language Teaching and Family Learning". NILI Projects. Retrieved 2017-08-10.
  5. ^ a b c Haruo, Aoki (1994). Nez Perce Dictionary. ISBN 9780520097636.
  6. ^ Aoki, Haruo (December 1966). "Nez Perce Vowel Harmony and Proto-Sahaptian Vowels". Language. 42 (4): 759–767. doi:10.2307/411831. JSTOR 411831.
  7. ^ Nelson, Katherine (June 2013). "The Nez Perce vowel system: A phonetic analysis". Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics. 19: 060249. doi:10.1121/1.4800241.
  8. ^ "Phonetic Alphabet". Colville Tribes Language Program.
  9. ^ "Nez Perce National Historical Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
  10. ^ Smith, Asa Bowen; Tingley, Sylvanus (1840). Grammar of the Language of the Nez Perces Indians Formerly of Oregon, U.S.: From the manuscript of Rev. A.B. Smith dated Sept. 28, 1840. Now in archives of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Boston, Mass. Volume 138. WorldCat. OCLC 39088111. Retrieved 2021-11-04.

Bibliography

  • Aoki, Haruo (1994). Nez Perce Dictionary. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-09763-6.
  • Aoki, Haruo (1973). Nez Perce Grammar. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-02524-0.
  • Aoki, Haruo. (1979). Nez Perce texts. University of California publications in linguistics (Vol. 90). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-09593-6., 2, 3
  • Aoki, Haruo; & Whitman, Carmen. (1989). Titwáatit: (Nez Perce Stories). Anchorage: National Bilingual Materials Development Center, University of Alaska. ISBN 0-520-09593-6. (Material originally published in Aoki 1979).
  • Aoki, Haruo; & Walker, Deward E., Jr. (1989). Nez Perce oral narratives. University of California publications in linguistics (Vol. 104). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-09593-6.
  • Cash Cash, Phillip. (2004). Nez Perce verb morphology. (Unpublished manuscript, University of Arizona, Tucson).
  • Crook, Harold D. (1999). The phonology and morphology of Nez Perce stress. (Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles).
  • Mithun, Marianne. (1999). The languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23228-7 (hbk); ISBN 0-521-29875-X.
  • Rude, Noel E. (1985). Studies in Nez Perce grammar and discourse. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Oregon).
  • Rude, Noel. (1992). Word Order and Topicality in Nez Perce. Pragmatics of Word Order Flexibility, viii, 193-208. John Benjamins Publishing.

Vowel harmony

  • Aoki, Haruo (1966). "Nez Perce vowel harmony and proto-Sahaptian vowels". Language. 42 (4): 759–767. doi:10.2307/411831. JSTOR 411831.
  • Aoki, Haruo (1968). "Toward a typology of vowel harmony". International Journal of American Linguistics. 34 (2): 142–145. doi:10.1086/465006. S2CID 143700904.
  • Chomsky, Noam; & Halle, Morris. (1968). Sound pattern of English (pp. 377–378). Studies in language. New York: Harper & Row.
  • Hall, Beatrice L.; & Hall, R. M. R. (1980). Nez Perce vowel harmony: An Africanist explanation and some theoretical consequences. In R. M. Vago (Ed.), Issues in vowel harmony (pp. 201–236). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
  • Jacobsen, William (1968). "On the prehistory of Nez Perce vowel harmony". Language. 44 (4): 819–829. doi:10.2307/411901. JSTOR 411901.
  • Kim, Chin (1978). 'Diagonal' vowel harmony?: Some implications for historical phonology. In J. Fisiak (Ed.), Recent developments in historical phonology (pp. 221–236). The Hague: Mouton.
  • Lightner, Theodore (1965). "On the description of vowel and consonant harmony". Word. 21 (2): 244–250. doi:10.1080/00437956.1965.11435427.
  • Rigsby, Bruce (1965). "Continuity and change in Sahaptian vowel systems". International Journal of American Linguistics. 31 (4): 306–311. doi:10.1086/464860. S2CID 144876511.
  • Rigsby, Bruce; Silverstein, Michael (1969). "Nez Perce vowels and proto-Sahaptian vowel harmony". Language. 45 (1): 45–59. doi:10.2307/411752. JSTOR 411752.
  • Zimmer, Karl (1967). "A note on vowel harmony". International Journal of American Linguistics. 33 (2): 166–171. doi:10.1086/464954. S2CID 144825775.
  • Zwicky, Arnold (1971). "More on Nez Perce: On alternative analyses". International Journal of American Linguistics. 37 (2): 122–126. doi:10.1086/465146. hdl:1811/85957. S2CID 96455877.

Language learning materials

Dictionaries and vocabulary

  • Aoki, Haruo. (1994). Nez Perce dictionary. University of California publications in linguistics (Vol. 112). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-09763-7.
  • "Nez Perce Literature and vocabulary". Indigenous Peoples' Literature. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  • McBeth, Sue. "Nez Perce-English Dictionary samples". Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  • "Nez Perce-English Vocabulary" (PDF). Nez Perce National Historical Park. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  • Morvillo, Anthony (1895). A Dictionary of the Numípu Or Nez Perce Language. St. Ignatius' Mission Print, Montana. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  • "Nez Perce Language and the Nez Perce Indian Tribe (Nimipu, Nee-me-poo, Chopunnish, Sahaptin)". native-languages.org. Retrieved 2013-09-21.

Grammar

  • Aoki, Haruo. (1965). Nez Perce grammar. University of California, Berkeley.
  • Aoki, Haruo. (1970). Nez Perce grammar. University of California publications in linguistics (Vol. 62). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-09259-7. (Reprinted 1973, California Library Reprint series).
  • Missionary in the Society of Jesus in the Rocky Mountains. A Numipu or Nez-Perce grammar. Desmet, Idaho: Indian Boys' Press. Retrieved 2013-09-21.

Texts and courses

  • . Archived from the original on 2013-09-23. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  • Aoki, Haruo. (1979). Nez Perce texts. University of California publications in linguistics (Vol. 90). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-09593-6., 2, 3
  • Aoki, Haruo; & Whitman, Carmen. (1989). Titwáatit: (Nez Perce Stories). Anchorage: National Bilingual Materials Development Center, University of Alaska. ISBN 0-520-09593-6. (Material originally published in Aoki 1979).
  • "Nez Perce Language Courses" (Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and American Indian Studies Program, University of Idaho). Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  • Rockliff, J. A. (1915). "The Life of Jesus Christ from the Four Gospels in the Nez Perce Language". Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  • "Nez Perce language - Audio Bible stories and lessons". Global Recordings Network. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  • "Nez Perce Language Courses" (Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and American Indian Studies Program, University of Idaho). Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  • "Nez Perce Literature and vocabulary". Indigenous Peoples' Literature. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  • Watters, Mari. (1990). Nez Perce tapes and texts. [5 audio cassettes & 1 booklet]. Moscow, Idaho: Mari Watters Productions, Upward Bound, College of Education, University of Idaho.

External links

  • "Haruo Aoki Papers on the Nez Perce Language". California Language Archive. Retrieved 2013-09-22.
  • Nez Perce language videos, YouTube
  • Phillip Cash Cash website (Nez Perce researcher)
    • Nez Perce sounds
    • Joseph Red Thunder: Speech of August 6, 1989 at the Big Hole National Battlefield Commemorating our Nez Perce Ancestors (has audio)
    • Hinmatóowyalahtq'it: Speech of 1877 as retold by Jonah Hayes (ca. 1907)[permanent dead link] (.mov)
    • Fox narrative animation (.swf)
    • Nez Perce Verb Morphology (.pdf)
    • (.pdf)
    • Tɨmnákni Tímat (Writing from the Heart): Sahaptin Discourse and Text in the Speaker Writing of X̣ílux̣in (.pdf)
  • A map of American languages (TITUS project)
  • Nez Percé at the Rosetta Project
  • OLAC resources in and about the Nez Perce language

April 19, 2023
perce, language, perce, also, spelled, percé, called, nimipuutímt, alternatively, spelled, nimiipuutímt, niimiipuutímt, niimi, ipuutímt, sahaptian, language, related, several, dialects, sahaptin, note, spellings, perce, comes, from, french, phrase, percé, pier. Nez Perce also spelled Nez Perce or called nimipuutimt alternatively spelled nimiipuutimt niimiipuutimt or niimi ipuutimt is a Sahaptian language related to the several dialects of Sahaptin note the spellings ian vs in Nez Perce comes from the French phrase nez perce pierced nose however Nez Perce who call themselves nimiipuu meaning the people did not pierce their noses 3 This misnomer may have occurred as a result of confusion on the part of the French as it was surrounding tribes who did so 3 Nez PerceniimiipuutimtNative toUnited StatesRegionIdahoEthnicity610 Nez Perce people 2000 census 1 Native speakers20 2007 2 Language familyPlateau Penutian SahaptianNez PerceLanguage codesISO 639 3 a href https iso639 3 sil org code nez class extiw title iso639 3 nez nez a Glottolognezp1238ELPNez PercePre contact distribution of Plateau Penutian languages The Sahaptian sub family is one of the branches of the Plateau Penutian family which in turn may be related to a larger Penutian grouping It is spoken by the Nez Perce people of the Northwestern United States Nez Perce is a highly endangered language While sources differ on the exact number of fluent speakers it is almost definitely under 100 The Nez Perce tribe is endeavoring to reintroduce the language into native usage through a language revitalization program but as of 2015 the future of the Nez Perce language is far from assured 4 Contents 1 Phonology 1 1 Consonants 1 2 Vowels 1 2 1 Diphthongs 1 2 2 Vowel harmony 1 2 3 Syllable structure 2 Writing system 3 Grammar 3 1 History 3 2 Case 4 References 5 Bibliography 5 1 Vowel harmony 6 Language learning materials 6 1 Dictionaries and vocabulary 6 2 Grammar 6 3 Texts and courses 7 External linksPhonology EditThe phonology of Nez Perce includes vowel harmony which was mentioned in Noam Chomsky amp Morris Halle s The Sound Pattern of English as well as a complex stress system described by Crook 1999 Consonants Edit Consonant phonemes of Nez Perce 5 Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottalcentral sibilant lateral plain lab plain lab Plosive Affricate plain p t ts k kʷ q qʷ ʔejective pʼ tʼ tsʼ tɬʼ kʼ kʼʷ qʼ qʼʷ Fricative s ɬ ʃ x x hSonorant plain m n l j wglottalized mʼ nʼ lʼ jʼ wʼThe sounds kʷ kʼʷ qʷ qʼʷ and ʃ only occur in the Downriver dialect 5 Vowels Edit Nez Perce has an average sized inventory of five vowels each marked for length Unusually for a five vowel system however it lacks a mid front vowel e with low front ae in its place Such an asymmetrical configuration is found in less than five percent of the languages that distinguish exactly five vowels and among those that do display an asymmetry the missing vowel is overwhelmingly more likely to be a back vowel u or o than front e Indeed Nez Perce s lack of a mid front vowel within a five vowel system appears unique and contrary to basic tendencies toward triangularity in the allocation of vowel space A potential reason for this peculiarity is discussed in the section on vowel harmony below Vowel phonemes of Nez Perce 5 Front Central BackHigh i iː u uːMid o oːLow ae aeː e ee a aːStress is marked with an acute accent a e i o u Diphthongs Edit Nez Perce distinguishes seven diphthongs all with phonemic length Front Central BackHigh level iu iːu ui uːi Mid rising oi oːi Low rising aeu aeːu aei aeːi au aːu ai aːi Vowel harmony Edit Nez Perce displays an extensive system of vowel harmony Vowel qualities are divided into two opposing sets dominant i a o and recessive i ae u The presence of a dominant vowel causes all recessive vowels within the same phonological word to assimilate to their dominant counterpart hence tsǽːqaet ce qet raspberry becomes tsaːqat ajn ca qat ayn for a raspberry with the addition of the dominant marked suffix ʔajn 6 With very few exceptions therefore phonological words may contain only vowels of the dominant or recessive set Despite occurring in both sets i is not neutral instead it is either dominant or recessive depending on the morpheme in which it occurs This system presents a challenge to common concepts of vowel harmony since it does not appear to be based on obvious considerations of backness height or tongue root position To account for this Katherine Nelson 2013 proposes that the two sets be considered as distinct triangles of vowel space each by themselves maximally dispersed where the recessive set is somewhat retracted further back in comparison to the dominant Recessive dominant Front Central BackHigh i i u oLow ae aThis dual system would simultaneously explain two apparent phonological aberrances the absence of a mid front vowel e and the fact that phonemic i can be marked either as dominant or recessive Since the three vowels of a given set are placed with regard to the other vowels of the same set the low height of the front vowel ae appears natural that is maximally dispersed against its high counterparts i u as in a three vowel system such as those of Arabic and Quechua The high front vowel i meanwhile is retracted much less in the transition from recessive to dominant little enough that the distinction does not surface phonemically and therefore can be placed near to the crux around which the triangle of vowel space is tilted by retraction 7 Syllable structure Edit The Nez Perce syllable canon is CV ː C C C C that is a mandatory consonant vowel sequence with optional vowel length followed by up to four coda consonants The arrangement of permitted coda clusters is summarized in the following table where segments in each column can follow those to their right C represents any glottalized consonant except when the same consonant would occur twice C1 V ː C2 C3 C4 C5 Example Any consonant Any vowel NOT k q h C tehes ice NOT ɬ C NOT k q h C so ts deep water NOT p t k q C p t c q x y t c s x lilps mushroom sp p ʔ h x t c n y w s p k s x q t c s t uxsks I smashed with hand Writing system EditNez Perce alphabet Colville Confederated Tribes 8 a a c c e e h i i k k l l l ƛ m m n n oo p p q q s t t u u w w x x y y ʔGrammar Edit Nez Perce chiefs As in many other indigenous languages of the Americas a Nez Perce verb can have the meaning of an entire sentence in English This manner of providing a great deal of information in one word is called polysynthesis Verbal affixes provide information about the person and number of the subject and object as well as tense and aspect e g whether or not an action has been completed ʔaw liwaaʔinpqawtacaʔew1 2 3 OBJ ʔiliwfire weefly ʔinipigrab qawstraight through teego away ceIMPERF PRES SGʔew ʔiliw wee ʔinipi qaw tee ce1 2 3 OBJ fire fly grab straight through go away IMPERF PRES SG I go to scoop him up in the fire Cash Cash 2004 24 hitw alapaynahi3 SUBJ tiw elein rain paaycome ePASThi tiw ele paay e3 SUBJ in rain come PAST He arrived in the rain Aoki 1979 History Edit Asa Bowen Smith developed the Nez Perce grammar by adapting the missionary alphabet used in Hawaiian missions and adding the consonants s and t 9 In 1840 Asa Bowen Smith wrote the manuscript for the book Grammar of the Language of the Nez Perces Indians Formerly of Oregon U S 10 The grammar of Nez Perce has been described in a grammar Aoki 1973 and a dictionary Aoki 1994 with two dissertations Rude 1985 Crook 1999 Case Edit In Nez Perce the subject of a sentence and the object when there is one can each be marked for grammatical case an affix that shows the function of the word compare to English he vs him vs his Nez Perce employs a three way case marking strategy a transitive subject a transitive object and an intransitive subject are each marked differently Nez Perce is thus an example of the very rare type of tripartite languages see morphosyntactic alignment Because of this case marking the word order can be quite free A specific word order tells the hearer what is new information focus versus old information topic but it does not mark the subject and the object in English word order is fixed subject verb object Nouns in Nez Perce are marked based on how they relate to the transitivity of the verb Subjects in a sentence with a transitive verb take the ergative suffix nim objects in a sentence with a transitive verb take the accusative suffix ne and subjects in sentences with an intransitive verb don t take a suffix Ergative Accusative Intransitive subjectsuffix nim suffix ne here subject to vowel harmony resulting in surface form na ᶍaᶍaas nimgrizzly ERGhitwekǘxcehe is chasingᶍaᶍaas nim hitwekǘxcegrizzly ERG he is chasing Grizzly is chasing me ʔoykalo mall ERGtitooqan mpeople ERGpaaqaʔancixthey respect himᶍaᶍaas nagrizzly ACCʔoykalo m titooqan m paaqaʔancix ᶍaᶍaas naall ERG people ERG they respect him grizzly ACC All people respect Grizzly ᶍaᶍaacgrizzlyhiwehyemhas comeᶍaᶍaac hiwehyemgrizzly has come Grizzly has come Mithun 1999 This system of marking allows for flexible word order in Nez Perce Verb subject object word order kiithispee ten we m e3 3 talk CSL PASTqiiw neold man OBJ iceyeeye nmcoyote ERGkii pee ten we m e qiiw ne iceyeeye nmthis 3 3 talk CSL PAST old man OBJ coyote ERG Now the coyote talked to the old man Subject verb object word order Kaaandhaatya nmwind ERGpaa nahna m a3 3 carry CSL PAST iceyeeye necoyote OBJKaa haatya nm paa nahna m a iceyeeye neand wind ERG 3 3 carry CSL PAST coyote OBJ And the wind carried coyote here Subject object verb word order Kawo thenkiithishaama pimhusband ERG aayato nawoman OBJpee nehnen e3 3 take away PASTKawo kii haama pim aayato na pee nehnen ethen this husband ERG woman OBJ 3 3 take away PAST Now then the husband took the woman away Rude 1992 References Edit Nez Perce language at Ethnologue 18th ed 2015 subscription required UNESCO Atlas of the World s Languages in danger www unesco org Retrieved 2018 05 17 a b Facts for Kids Nez Perce Indians Nez Perces www bigorrin org Retrieved 2017 02 09 Nimi ipuu Language Teaching and Family Learning NILI Projects Retrieved 2017 08 10 a b c Haruo Aoki 1994 Nez Perce Dictionary ISBN 9780520097636 Aoki Haruo December 1966 Nez Perce Vowel Harmony and Proto Sahaptian Vowels Language 42 4 759 767 doi 10 2307 411831 JSTOR 411831 Nelson Katherine June 2013 The Nez Perce vowel system A phonetic analysis Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics 19 060249 doi 10 1121 1 4800241 Phonetic Alphabet Colville Tribes Language Program Nez Perce National Historical Park National Park Service Retrieved 2021 11 04 Smith Asa Bowen Tingley Sylvanus 1840 Grammar of the Language of the Nez Perces Indians Formerly of Oregon U S From the manuscript of Rev A B Smith dated Sept 28 1840 Now in archives of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions Boston Mass Volume 138 WorldCat OCLC 39088111 Retrieved 2021 11 04 Bibliography EditAoki Haruo 1994 Nez Perce Dictionary University of California Press ISBN 978 0 520 09763 6 Aoki Haruo 1973 Nez Perce Grammar University of California Press ISBN 978 0 520 02524 0 Aoki Haruo 1979 Nez Perce texts University of California publications in linguistics Vol 90 Berkeley University of California Press ISBN 0 520 09593 6 2 3 Aoki Haruo amp Whitman Carmen 1989 Titwaatit Nez Perce Stories Anchorage National Bilingual Materials Development Center University of Alaska ISBN 0 520 09593 6 Material originally published in Aoki 1979 Aoki Haruo amp Walker Deward E Jr 1989 Nez Perce oral narratives University of California publications in linguistics Vol 104 Berkeley University of California Press ISBN 0 520 09593 6 Cash Cash Phillip 2004 Nez Perce verb morphology Unpublished manuscript University of Arizona Tucson Crook Harold D 1999 The phonology and morphology of Nez Perce stress Doctoral dissertation University of California Los Angeles Mithun Marianne 1999 The languages of Native North America Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 23228 7 hbk ISBN 0 521 29875 X Rude Noel E 1985 Studies in Nez Perce grammar and discourse Doctoral dissertation University of Oregon Rude Noel 1992 Word Order and Topicality in Nez Perce Pragmatics of Word Order Flexibility viii 193 208 John Benjamins Publishing Vowel harmony Edit Aoki Haruo 1966 Nez Perce vowel harmony and proto Sahaptian vowels Language 42 4 759 767 doi 10 2307 411831 JSTOR 411831 Aoki Haruo 1968 Toward a typology of vowel harmony International Journal of American Linguistics 34 2 142 145 doi 10 1086 465006 S2CID 143700904 Chomsky Noam amp Halle Morris 1968 Sound pattern of English pp 377 378 Studies in language New York Harper amp Row Hall Beatrice L amp Hall R M R 1980 Nez Perce vowel harmony An Africanist explanation and some theoretical consequences In R M Vago Ed Issues in vowel harmony pp 201 236 Amsterdam John Benjamins Jacobsen William 1968 On the prehistory of Nez Perce vowel harmony Language 44 4 819 829 doi 10 2307 411901 JSTOR 411901 Kim Chin 1978 Diagonal vowel harmony Some implications for historical phonology In J Fisiak Ed Recent developments in historical phonology pp 221 236 The Hague Mouton Lightner Theodore 1965 On the description of vowel and consonant harmony Word 21 2 244 250 doi 10 1080 00437956 1965 11435427 Rigsby Bruce 1965 Continuity and change in Sahaptian vowel systems International Journal of American Linguistics 31 4 306 311 doi 10 1086 464860 S2CID 144876511 Rigsby Bruce Silverstein Michael 1969 Nez Perce vowels and proto Sahaptian vowel harmony Language 45 1 45 59 doi 10 2307 411752 JSTOR 411752 Zimmer Karl 1967 A note on vowel harmony International Journal of American Linguistics 33 2 166 171 doi 10 1086 464954 S2CID 144825775 Zwicky Arnold 1971 More on Nez Perce On alternative analyses International Journal of American Linguistics 37 2 122 126 doi 10 1086 465146 hdl 1811 85957 S2CID 96455877 Language learning materials EditDictionaries and vocabulary Edit Aoki Haruo 1994 Nez Perce dictionary University of California publications in linguistics Vol 112 Berkeley University of California Press ISBN 0 520 09763 7 Nez Perce Literature and vocabulary Indigenous Peoples Literature Retrieved 2013 09 21 McBeth Sue Nez Perce English Dictionary samples Retrieved 2013 09 21 Nez Perce English Vocabulary PDF Nez Perce National Historical Park Retrieved 2013 09 21 Morvillo Anthony 1895 A Dictionary of the Numipu Or Nez Perce Language St Ignatius Mission Print Montana Retrieved 2013 09 21 Nez Perce Language and the Nez Perce Indian Tribe Nimipu Nee me poo Chopunnish Sahaptin native languages org Retrieved 2013 09 21 Grammar Edit Aoki Haruo 1965 Nez Perce grammar University of California Berkeley Aoki Haruo 1970 Nez Perce grammar University of California publications in linguistics Vol 62 Berkeley University of California Press ISBN 0 520 09259 7 Reprinted 1973 California Library Reprint series Missionary in the Society of Jesus in the Rocky Mountains A Numipu or Nez Perce grammar Desmet Idaho Indian Boys Press Retrieved 2013 09 21 Texts and courses Edit Nimipuutimt Calendar and Nez Perce Tribe Language Program Archived from the original on 2013 09 23 Retrieved 2013 09 21 Aoki Haruo 1979 Nez Perce texts University of California publications in linguistics Vol 90 Berkeley University of California Press ISBN 0 520 09593 6 2 3 Aoki Haruo amp Whitman Carmen 1989 Titwaatit Nez Perce Stories Anchorage National Bilingual Materials Development Center University of Alaska ISBN 0 520 09593 6 Material originally published in Aoki 1979 Nez Perce Language Courses Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and American Indian Studies Program University of Idaho Retrieved 2013 09 21 Rockliff J A 1915 The Life of Jesus Christ from the Four Gospels in the Nez Perce Language Retrieved 2013 09 21 Nez Perce language Audio Bible stories and lessons Global Recordings Network Retrieved 2013 09 21 Nez Perce Language Courses Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and American Indian Studies Program University of Idaho Retrieved 2013 09 21 Nez Perce Literature and vocabulary Indigenous Peoples Literature Retrieved 2013 09 21 Watters Mari 1990 Nez Perce tapes and texts 5 audio cassettes amp 1 booklet Moscow Idaho Mari Watters Productions Upward Bound College of Education University of Idaho External links Edit Haruo Aoki Papers on the Nez Perce Language California Language Archive Retrieved 2013 09 22 Nez Perce language videos YouTube Phillip Cash Cash website Nez Perce researcher Nez Perce sounds Joseph Red Thunder Speech of August 6 1989 at the Big Hole National Battlefield Commemorating our Nez Perce Ancestors has audio Hinmatoowyalahtq it Speech of 1877 as retold by Jonah Hayes ca 1907 permanent dead link mov Fox narrative animation swf Nez Perce Verb Morphology pdf weeyekweʔnipse to sing one s spirit song Performance and metaphor in Nez Perce spirit singing pdf Tɨmnakni Timat Writing from the Heart Sahaptin Discourse and Text in the Speaker Writing of X ilux in pdf A map of American languages TITUS project Nez Perce at the Rosetta Project OLAC resources in and about the Nez Perce language Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nez Perce language amp oldid 1147089442, wikipedia, 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