The Pawnee language is a Caddoan language traditionally spoken by Pawnee Native Americans, currently inhabiting north-central Oklahoma. Historically, the Pawnee lived along the Platte River in what is now Nebraska.
Two important dialect divisions are evident in Pawnee: South Band and Skiri. The distinction between the two dialects rests on differences in their respective phonetic inventory and lexicon.
Status
Prior to colonization and US expansion, Pawnee was spoken by all members of the Nation. Today Pawnee is only spoken fluently by a shrinking number of elderly speakers. As more young people shift to English as their first language, the transmission of Pawnee and its vitality are seriously endangered.
As of 2007, the Pawnee Nation is developing teaching materials for the local high school and for adult language classes. There are also extensive documentary materials in the language archived at the American Indian Studies Research Institute.[2] The Pawnee language can be heard spoken in the 2015 movie The Revenant.[3] In 2019 and 2020, the Pawnee Nation has posted online videos teaching the Pawnee language.[4]
Phonology
The following describes the South Band dialect.
Consonants
Pawnee has eight consonantphonemes, and according to one analysis of medial- and final-position glottal stops, one may posit a ninth consonant phoneme.
Bilabial
Alveolar
Velar
Glottal
Stop
p
t
k
(ʔ)
Affricate
ts
Rhotic
r
Fricative
s
h
Approximant
w
/ʔ/ is predictable when it occurs in the middle of words. However, since /ʔ/ is not completely predictable at the end of words, it may also need to be considered a phoneme.
Vowels
Pawnee has four shortvowel phonemes and four long counterparts (also phonemic).
^"IU linguists provide Arikara and Pawnee dialogue for Oscar-nominated film 'The Revenant'". Inside IU Bloomington. Retrieved 2019-07-24. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
^"Pawnee Language Classes - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
References
American Indian Studies Research Institute. (2008). Dictionary Database: Pawnee (Skiri and Southband dialects).
American Indian Studies Research Institute. (2001). Pawnee Alphabet Book.
Mithun, Marianne. (1999). The languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN0-521-23228-7 (hbk); ISBN0-521-29875-X.
Parks, Douglas R. (1976). A grammar of Pawnee. New York: Garland.
Taylor, Allan R. (1978). [Review of A grammar of Pawnee by D. Parks]. Language, 54 (4), 969-972.
External links
Pawnee language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator
Pawnee Language Program, sponsored by the Pawnee Nation and Indiana University
May 04, 2023
pawnee, language, caddoan, language, traditionally, spoken, pawnee, native, americans, currently, inhabiting, north, central, oklahoma, historically, pawnee, lived, along, platte, river, what, nebraska, pawneenative, tounited, statesregionnorth, central, oklah. The Pawnee language is a Caddoan language traditionally spoken by Pawnee Native Americans currently inhabiting north central Oklahoma Historically the Pawnee lived along the Platte River in what is now Nebraska PawneeNative toUnited StatesRegionNorth central OklahomaEthnicity2 500 Pawnee 2007 1 Native speakers10 2007 1 Language familyCaddoan NorthernPawnee KitsaiPawnee languagesPawneeLanguage codesISO 639 3 a href https iso639 3 sil org code paw class extiw title iso639 3 paw paw a Glottologpawn1254ELPPawneeLinguasphere64 BAB bPre contact distribution of PawneeThis article contains IPA phonetic symbols Without proper rendering support you may see question marks boxes or other symbols instead of Unicode characters For an introductory guide on IPA symbols see Help IPA Contents 1 Dialects 2 Status 3 Phonology 3 1 Consonants 3 2 Vowels 4 Morphology 5 Alphabet 5 1 Consonants 5 2 Vowels 6 Notes 7 References 8 External linksDialects EditTwo important dialect divisions are evident in Pawnee South Band and Skiri The distinction between the two dialects rests on differences in their respective phonetic inventory and lexicon Status EditPrior to colonization and US expansion Pawnee was spoken by all members of the Nation Today Pawnee is only spoken fluently by a shrinking number of elderly speakers As more young people shift to English as their first language the transmission of Pawnee and its vitality are seriously endangered As of 2007 the Pawnee Nation is developing teaching materials for the local high school and for adult language classes There are also extensive documentary materials in the language archived at the American Indian Studies Research Institute 2 The Pawnee language can be heard spoken in the 2015 movie The Revenant 3 In 2019 and 2020 the Pawnee Nation has posted online videos teaching the Pawnee language 4 Phonology EditThe following describes the South Band dialect Consonants Edit Pawnee has eight consonant phonemes and according to one analysis of medial and final position glottal stops one may posit a ninth consonant phoneme Bilabial Alveolar Velar GlottalStop p t k ʔ Affricate ts Rhotic r Fricative s hApproximant w ʔ is predictable when it occurs in the middle of words However since ʔ is not completely predictable at the end of words it may also need to be considered a phoneme Vowels Edit Pawnee has four short vowel phonemes and four long counterparts also phonemic Front Back High i iː u uː Mid low e eː a aːMorphology EditPawnee is an ergative absolutive polysynthetic language Alphabet EditThe Pawnee alphabet citation needed has 9 consonants and 8 vowels The letters are relatively similar in pronunciation to their English counterparts Consonants Edit Spelling Sound IPA English equivalentsp p poke cupt t top catk k cool stuckc ʃ ts shell push pantss s silly faceh h heart aheadr r car ferryw w wacky away ʔ The in uh ohVowels Edit Spelling Sound IPA English equivalentsi ɪ sitii i feede ɛ redee eɪ paida ʌ nutaa ɑ fatheru ʊ bookuu u rudeNotes Edit a b Pawnee at Ethnologue 18th ed 2015 subscription required Pawnee IU linguists provide Arikara and Pawnee dialogue for Oscar nominated film The Revenant Inside IU Bloomington Retrieved 2019 07 24 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a first missing last help Pawnee Language Classes YouTube www youtube com Retrieved 2020 10 30 References EditAmerican Indian Studies Research Institute 2008 Dictionary Database Pawnee Skiri and Southband dialects American Indian Studies Research Institute 2001 Pawnee Alphabet Book Mithun Marianne 1999 The languages of Native North America Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 23228 7 hbk ISBN 0 521 29875 X Parks Douglas R 1976 A grammar of Pawnee New York Garland Taylor Allan R 1978 Review of A grammar of Pawnee by D Parks Language 54 4 969 972 External links Edit Pawnee language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator Pawnee Language Program sponsored by the Pawnee Nation and Indiana University Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Pawnee language amp oldid 1129627210, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
