Chilcotin language
Encyclopedia
Chilcotin is a Northern Athabaskan language spoken in British Columbia
by the Tsilhqot’in people.
The name Chilcotin is derived from the Chilcotin name for themselves: Tŝilhqot’in (ts̠ˤʰᵊĩɬqʰotʼin), literally "people of the red ochre river".
s:
s:
Every given Chilcotin vowel will have a number of different phonetic realizations due to complex phonological
processes (e.g. nasalization, laxing, flattening). For instance, the vowel /i/ can be variously pronounced [i, ĩ, ɪ, e, ᵊi, ᵊĩ, ᵊɪ].
processes, namely vowel flattening and consonant harmony. Consonant harmony
(i.e. sibilant harmony) is rather common in the Athabaskan language family. Vowel flattening, though unique to Chilcotin, is similar to phonological processes in other unrelated Interior Salishan languages
spoken in the same area, such as Shuswap
, St'át'imcets, and Thompson River Salish (and thus was probably borrowed into Chilcotin). This type of harmony is an areal feature
common in this region of North America. The Chilcotin processes, however, are much more complicated.
on the preceding vowel. This process occurs when the vowel + /n/ sequence is followed by a (tautosyllabic) continuant
consonant (e.ɡ. /ɬ, sˤ, zˤ, ç, j, χ/).
Vowel laxing is a process where tense vowels (i.e. /i, u, æ/) become lax when followed by a syllable-final /h/ (i.e. the tense and lax distinction is neutralized).
(or post-velar harmony) called Vowel Flattening. Generally, "flat" consonants lower vowels in both directions, i.e. the assimilation
is both progressive and regressive.
Chilcotin consonants can be grouped into three categories: Neutral, Sharp, and Flat.
The flat consonants can be further divided into two types:
The sˤ-series is stronger than the q-series in that the sˤ-series affects vowels for a greater distance across the word.
The table below shows both unaffected vowels and flattened vowels.
The vowel /i/ surfaces as [ᵊi] if preceded by a flat consonant and as [e] if followed by a flat consonant:
Below the progressive and regressive flattening processes are described below in separate sections.
In the progressive (left-to-right) flattening, the q-series consonants affect only the immediately following vowel:
Like the q-series, the stronger sˤ-series consonants affects the immediately following vowel. However, this series additionally affects the vowel in the following syllable
, if the first flattened vowel is a lax vowel. If the first flattened is tense, then the vowel of the following syllable is not flattened.
As can be seen above, the neutral consonants are "transparent" in the flattening process. In the first word /sˤɛɬ.tʰin/ 'he's comatose', /sˤ/ flattens the /ɛ/ of the first syllable to [ə] and the /i/ of the second syllable to [ᵊi]. In the word /sˤi.tʰin/ 'I'm sleeping', /sˤ/ flattens /i/ to [ᵊi]. But since the vowel of the first syllable is /i/ which is a tense vowel, the /sˤ/ cannot flatten the /i/ of the second syllable.
The sharp consonants, however, block the progressive flattening caused by the sˤ-series:
In regressive (right-to-left) harmony, the q-series flattens the preceding vowel (just like it does in the progressive harmony mentioned above).
The regressive (right-to-left) harmony of the sˤ-series, however, is much stronger than in the progressive harmony.
Here these consonants flatten all preceding vowels in a word:
Both progressive and regressive flattening processes occur in Chilcotin words:
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
by the Tsilhqot’in people.
The name Chilcotin is derived from the Chilcotin name for themselves: Tŝilhqot’in (ts̠ˤʰᵊĩɬqʰotʼin), literally "people of the red ochre river".
Consonants
Chilcotin has 47 consonantConsonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
s:
| Bilabial Bilabial consonant In phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a consonant articulated with both lips. The bilabial consonants identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet are:... |
Dental | Alveolar Alveolar consonant Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli of the superior teeth... |
Palatal | Velar Velar consonant Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum).... |
Uvular Uvular consonant Uvulars are consonants articulated with the back of the tongue against or near the uvula, that is, further back in the mouth than velar consonants. Uvulars may be plosives, fricatives, nasal stops, trills, or approximants, though the IPA does not provide a separate symbol for the approximant, and... |
Glottal Glottal consonant Glottal consonants, also called laryngeal consonants, are consonants articulated with the glottis. Many phoneticians consider them, or at least the so-called fricative, to be transitional states of the glottis without a point of articulation as other consonants have; in fact, some do not consider... |
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| central Central consonant A central or medial consonant is a consonant sound that is produced when air flows across the center of the mouth over the tongue. The class contrasts with lateral consonants, in which air flows over the sides of the tongue rather than down its center.... |
lateral Lateral consonant A lateral is an el-like consonant, in which airstream proceeds along the sides of the tongue, but is blocked by the tongue from going through the middle of the mouth.... |
plain | labial Labialisation Labialization is a secondary articulatory feature of sounds in some languages. Labialized sounds involve the lips while the remainder of the oral cavity produces another sound. The term is normally restricted to consonants. When vowels involve the lips, they are called rounded.The most common... |
plain | labial Labialisation Labialization is a secondary articulatory feature of sounds in some languages. Labialized sounds involve the lips while the remainder of the oral cavity produces another sound. The term is normally restricted to consonants. When vowels involve the lips, they are called rounded.The most common... |
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| Nasal Nasal consonant A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :... |
m | n̪ | |||||||||
| Plosive Stop consonant In phonetics, a plosive, also known as an occlusive or an oral stop, is a stop consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases. The occlusion may be done with the tongue , lips , and &... |
unaspirated Aspiration (phonetics) In phonetics, aspiration is the strong burst of air that accompanies either the release or, in the case of preaspiration, the closure of some obstruents. To feel or see the difference between aspirated and unaspirated sounds, one can put a hand or a lit candle in front of one's mouth, and say pin ... |
p | t̪ | k | kʷ | q | qʷ | ||||
| aspirated Aspiration (phonetics) In phonetics, aspiration is the strong burst of air that accompanies either the release or, in the case of preaspiration, the closure of some obstruents. To feel or see the difference between aspirated and unaspirated sounds, one can put a hand or a lit candle in front of one's mouth, and say pin ... |
pʰ | t̪ʰ | kʰ | kʷʰ | qʰ | qʷʰ | |||||
| ejective Ejective consonant In phonetics, ejective consonants are voiceless consonants that are pronounced with simultaneous closure of the glottis. In the phonology of a particular language, ejectives may contrast with aspirated or tenuis consonants... |
t̪ʼ | kʼ | kʼʷ | qʼ | qʼʷ | ʔ | |||||
| Affricate Affricate consonant Affricates are consonants that begin as stops but release as a fricative rather than directly into the following vowel.- Samples :... |
unaspirated Aspiration (phonetics) In phonetics, aspiration is the strong burst of air that accompanies either the release or, in the case of preaspiration, the closure of some obstruents. To feel or see the difference between aspirated and unaspirated sounds, one can put a hand or a lit candle in front of one's mouth, and say pin ... |
ts̪ | tɬ | ts̱ˤ | tʃ | ||||||
| aspirated Aspiration (phonetics) In phonetics, aspiration is the strong burst of air that accompanies either the release or, in the case of preaspiration, the closure of some obstruents. To feel or see the difference between aspirated and unaspirated sounds, one can put a hand or a lit candle in front of one's mouth, and say pin ... |
ts̪ʰ | tɬʰ | ts̱ˤʰ | tʃʰ | |||||||
| ejective Ejective consonant In phonetics, ejective consonants are voiceless consonants that are pronounced with simultaneous closure of the glottis. In the phonology of a particular language, ejectives may contrast with aspirated or tenuis consonants... |
ts̪ʼ | tɬʼ | ts̱ˤʼ | tʃʼ | |||||||
| Continuant Continuant A continuant is a sound produced with an incomplete closure of the vocal tract. That is, any sound except a stop or nasal. An affricate is considered to be a complex segment, composed of both a stop and a continuant.-See also:... |
voiceless Voiceless In linguistics, voicelessness is the property of sounds being pronounced without the larynx vibrating. Phonologically, this is a type of phonation, which contrasts with other states of the larynx, but some object that the word "phonation" implies voicing, and that voicelessness is the lack of... |
s̪ | ɬ | s̱ˤ | ç | xʷ | χ | χʷ | h | ||
| voiced Voice (phonetics) Voice or voicing is a term used in phonetics and phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless or voiced. The term, however, is used to refer to two separate concepts. Voicing can refer to the articulatory process in which the vocal cords vibrate... |
z̪ | l | ẕˤ | j | w | ʁ | ʁʷ | ||||
- Like many Athabaskan languagesAthabaskan languagesAthabaskan or Athabascan is a large group of indigenous peoples of North America, located in two main Southern and Northern groups in western North America, and of their language family...
, Chilcotin does not have a contrast between fricatives and approximants. - The alveolar series is pharyngealized.
- Dentals and alveolars:
- Both Krauss (1975) and Cook (1993) describe the dental and alveolar as being essentially identical in articulation—postdental—with the only differentiating factor being their different behaviours in the vowel flattening processes (described below).
- Gafos (1999, personal communication with Cook) describes the dental series as apico-laminal denti-alveolar and the alveolar series as lamino-postalveolar.
Vowels
Chilcotin has 6 vowelVowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
s:
| Front Front vowel A front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far in front as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also... |
Back Back vowel A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark... |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tense-long | lax-short | tense-long | lax-short | tense-long | lax-short | |
| High Close vowel A close vowel is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.This term is prescribed by the... |
i | ɪ | u | ʊ | ||
| Low Open vowel An open vowel is defined as a vowel sound in which the tongue is positioned as far as possible from the roof of the mouth. Open vowels are sometimes also called low vowels in reference to the low position of the tongue... |
æ | ɛ | ||||
- Chilcotin has both tense and lax vowel phonemePhonemeIn a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
s. Additionally, tense vowels may become lax due a vowel laxing process (see below).
Every given Chilcotin vowel will have a number of different phonetic realizations due to complex phonological
Phonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
processes (e.g. nasalization, laxing, flattening). For instance, the vowel /i/ can be variously pronounced [i, ĩ, ɪ, e, ᵊi, ᵊĩ, ᵊɪ].
Phonological processes
Chilcotin has a number of interesting phonologicalPhonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
processes, namely vowel flattening and consonant harmony. Consonant harmony
Consonant harmony
Consonant harmony is a type of "long-distance" phonological assimilation akin to the similar assimilatory process involving vowels, i.e. vowel harmony.-Examples:...
(i.e. sibilant harmony) is rather common in the Athabaskan language family. Vowel flattening, though unique to Chilcotin, is similar to phonological processes in other unrelated Interior Salishan languages
Salishan languages
The Salishan languages are a group of languages of the Pacific Northwest...
spoken in the same area, such as Shuswap
Shuswap
Shuswap *Secwepemc - an indigenous people in British Columbia, Canada, also known in English as the Shuswap*Shuswap language - a language spoken by the Secwepemc...
, St'át'imcets, and Thompson River Salish (and thus was probably borrowed into Chilcotin). This type of harmony is an areal feature
Areal feature (linguistics)
In linguistics, an areal feature is any feature shared by languages within the same geographical area as a consequence of linguistic diffusion....
common in this region of North America. The Chilcotin processes, however, are much more complicated.
Vowel nasalization and laxing
Vowel nasalization is a phonological process where the phoneme /n/ is realized as nasalizationNasalization
In phonetics, nasalization is the production of a sound while the velum is lowered, so that some air escapes through the nose during the production of the sound by the mouth...
on the preceding vowel. This process occurs when the vowel + /n/ sequence is followed by a (tautosyllabic) continuant
Continuant
A continuant is a sound produced with an incomplete closure of the vocal tract. That is, any sound except a stop or nasal. An affricate is considered to be a complex segment, composed of both a stop and a continuant.-See also:...
consonant (e.ɡ. /ɬ, sˤ, zˤ, ç, j, χ/).
| /pinɬ/ | → | [pĩɬ] | 'trap' |
Vowel laxing is a process where tense vowels (i.e. /i, u, æ/) become lax when followed by a syllable-final /h/ (i.e. the tense and lax distinction is neutralized).
| /ʔɛstɬʼuh/ | → | [ʔɛstɬʼʊh] | 'I'm knitting' | (u → ʊ) | |||
| /sɛjæh/ | → | [sɛjɛh] | 'my throat' | (æ → ɛ) |
Vowel flattening
Chilcotin has a type of Retracted Tongue Root harmonyVowel harmony
Vowel harmony is a type of long-distance assimilatory phonological process involving vowels that occurs in some languages. In languages with vowel harmony, there are constraints on which vowels may be found near each other....
(or post-velar harmony) called Vowel Flattening. Generally, "flat" consonants lower vowels in both directions, i.e. the assimilation
Assimilation (linguistics)
Assimilation is a common phonological process by which the sound of the ending of one word blends into the sound of the beginning of the following word. This occurs when the parts of the mouth and vocal cords start to form the beginning sounds of the next word before the last sound has been...
is both progressive and regressive.
Chilcotin consonants can be grouped into three categories: Neutral, Sharp, and Flat.
| Neutral | Sharp | Flat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| p, pʰ, m t, tʰ, tʼ, n tɬ, tɬʰ, tɬʼ, ɬ, l tʃ, tʃʰ, tʃʼ, ç, j ʔ, h |
ts, tsʰ, tsʼ, s, z k, kʰ, kʼ kʷ, kʷʰ, kʼʷ, xʷ, w |
sˤ-series: | tsˤ, tsʰˤ, tsʼˤ, sˤ, zˤ |
| q-series: | q, qʰ, qʼ, χ, ʁ qʷ, qʷʰ, qʼʷ, χʷ, ʁʷ |
||
- Flat consonants trigger vowel flattening.
- Sharp consonants block vowel flattening.
- Neutral consonants do not affect vowel flattening in any way.
The flat consonants can be further divided into two types:
- a sˤ-series (i.e. /tsˤ, tsʰˤ, tsʼˤ/ˌ etc.), and
- a q-series (i.e. /q, qʷ, qʰ/ˌ etc.).
The sˤ-series is stronger than the q-series in that the sˤ-series affects vowels for a greater distance across the word.
The table below shows both unaffected vowels and flattened vowels.
| unaffected vowel |
flattened vowel |
|---|---|
| i | ᵊi or e |
| ɪ | ᵊɪ |
| u | o |
| ʊ | ɔ |
| ɛ | ə |
| æ | a |
The vowel /i/ surfaces as [ᵊi] if preceded by a flat consonant and as [e] if followed by a flat consonant:
| /sˤit/ | → | [sˤᵊit] | 'kinɡfisher' | (sˤ flattens i → ᵊi) | |||
| /nisˤtsˤun/ | → | [nesˤtsˤon] | 'owl' | (sˤ flattens i → e) |
Below the progressive and regressive flattening processes are described below in separate sections.
Progressive flattening
In the progressive (left-to-right) flattening, the q-series consonants affect only the immediately following vowel:
| /ʁitʰi/ | → | [ʁᵊitʰi] | 'I slept' | (ʁ flattens i → ᵊi) | |||
| /qʰænɪç/ | → | [qʰanɪç] | 'spoon' | (qʰ flattens æ → a) |
Like the q-series, the stronger sˤ-series consonants affects the immediately following vowel. However, this series additionally affects the vowel in the following syllable
Syllable
A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is typically made up of a syllable nucleus with optional initial and final margins .Syllables are often considered the phonological "building...
, if the first flattened vowel is a lax vowel. If the first flattened is tense, then the vowel of the following syllable is not flattened.
| /sˤɛɬ.tʰin/ | → | [sˤəɬ.tʰᵊin] | 'he's comatose' | (sˤ flattens both ɛ → ə, i → ᵊi ) | |||
| /sˤi.tʰin/ | → | [sˤᵊi.tʰin] | 'I'm sleeping' | (sˤ flattens first i → ᵊi, but not second i: *sˤᵊitʰᵊin) |
As can be seen above, the neutral consonants are "transparent" in the flattening process. In the first word /sˤɛɬ.tʰin/ 'he's comatose', /sˤ/ flattens the /ɛ/ of the first syllable to [ə] and the /i/ of the second syllable to [ᵊi]. In the word /sˤi.tʰin/ 'I'm sleeping', /sˤ/ flattens /i/ to [ᵊi]. But since the vowel of the first syllable is /i/ which is a tense vowel, the /sˤ/ cannot flatten the /i/ of the second syllable.
The sharp consonants, however, block the progressive flattening caused by the sˤ-series:
| /tizˤ.kʼɛn/ | → | [tezˤ.kʼɛn] | 'it's burning' | (flattening of ɛ is blocked by kʼ: *tezˤkʼən) | |||
| /sˤɛ.kɛn/ | → | [sˤə.kɛn] | 'it's dry' | (flattening of ɛ is blocked by k: *sˤəkən) |
Regressive flattening
In regressive (right-to-left) harmony, the q-series flattens the preceding vowel (just like it does in the progressive harmony mentioned above).
| /ʔælæχ/ | → | [ʔælaχ] | 'I made it' | (χ flattens æ → a) | |||
| /junɛqʰæt/ | → | [junəqʰat] | 'he's slappinɡ him' | (qʰ flattens ɛ → ə) |
The regressive (right-to-left) harmony of the sˤ-series, however, is much stronger than in the progressive harmony.
Here these consonants flatten all preceding vowels in a word:
| /kunizˤ/ | → | [konezˤ] | 'it is lonɡ' | (zˤ flattens all vowels, both i → e, u → o) | |||
| /kʷɛtɛkuljúzˤ/ | → | [kʷətəkoljózˤ] | 'he is rich' | (zˤ flattens all vowels) | |||
| /nækʷɛnitsˤɛ́sˤ/ | → | [nakʷənetsˤə́sˤ] | 'fire's gone out' | (tsˤ, sˤ flatten all vowels) |
Both progressive and regressive flattening processes occur in Chilcotin words:
| /niqʰin/ | → | [neqʰᵊin] | 'we paddled' | ||
| /ʔɛqʰɛn/ | → | [ʔəqʰən] | 'husband' |