Mohawk language
Encyclopedia
Mohawk is an Iroquoian language spoken by around 2,000 people of the Mohawk nation
in the United States
(mainly western and northern New York
) and Canada
(southern Ontario
and Quebec
). Mohawk has the largest number of speakers of the Northern Iroquoian
languages; today it is the only one with greater than a thousand remaining. At Akwesasne
, residents have begun a language immersion school (pre-K to grade 8) in to revive the language. With their children learning it, parents and other family members are taking language classes, too.
). Phonological representation (underlying forms) are in /slashes/, and the standard Mohawk orthography is in bold.
, except in a few adoptions from French and English, where [m] and [p] appear (e.g., mátsis matches and aplám Abraham); these sounds are late additions to Mohawk phonology and were introduced after widespread European contact. The word "Mohawk" is an exonym.
The Central (Ahkwesáhsne) dialect has the following consonant clusters:
All clusters can occur word-medially; those on a red background can also occur word-initially.
The consonants /k/, /t/ and the clusters /ts kw/ are pronounced voiced before any voiced sound (i.e. a vowel or /j/). They are voiceless at the end of a word or before a voiceless sound. /s/ is voiced word initially and between vowels.
Note that th and sh are pronounced as consonant clusters, not single sounds like in English thing and she.
i, e, a, and o are oral vowels, while ʌ̃ and ũ (see help:IPA) are nasalized
; oral versions of ʌ̃ and ũ do not occur in the language.
The Mohawk alphabet consists of these letters: a e h i k n o r s t w y along with ’ and :. The orthography was standardized in 1993. The standard allows for some variation of how the language is represented, most notably:, and the clusters /ts(i)/, /tj/, and /ky/ are written as pronounced in each community. The orthography matches the phonological analysis as above except:
} is written ts in the Eastern dialect (reflecting pronunciation). Seven is tsá:ta [dzaːda].
} is written tsi in the Central dialect. Seven is tsiá:ta [dʒaːda].
} is written tsy in the Western dialect. Seven is tsyá:ta [dʒaːda].
} is typically written i in the Central and Eastern dialects. Six is ià:ia’k [jàːjaʔk].
} is usually written y in the Western dialect. Six is yà:ya’k [jàːjaʔk].
and other reserves are helping to train new first-language speakers.
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(mainly western and northern New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
) and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(southern Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
). Mohawk has the largest number of speakers of the Northern Iroquoian
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
languages; today it is the only one with greater than a thousand remaining. At Akwesasne
Akwesasne
The Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne is a Mohawk Nation territory that straddles the intersection of international and provincial borders on both banks of the Saint Lawrence River. Most of the land is in what is otherwise the United States...
, residents have begun a language immersion school (pre-K to grade 8) in to revive the language. With their children learning it, parents and other family members are taking language classes, too.
Dialects
Mohawk has three major dialects: Western (Six Nations and Tyendinaga), Central (Ahkwesáhsne), and Eastern (Kahnawà:ke and Kanehsatà:ke); the differences between them are largely phonological. These are related to the major Mohawk territories since the eighteenth century. The pronunciation of /r/ and several consonant clusters may differ in the dialects.| Underlying phonology | Western | Central | Eastern | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| seven | /tsjata/ | [ˈd͡ʒaːda] | [ˈd͡ʒaːda] | [ˈd͡zaːda] |
| nine | /tjohtu/ | [ˈdjɔhdũ] | [ˈɡjɔhdũ] | [ˈd͡ʒɔhdũ] |
| I fall | /kjaʔtʌʔs/ | [ˈɡjàːdʌ̃ʔs] | [ˈɡjàːdʌ̃ʔs] | [ˈd͡ʒàːdʌ̃ʔs] |
| dog | /erhar/ | [ˈɛrhar] | [ˈɛlhal] | [ˈɛrhar] |
Phonology
The phoneme inventory is as follows (using the International Phonetic AlphabetInternational Phonetic Alphabet
The International Phonetic Alphabet "The acronym 'IPA' strictly refers [...] to the 'International Phonetic Association'. But it is now such a common practice to use the acronym also to refer to the alphabet itself that resistance seems pedantic...
). Phonological representation (underlying forms) are in /slashes/, and the standard Mohawk orthography is in bold.
Consonants
An interesting feature of Mohawk (and Iroquoian) phonology is that there are no labialsLabial consonant
Labial consonants are consonants in which one or both lips are the active articulator. This precludes linguolabials, in which the tip of the tongue reaches for the posterior side of the upper lip and which are considered coronals...
, except in a few adoptions from French and English, where [m] and [p] appear (e.g., mátsis matches and aplám Abraham); these sounds are late additions to Mohawk phonology and were introduced after widespread European contact. The word "Mohawk" is an exonym.
| Dental | Palatal Palatal consonant Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate... |
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).... |
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... |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 :... |
n | |||
| Plosive | t | k | ʔ | |
| Affricate | d͡ʒ | |||
| Fricative | s | h | ||
| Rhotic Rhotic consonant In phonetics, rhotic consonants, also called tremulants or "R-like" sounds, are liquid consonants that are traditionally represented orthographically by symbols derived from the Greek letter rho, including "R, r" from the Roman alphabet and "Р, p" from the Cyrillic alphabet... |
r | |||
| Approximant Approximant consonant Approximants are speech sounds that involve the articulators approaching each other but not narrowly enough or with enough articulatory precision to create turbulent airflow. Therefore, approximants fall between fricatives, which do produce a turbulent airstream, and vowels, which produce no... |
l | j | w |
The Central (Ahkwesáhsne) dialect has the following consonant clusters:
| 1st↓ · 2nd→ | t | k | s | h | l | n | d͡ʒ | j | w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| t | tt | tk | ts | th | |||||
| k | kt | kk | ks | kh | kw | ||||
| ʔ | ʔt | ʔk | ʔs | ʔl | ʔn | ʔd͡ʒ | ʔj | ʔw | |
| s | st | sk | ss | sh | sl | sn | sj | sw | |
| h | ht | hk | hs | hl | hn | hd͡ʒ | hj | hw | |
| l | lh | lj | |||||||
| n | nh | nl | nj | ||||||
| d͡ʒ | d͡ʒj | ||||||||
| w | wh |
All clusters can occur word-medially; those on a red background can also occur word-initially.
The consonants /k/, /t/ and the clusters /ts kw/ are pronounced voiced before any voiced sound (i.e. a vowel or /j/). They are voiceless at the end of a word or before a voiceless sound. /s/ is voiced word initially and between vowels.
- car – kà:sere [ˈɡàːzɛrɛ]
- that – thí:ken [ˈthiːɡʌ̃]
- hello, still – shé:kon [ˈshɛːɡũ]
Note that th and sh are pronounced as consonant clusters, not single sounds like in English thing and she.
Vowels
| 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... |
Central Central vowel A central vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a central vowel is that the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel... |
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... |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ũ | |
| Mid Close-mid vowel A close-mid vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a close-mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned two-thirds of the way from a close vowel to a mid vowel... |
e | ʌ̃ | o |
| 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... |
a |
i, e, a, and o are oral vowels, while ʌ̃ and ũ (see help:IPA) are nasalized
Nasal vowel
A nasal vowel is a vowel that is produced with a lowering of the velum so that air escapes both through nose as well as the mouth. By contrast, oral vowels are ordinary vowels without this nasalisation...
; oral versions of ʌ̃ and ũ do not occur in the language.
Orthography
- The glottal stop /ʔ/ is written with an apostrophe ’, it is often omitted at the end of words, especially in Eastern dialect where it is typically not pronounced.
} is written ts in the Eastern dialect (reflecting pronunciation). Seven is tsá:ta [dzaːda].
} is written tsi in the Central dialect. Seven is tsiá:ta [dʒaːda].
} is written tsy in the Western dialect. Seven is tsyá:ta [dʒaːda].
} is typically written i in the Central and Eastern dialects. Six is ià:ia’k [jàːjaʔk].
} is usually written y in the Western dialect. Six is yà:ya’k [jàːjaʔk].
- The vowel /ʌ̃/ is written en, as in one énska [ʌ̃ska].
- The vowel /ũ/ is written on, as in eight sha’té:kon [shaʔdɛːɡũ].
- In cases where the vowel /e/ or /o/ is followed by an /n/ in the same syllable, the /n/ is written with a low-macron accent: keṉhó:tons (I am closing a door). If the ṉ did not have the accent, the sequence ⟨en⟩ would be pronounced [ʌ̃]. Not all writers use the low-macron accent.
Stress, length, and tone
Stress, vowel length and tone are linked together in Mohawk. There are three kinds of stressed vowels: short-high tone, long-high tone, and long-falling tone. Stress is always written and only occurs once per word.- Short-high tone usually (but not always) appears in closed syllables or before /h/. It is written with an acute accent: stick kánhia, road oháha.
- Long-high tone generally occurs in open syllables. It is written with a combination acute accent and colon: town kaná:ta, man rón:kwe. Notice that when it is one of the nasal vowels which is long, the colon appears after the n.
- Long-falling tone is the result of the word stress falling on a vowel which comes before a /ʔ/ or /h/ + a consonant (there may be, of course, exceptions to this and other rules). The underlying /ʔ/ or /h/ reappears when stress is placed elsewhere. It is written with a grave accent and colon: stomach onekwèn:ta (from /onekwʌ̃ʔta/).
Grammar
Mohawk expresses a large number of pronominal distinctions: person (1st, 2nd, 3rd), number (singular, dual, plural), gender (masculine, feminine/indefinite, feminine/neuter) and inclusivity/exclusivity on the first person dual and plural. Pronominal information is encoded in prefixes on the verbs; separate pronoun words are used for emphasis. There are three main paradigms of pronominal prefixes: subjective (with dynamic verbs), objective (with stative verbs), and transitive.Current number of speakers
As of 1994 there were approximately 3,000 speakers of Mohawk, primarily in Quebec, Ontario and western New York. Immersion (monolingual) classes for young children at AkwesasneAkwesasne
The Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne is a Mohawk Nation territory that straddles the intersection of international and provincial borders on both banks of the Saint Lawrence River. Most of the land is in what is otherwise the United States...
and other reserves are helping to train new first-language speakers.
Learning Mohawk
A few resources are available for self-study of Mohawk by a person with no or limited access to native speakers of Mohawk. Here is a collection of some resources currently available:- Rosetta Stone levels 1 and 2 (CD-ROM) edited by Frank and Carolee Jacobs and produced by the Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Center
- David Kanatawakhon Maracle, Kanyen'keha Tewatati (Let's Speak Mohawk)(ISBN 0-88432-723-X) (Book and 3 companion tapes are available from Audio Forum) (high school/college level)
- Nancy Bonvillain , A Grammar of Akwesasne Mohawk, professional level
- Chris W. Harvey, Sathahitáhkhe' Kanien'kéha (Introductory Level Mohawk Language Textbook, Eastern Dialect), (ISBN 0-968-38142-1; (high school/college level)
- Josephine S. Horne, Kanien'kéha Iakorihonnién:nis, (Book and 5 companion CDs are available from Kahnawà:ke Cultural Center (secondary/high school level)
- Nora Deering & Helga Harries Delisle, Mohawk: A Teaching Grammar (Book and 6 companion tapes are available from Kanien'kehaka Onkwawenna Raotitiohkwa Cultural Center (high school/college level)
External links
- Mohawk Language Dictionary and Virtual Teachers
- Mohawk - English Dictionary, Websters Online Dictionary
- Mohawk language, alphabet and pronunciation, Omniglot
- Marianne Mithun, "A grammar sketch of Mohawk", Conseil Supérieur de la Langue Française, Quebec