Ventureño
Encyclopedia
Ventureño is a member of the extinct Chumashan languages
, a group of Native American
languages previously spoken by the Chumash people along the coastal areas of Southern California
from as far north as San Luis Obispo to as far south as Malibu. Ventureño was spoken from as far north as present-day Ventura to as far south as present-day Malibu and the Simi Hills
, California
.
Ventureño is, like its sister Chumashan languages, a polysynthetic language, having larger words composed of a number of morphemes. Ventureño has separate word classes of verb
, noun
, and oblique adjunct; with no separate word class for adjectives or adpositions. Nouns and verbs are often heavily affix
ed (mostly prefixed) in Ventureño, affixing being a way to denote those meanings often conveyed by separate words in more analytic languages. Verbs play a primary role in Ventureño with utterances often composed only of a verb with clitics. Chumash word order is VSO
/VOS
, or VS
/VO
(as per Dryer 1997).
. Harrington differed from the International Phonetic Alphabet in the following symbols: a kappa ⟨к⟩ (small-cap 'k') for [q], a ⟨q⟩ for [x], a slanted bar ⟨ł⟩ for [ɬ], a reversed apostrophe ⟨‘⟩ for aspiration, and a right-turned (standard) apostrophe ⟨’⟩ for a glottal stop (this symbol was also used for ejectives and glottalized sonorants).
The Buenaventura Band of Mission Indians has adopted an Americanist form of transcription for Ventureño based on the work done by Harrington: ⟨š⟩ for [ʃ], ⟨ł⟩ for [ɬ], ⟨x⟩ for [x], ⟨ʰ⟩ for aspiration, ⟨y⟩ for [j], and ⟨q⟩ for [q]. A standard apostrophe ⟨’⟩ continues to be used for a glottal stop
[ʔ] and for denoting ejectives. Glottalized
sonorants [m̰, n̰, w̰, j̰] are written with a combining apostrophe over the symbol. This transcription is in keeping with most current Chumashists (such as Wash below) except that alveolar affricate
s ([t͡s]) are written as in Ventureño, where other Chumashists write them as . Likewise, Ventureño writes postalveolar affricates ([t͡ʃ]) as ⟨tš⟩, where other Chumashists write this sound as ⟨č⟩.
. This applies especially to the verbs of the language, which has over 15 distinct morphological slots (when counting nominalized verbs).
This is illustrated in the table below by the nominalized verb meaning "your wanting to make fun of us".
. The numbers 1-16 exhibit certain characteristics which are different from the method of counting from 17-32. In all places, however, the factor of 4 usually has a unique term. Ventureño Chumash has the most complete, native Chumash system of numbers on record.
Numbers 1-16
Numbers 17-32
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Chumashan languages
Chumashan is a family of languages that were spoken on the southern California coast by Native American Chumash people.From the Coastal plains and valleys of San Luis Obispo to Malibu), neighboring inland and Transverse Ranges valleys and canyons east to bordering the San Joaquin Valley; and on...
, a group of Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
languages previously spoken by the Chumash people along the coastal areas of Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
from as far north as San Luis Obispo to as far south as Malibu. Ventureño was spoken from as far north as present-day Ventura to as far south as present-day Malibu and the Simi Hills
Simi Hills
The Simi Hills are a low rocky mountain range of the Transverse Ranges, located in eastern Ventura County and western Los Angeles County, of southern California, United States.-Geography:...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Ventureño is, like its sister Chumashan languages, a polysynthetic language, having larger words composed of a number of morphemes. Ventureño has separate word classes of verb
Verb
A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
, noun
Noun
In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of...
, and oblique adjunct; with no separate word class for adjectives or adpositions. Nouns and verbs are often heavily affix
Affix
An affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word. Affixes may be derivational, like English -ness and pre-, or inflectional, like English plural -s and past tense -ed. They are bound morphemes by definition; prefixes and suffixes may be separable affixes...
ed (mostly prefixed) in Ventureño, affixing being a way to denote those meanings often conveyed by separate words in more analytic languages. Verbs play a primary role in Ventureño with utterances often composed only of a verb with clitics. Chumash word order is VSO
VSO
VSO is a three-letter acronym with multiple meanings, as described below:* Voluntary Service Overseas, an international development charity* Valdosta Southern Railroad...
/VOS
Vos
Vos or VOS may refer to:In computing:* Hitachi VOS, a mainframe computer operating system by Hitachi Data Systems* Stratus VOS, a fault-tolerant computer operating system, developed by Stratus...
, or VS
VS
VS, V.S., Vs, vs, vs., or VS may refer to:- Organizations :* Venstresocialisterne, , a Danish political party* Victoria School...
/VO
VO
VO can refer to:* Austrian Arrows' IATA code* Data transfer object, formerly known as Value Object* Seagram's VO Whiskey* Vanadium oxide, an inorganic compound* Velocity obstacle* Virtual organization...
(as per Dryer 1997).
Sounds
Ventureño has a similar phonemic inventory to its sister language, Barbareño. Ventureño consists of 30 consonants and 6 vowels.Vowels
Ventureño consists of a regular 5-vowel inventory with a sixth vowel that Harrington transcribes as ⟨ə⟩. In Barbareño transcriptions, ⟨ɨ⟩ is used. It is not known whether these two phones are the same in both languages (and the difference in transcription merely one of convention), or whether the sounds were in fact different enough for Harrington to use different symbols.| 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... |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Close 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 | ə | u |
| Mid Mid vowel A mid vowel is a vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned mid-way between an open vowel and a close vowel... |
e | o | |
| Open 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 |
Consonants
| 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:... |
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... |
Postalveolar Postalveolar consonant Postalveolar consonants are consonants articulated with the tongue near or touching the back of the alveolar ridge, further back in the mouth than the alveolar consonants, which are at the ridge itself, but not as far back as the hard palate... |
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).... |
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... |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 :... |
plain | m | n | |||||
| glottalized | m̰ | n̰ | ||||||
| Plosive | plain | p | t | k | q | ʔ | ||
| 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... |
pʼ | tʼ | kʼ | qʼ | ||||
| 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 | tʰ | kʰ | qʰ | ||||
| Affricate Affricate consonant Affricates are consonants that begin as stops but release as a fricative rather than directly into the following vowel.- Samples :... |
plain | t͡s | t͡ʃ | |||||
| ejective | t͡sʼ | t͡ʃʼ | ||||||
| aspirated | t͡sʰ | t͡ʃʰ | ||||||
| Fricative Fricative consonant Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German , the final consonant of Bach; or... |
plain | s | ʃ | x | h | |||
| aspirated | sʰ | ʃʰ | ||||||
| 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... |
plain | w | l (ɬ)1 | j | ||||
| glottalized | w̰ | j̰ |
Orthography
Ventureño has been written in several different ways by different linguists. John Peabody Harrington, who compiled most of the data on Ventureño, used a modified version of 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...
. Harrington differed from the International Phonetic Alphabet in the following symbols: a kappa ⟨к⟩ (small-cap 'k') for [q], a ⟨q⟩ for [x], a slanted bar ⟨ł⟩ for [ɬ], a reversed apostrophe ⟨‘⟩ for aspiration, and a right-turned (standard) apostrophe ⟨’⟩ for a glottal stop (this symbol was also used for ejectives and glottalized sonorants).
The Buenaventura Band of Mission Indians has adopted an Americanist form of transcription for Ventureño based on the work done by Harrington: ⟨š⟩ for [ʃ], ⟨ł⟩ for [ɬ], ⟨x⟩ for [x], ⟨ʰ⟩ for aspiration, ⟨y⟩ for [j], and ⟨q⟩ for [q]. A standard apostrophe ⟨’⟩ continues to be used for a glottal stop
Glottal stop
The glottal stop, or more fully, the voiceless glottal plosive, is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages. In English, the feature is represented, for example, by the hyphen in uh-oh! and by the apostrophe or [[ʻokina]] in Hawaii among those using a preservative pronunciation of...
[ʔ] and for denoting ejectives. Glottalized
Glottalization
Glottalization is the complete or partial closure of the glottis during the articulation of another sound. Glottalization of vowels and other sonorants is most often realized as creaky voice...
sonorants [m̰, n̰, w̰, j̰] are written with a combining apostrophe over the symbol. This transcription is in keeping with most current Chumashists (such as Wash below) except that alveolar affricate
Voiceless alveolar affricate
The voiceless alveolar affricate is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The sound is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet with ⟨⟩ or ⟨⟩ . The voiceless alveolar affricate occurs in such languages as German, Cantonese, Italian, Russian, Japanese and Mandarin...
s ([t͡s]) are written as
Morphology
Chumash morphology is fairly polysyntheticPolysynthetic language
In linguistic typology, polysynthetic languages are highly synthetic languages, i.e., languages in which words are composed of many morphemes. Whereas isolating languages have a low morpheme-to-word ratio, polysynthetic languages have extremely high morpheme-to-word ratios.Not all languages can be...
. This applies especially to the verbs of the language, which has over 15 distinct morphological slots (when counting nominalized verbs).
This is illustrated in the table below by the nominalized verb meaning "your wanting to make fun of us".
| Word | lošipałtšuyašuqonišpiyiyuw | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parse | lo- | si- | p- | ʔal- | suya- | su- | qoniš | -pi | -iyuw.REDUP |
| Gloss | DEM- | ART- | 2- | NZ- | DES- | CAUS- | make.fun.of | -APL.LOC | -1PL.REDUP |
| Translation | "your wanting to make fun of us" | ||||||||
Numbers
The Chumash languages exhibit a quaternary numeral systemQuaternary numeral system
Quaternary is the base- numeral system. It uses the digits 0, 1, 2 and 3 to represent any real number.It shares with all fixed-radix numeral systems many properties, such as the ability to represent any real number with a canonical representation and the characteristics of the representations of...
. The numbers 1-16 exhibit certain characteristics which are different from the method of counting from 17-32. In all places, however, the factor of 4 usually has a unique term. Ventureño Chumash has the most complete, native Chumash system of numbers on record.
Numbers 1-16
| pakeʼet | ʼiškom̓ | masǝx | tskumu |
| one | two | three | four |
| yǝtipake’es | yǝti’iškom̓ | yǝtimasǝx | malawa |
| five | six | seven | eight |
| tspa | ka’aškom | tǝlu | masǝx tskumu |
| nine | ten | eleven | twelve |
| masǝx tskumu kampake’et | ’iškom̓ laliet | pake’et siwe (tšikipš) | tšikipš |
| thirteen | fourteen | fifteen | sixteen |
Numbers 17-32
| tšikipš kampake’et | ’iškom̓ siwe tskumu’uy | pake’et siwe tskumu’uy | tskumu’uy |
| seventeen | eighteen | nineteen | twenty |
| tskumu’uy kampake’et | ’iškom̓ siwe itsmaxmasǝx | pake’et siwe itsmaxmasǝx | itsmaxmasǝx |
| twenty-one | twenty-two | twenty-three | twenty-four |
| itsmaxmasǝx kampake’et | ’iškom̓ siwe yitimasǝx | pake’et siwe yitimasǝx | yitimasǝx |
| twenty-five | twenty-six | twenty-seven | twenty-eight |
| yitimasǝx kampake’et | ’iškom̓ siwe ’iškom̓ tšikipš | pake’et siwe ’iškom̓ tšikipš | ’iškom̓ tšikipš |
| twenty-nine | thirty | thirty-one | thirty-two |
External links
- Ventureño language overview at the Survey of California and Other Indian LanguagesSurvey of California and Other Indian LanguagesThe Survey of California and Other Indian Languages at the University of California at Berkeley documents, catalogs, and archives the indigenous languages of the Americas...
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