Chumashan languages

Chumashan is an extinct and revitalizing 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, to three adjacent Channel Islands: San Miguel, Santa Rosa, and Santa Cruz.

The Chumashan languages may be, along with Yukian and perhaps languages of southern Baja California such as Waikuri, one of the oldest language families established in California, before the arrival of speakers of Penutian, Uto-Aztecan, and perhaps even Hokan languages. Chumashan, Yukian, and southern Baja languages are spoken in areas with long-established populations of a distinct physical type. The population in the core Chumashan area has been stable for the past 10,000 years. However, the attested range of Chumashan is recent (within a couple thousand years). There is internal evidence that Obispeño replaced a Hokan language and that Island Chumash mixed with a language very different from Chumashan; the islands were not in contact with the mainland until the introduction of plank canoes in the first millennium AD.

Although the Chumashan languages are now extinct or dormant, language revitalization programs are underway with four of these Chumashan languages. These languages are well-documented in the unpublished fieldnotes of linguist John Peabody Harrington. Especially well documented are Barbareño, Ineseño, and Ventureño. The last native speaker of a Chumashan language was Barbareño speaker Mary Yee, who died in 1965.

Family division

Languages

Six Chumashan languages are attested, all now extinct. However, most of them are in the process of revitalization, with language programs and classes. Contemporary Chumash people now prefer to refer to their languages by native names rather than the older names based on the local missions.

Chumashan
Northern Chumash
Obispeño (also known as Northern Chumash) <br>Also known as Tilhini by students of the language, after the name of the major village near which the mission was founded.
Southern Chumash
Island Chumash (mixed with non-Chumash)
Island Chumash (also known as Ysleño, Isleño, Cruzeño) <br>Was spoken on the three inhabited islands in the Santa Barbara Channel Islands: Santa Rosa, San Miguel, and Santa Cruz. Edward Sapir accepted this speculation and included Iskoman in his classification of Hokan. More recently it has been noted that Salinan and Chumashan shared only one word, which the Chumashan languages probably borrowed from Salinan (the word for 'white clam shell', which was used as currency). As a result, the inclusion of Chumashan into Hokan is now disfavored by most specialists, and the consensus is that Chumashan has no identified linguistic relatives.

Characteristics

The Chumashan languages are well known for their consonant harmony (regressive sibilant harmony). Mithun presents a scholarly synopsis of Chumashan linguistic structures.

Vowels

The Central Chumash languages all have a symmetrical six-vowel system. The distinctive high central vowel is written various ways, including "barred I," "schwa" and "I umlaut." Contemporary users of the languages favor or .

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

|+caption | Vowels of Central Chumash

! Front

! Central

! Back

! High

| /

! Low

Striking features of this system include

Low-vowel harmony within morphemes: Within a single morpheme, adjacent low vowels match: they are both or all front /e/, central /a/ or back /o/. Pan-Central examples:

:: expeč "to sing" — I/B/V

:: ʼosos "heel" — I/B/V

:: ʼasas "chin" — I/B/V

Low-vowel harmony as a process: Many prefixes include a low vowel which shows up as /a/ when the vowel of the following syllable is high. When the vowel of the following syllable is low, the vowel of the prefix assimilates to (or "harmonizes" with) the front-central-back quality of the following vowel. The verb prefix kal- "of cutting" illustrates this process in the following Barbareño examples, where the /l/ may drop out:

:: kamasix "to cut into three pieces" — kal- + masix "three"

:: keseqen "to cut out" — kal- + seqen "to remove"

:: qoloq " to make or bore a hole, cut a hole in — kal- + loq "to be perforated"

:: katun "to cut into two pieces" — kal- + =tun "of two, being two"

Consonants

The Central Chumash languages have a complex inventory of consonants. All of the consonants except /h/ can be glottalized; all of the consonants except /h/, /x/ and the liquids can be aspirated.

==Proto-language==

Proto-Chumash reconstructions by Klar (1977):

:{| class="wikitable sortable"

! no. !! gloss !! Proto-Chumash !! Proto-Southern Chumash !! notes

| 1 || advise, to || *si/umun || ||

| 2 || all || || *yimlaʔ ||

| 3 || alone || *l-ho || ||

| 4 || already || *kVla- || ||

| 5 || ant || *tkaya’ || || plus sound symbolism

| 6 || armpit || *ti/uq’olo(lo) || || stem: *q'olo(lo)

| 7 || arrive || *ki/um || ||

| 8 || arrow || || *ya' ||

| 9 || arroyo || *l’VmV || ||

| 10 || ascend || *-nVpa || ||

| 11 || ashamed, to be || *-nos- || ||

| 12 || ashes || *qSa || ||

| 13 || ask, to || *-VsqVnV || ||

| 14 || back (body part) || *mVtV’ || ||

| 15 || ball || *-apapa || || reduplicated stem

| 16 || bat (animal) || *mVkala || ||

| 17 || bathe, to || *k-ep’ || ||

| 18 || bear (animal) || *qus || ||

| 19 || bee || *olo || || plus sound symbolism

| 20 || begin, to || *-nVna’ || || reduplicated stem?

| 21 || blow, to || *aq-(tV)-p-; *-kVt || *-wu- ||

| 22 || boil, to || *-wi- || ||

| 23 || bone || *Se || ||

| 24 || bow (noun) || *aqa || ||

| 25 || break, to || *k’oto; *eqe || ||

| 26 || breast || *kVtet || ||

| 27 || breathe; breath || *kal-haS; *-haS || ||

| 28 || bring, to || *kVlhi || ||

| 29 || burn, to || *qi/ut || ||

| 30 || cost, to || *piw’ || ||

| 31 || carry, to || *kum || ||

| 32 || carry on back, to || *sVpV || ||

| 33 || cheek || || *po' ||

| 34 || chest (body part) || *kVwV || ||

| 35 || chia || *’epV- || ||

| 36 || canoe || || *tomolo ||

| 37 || clitoris || *Cele ~ *C’ele || ||

| 38 || cold, to feel || *toqom ~ *qotom || ||

| 39 || comb, to || *ti/ukikS || ||

| 40 || come, to || *yit-i; *VlhVw || ||

| 41 || concerned with, to be || *tak || ||

| 42 || cooked || *pSel || ||

| 43 || cough, to || *oqoqo- || || reduplicated stem; onomatopoetic

| 44 || cover, to || *Vqmay || ||

| 45 || crack, split, to || *-eqe || ||

| 46 || cut, to || *’iwa || || plus reduplication

| 47 || dark-colored, to be || *Soy || ||

| 48 || day || *qSi; *-iSa- || ||

| 49 || deaf || *tu’ || ||

| 50 || deep || *l-hiy || ||

| 51 || die, to || *qSa || ||

| 52 || dirt || *uyu || ||

| 53 || drink; thirsty, to be || *aq-mihi-l-ha; *o- || ||

| 54 || ear || *tu’ || ||

| 55 || earth || || *šup ||

| 56 || eat, to || *uw || ||

| 57 || eye, face || *tVq || ||

| 58 || eyes, face, having to do with || *weqe || ||

| 59 || far, to be || *mVkV || ||

| 60 || fat || *qilhi || ||

| 61 || fight, to || *aqi/u || ||

| 62 || fire || *ne || ||

| 63 || flower || *pey’ || ||

| 64 || flea || *-tep (Proto-Central Chumash) || ||

| 65 || fly (insect) || *axulpes || ||

| 66 || follow, to || *pey || ||

| 67 || food (cf. eat) || *uw- || || *uw- 'eat' plus *-mu (nominalizing suffix)

| 68 || foot || *teme’ || ||

| 69 || forget, to || *may || ||

| 70 || full from eating, to be || *qti’ || ||

| 71 || get up, to || *kVta’ || ||

| 72 || gopher snake || *pSoSo || || reduplicated stem

| 73 || grasshopper || *ti/uqu || || root: *-qu

| 74 || gull sp. || *miyV || ||

| 75 || hair, fur || *SuSV || || reduplicated stem?

| 76 || hand || *pu || ||

| 77 || hang, to || *wayan ~ *waya || ||

| 78 || hear, to || *taq || ||

| 79 || heel || *’ososo || || reduplicated stem

| 80 || hello (greeting) || *haku || ||

| 81 || hole || *loq || ||

| 82 || hole, cave, den || *Si ~ *SiSV || ||

| 83 || homosexual, to be || *’aqi’ || ||

| 84 || jimson weed || *mom’oy || || from *moy

| 85 || knee || *pVm’V || ||

| 86 || knife || *’iw || ||

| 87 || lie down, to || *toy’ ~ *ton’ || ||

| 88 || liver || *c-al’a || ||

| 89 || look, to || *kuti ~ *kuti’ || ||

| 90 || louse || *Seke || ||

| 91 || low tide || *qVw || ||

| 92 || many, much || *equ || ||

| 93 || meat, body || *’Vmin’ || ||

| 94 || moist, to be || *so’ || ||

| 95 || money; clam sp. || *’ala-qu-Cum ~ *’ana-qu-Cum || || *Cum is the root

| 96 || mosquito || *pewe(we)’ || ||

| 97 || mother-in-law || *mVSV || ||

| 98 || mountain lion || *tVkem’ || ||

| 99 || mouse || *qlo || || plus reduplication

| 100 || mouth || *’Vk || ||

| 101 || name || *ti || ||

| 102 || neck || *ni’ || ||

| 103 || necklace || *el’ || ||

| 104 || nerve || *pilhil || ||

| 105 || nest || *patV ~ *patV’ || ||

| 106 || new, to be || *VmVn || ||

| 107 || now || *kipV(’) || ||

| 108 || oak spp. || *kuwu(’) || ||

| 109 || one-eyed, to be || *ta’ || ||

| 110 || open, to || *kal || ||

| 111 || overcast, to be || *iqVmay || ||

| 112 || pelican || *sew || ||

| 113 || person || *ku || ||

| 114 || pet || *qo’ || ||

| 115 || pick up, lift, raise || *lay || ||

| 116 || prickly pear || *qV’ || ||

| 117 || quail || *takaka || || onomatopoetic

| 118 || rabbit/jackrabbit || *ma’; *kuni’ || ||

| 119 || rain, to || *tuhuy ~ *tuy || ||

| 120 || red || *qupe || ||

| 121 || roadrunner || *pu’ || ||

| 122 || rub, to || *muy || ||

| 123 || salt || *tepu(’) ~ *tipu(’) || ||

| 124 || save (rescue), to || *apay || ||

| 125 || seed || *’VmVn’ || ||

| 126 || skunk || *tVqema || ||

| 127 || smoke || *tuwo’ || ||

| 128 || snail, sea || *q’VmV’ || ||

| 129 || speak, say, to || *’ipi(’) || ||

| 130 || split-stick rattle || *wanS-aq’a ~ *wacs-aq’a || ||

| 131 || spread open || *kek-an || ||

| 132 || squirrel, ground || *emet’ ~ *em’et’ || ||

| 133 || steps || *tVyV- || ||

| 134 || stick to, to || *pey ~ *pey’ || ||

| 135 || sticky, to be || *pilhiy || ||

| 136 || stone, rock || *qVpV || ||

| 137 || straight || *tyiyeme ? || ||

| 138 || swordfish || *’eleyewun’ || ||

| 139 || tadpole || *qlo ~ *qyo || || root: 'small creature' (cf. mouse)

| 140 || tail || *telheq’ || ||

| 141 || take off, to || *qe || ||

| 142 || tears || *tinik’ || ||

| 143 || tongue || *’elhew’ || ||

| 144 || tooth || *Sa || ||

| 145 || urinate, to || *Sol’ || ||

| 146 || vomit || *paS(V) || ||

| 147 || walk, to || - || ||

| 148 || warm self, to || *mol || ||

| 149 || water || *’o’ || ||

| 150 || whale || *paqat(V) || ||

| 151 || wood, tree, stick || *pono’ || ||

| 152 || woodpecker || *pVlak’a(k’) || ||

| 153 || wrinkled || *Sok’ || || plus reduplication

| 154 || yawn || *San || || plus reduplication

| 155 || yellow jacket || *ɨyɨ ~ *ɨyɨ’ || ||

Notes

Bibliography

Campbell, Lyle. (1997). American Indian languages: The historical linguistics of Native America. New York: Oxford University Press. .
Dixon, Roland R.; & Kroeber, Alfred L. (1913). New Linguistic Families in California. American Anthropologist 15:647-655.
Goddard, Ives (Ed.). (1996). Languages. Handbook of North American Indians (W. C. Sturtevant, General Ed.) (Vol. 17). Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution. .
Klar, Kathryn. (1977). Topics in historical Chumash grammar. (Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley).
Mithun, Marianne. (1999). The languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (hbk); .
Grant, Campbell. (1978). Chumash:Introduction. In California Handbook of North American Indians (William C. Sturtevant, General Ed.) Vol. 8 (Robert F. Heizer, Volume Ed.). Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution.
Sapir, Edward. (1917). The Position of Yana in the Hokan Stock. University of California Publications in American Archaeology and ethnology 13:1–34. Berkeley: University of California.