Tongva language
Tongva | |
---|---|
Gabrielino or Gabrieleño | |
'eyooshiraaw' | |
Native to | Southern California, United States |
Region | Los Angeles, Santa Catalina Island |
Ethnicity | Tongva |
Extinct | ca. 1900 |
Revival | since 2000s |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | xgf |
xgf | |
Glottolog | tong1329 |
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The Tongva language (also known as Gabrielino or Gabrieleño) is an extinct[1][2] Uto-Aztecan language formerly spoken by the Tongva, a Native American people who live in and around Los Angeles, California. It has not been a language of everyday conversation since the 1940s. The Gabrieleño people now speak English but a few are attempting to revive their language by using it in everyday conversation and ceremonial contexts. Presently, Gabrieleño is also being used in language revitalization classes and in some public discussion regarding religious and environmental issues.[3] Tongva is closely related to Serrano.
The last fluent native speakers of Tongva lived in the early 20th century. The language is primarily documented in the unpublished field notes of John Peabody Harrington made during that time. The "J.P. Harrington Project", developed by the Smithsonian through UC Davis, approximately 6,000 pages of his notes on the Tongva language, were coded for documentation by a Tongva member, who took 3 years to accomplish the task. Claims of native speakers of Tongva who have died as late as in the 1970s have not been verified as having been fluent speakers.
Evidence of the language also survives in modern toponymy of Southern California, including Pacoima, Tujunga, Topanga, Azusa, Cahuenga in Cahuenga Pass and Cucamonga in Rancho Cucamonga. Additionally, the minor planet 50000 Quaoar was named after the Tongva creator god.[4]
Language revitalization[]
As of 2012, members of the contemporary Tongva (Gabrieleño) tribal council are attempting to revive the language, by making use of written vocabularies, by comparison to better attested members of the Takic group to which Tongva belonged,[5] and by offering classes.[6][7] The Gabrieliño-Tongva Language Committee has created Tongva grammar lessons and songs, and a Tongva Facebook page "introduces an audio of a new word, phrase or song daily."[8][9]
Phonology[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Tongva_woman.jpg/220px-Tongva_woman.jpg)
Consonants[]
The following is a list of the consonants and vowels of the Tongva language as used by the Tongva Language Committee, based on linguist Pamela Munro's interpretation of the fieldnotes of J. P. Harrington.[11] In parentheses is the spelling of the specific sound. Note that there are multiple orthographies for the Tongva language.
Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labio -velar |
Glottal | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m /m/ | n /n/ | ng /ŋ/ | ||||
Stop | voiced | (b /b/) | (d /d/) | (g /ɡ/) | |||
voiceless | p /p/ | t /t/ | ch /tʃ/ | k /k/ | kw /kʷ/ | ʼ /ʔ/ | |
Fricative | (f /f/) | s /s/ | sh /ʃ/ | x /x/ | h /h/ | ||
Approximant | v /v/ | l /l/ | y /j/ | w /w/ | |||
Tap | r /ɾ/ |
Consonants /b d f ɡ/ are used in loanwords.[11]
Vowels[]
Front | Central | Back | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
short | long | short | long | short | long | |
Close | i /i/ | ii /iː/ | u /u/ | uu /uː/ | ||
Mid | e /e/ | ee /eː/ | o /o/ | oo /oː/ | ||
Open | a /a/ | aa /aː/ |
Morphology[]
Tongva is an agglutinative language, where words use suffixes and multiple morphemes for a variety of purposes.
Vocabulary[]
The Lord's Prayer[11][]
The Lord's Prayer is called 'Eyoonak in Tongva. The following text was derived from old Mission records.
'Eyoonak
'Eyoonak, 'eyooken tokuupanga'e xaa;
hoyuuykoy motwaanyan;
moxariin mokiimen tokuupra;
maay mo'wiishme meyii 'ooxor 'eyaa tokuupar.Hamaare, 'eyoone' maxaare' 'wee taamet,
koy 'oovonre' 'eyoomamaayntar momoohaysh, miyii 'eyaare
'oovonax 'eyoohiino 'eyooyha';
koy xaare' maayn 'iitam momoohaysh,
koy xaa mohuu'esh.
'Wee menee' xaa'e.
Collected by C. Hart Merriam (1903)[12][]
(Merriam refers to them as the Tongvā)
- Numbers
- Po-koo
- Wěh-hā
- Pah-hā
- Wah-chah
- Mah-har
- Pah-vah-hā
- Wah-chah-kav-e-ah
- Wa-ha's-wah-chah
- Mah-ha'hr-kav-e-ah
- Wa-hās-mah-hah'r
- Wa-hā's-mah-hah'r-koi-po-koo
- Wa-hā's-mah-hah'r-koi-wěh-hā
- grizzly bear
- hoó-nahr
- hoon-nah (subject)
- hoon-rah (object)
- black bear
- pí-yah-hó-naht
Collected by Alexander Taylor (1860)[12][]
- Numbers
- po-koo
- wa-hay
- pa-hey
- wat-sa
- mahar
- pawahe
- wat-sa-kabiya
- wa-hish-watchsa
- mahar-cabearka
- wa-hish-mar
Taylor claims "they do not count farther than ten"
Collected by Dr. Oscar Loew (1875)[12][]
- Numbers
- pu-gu'
- ve-he'
- pa'-hi
- va-tcha'
- maha'r
- pa-va'he
- vatcha'-kabya'
- vehesh-vatcha'
- mahar-kabya'
- vehes-mahar
- puku-hurura
- vehe-hurura
- bear
- unar
Collected by Charles Wilkes, USN (1838-1842)[12][]
- Numbers
- pukū
- wehē
- pāhe
- watsā
- bear
- hundr
Other sources[]
- desert fox: erow[13]
- Pacoima = from the root word Pako enter, meaning the entrance[citation needed]
- Tujunga = from the root word old woman tux'uu[citation needed] Tujunga means Mountains of Health according to long-time residents.
- Azusa = from the word -shuuk 'Ashuuksanga = his grandmother[citation needed]
Toponymy[]
The table below gives the names of various missions in the Tongva language.[14]
English | Tongva |
---|---|
Los Angeles | Yaa |
San Bernardino | Wa'aach |
San Gabriel | Shevaa |
San Pedro | Chaaw |
Santa Ana | Hotuuk |
Santa Monica | Kecheek |
Santa Catalina | Pemu |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Glottolog 4.4 – Tongva
- ^ Gabrielino-Fernandeño –- MultiTree
- ^ Jana Fortier (December 2008). "Native American Consultation And Ethnographic Study, Ventura County, California". La Jolla, California: California Department of Transportation: 13–14. Retrieved 17 June 2019. Cite journal requires
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(help) - ^ Byrd, Deborah (19 February 2013). "Quaoar, a rocky world orbiting beyond Neptune". EarthSky. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
- ^ The Limu Project (active language revitalization)
- ^ Keepers of Indigenous Ways: Tongva Language History & classes
- ^ R. Plesset (2012-06-01). "San Pedro: Science Center Endangered/Tongva Village Site Revitalization". Indymedia Los Angeles. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
- ^ Marquez, Letisia (2014-07-01). "Social media used to revive extinct language". Phys.org. Retrieved 2014-07-03.
- ^ Curwen, Thomas (May 12, 2019). "Tongva, Los Angeles' first language, opens the door to a forgotten time and place". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-05-12.
- ^ Lepowsky, M. (2004). "Indian revolts and cargo cults: Ritual violence and revitalization in California and New Guinea". In Harkin, M. E. (ed.). Reassessing revitalization movements: Perspectives from North America and the Pacific Island. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. pp. 1–61. ISBN 9780803224063. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Munro, Pamela; The Gabrielino/Tongva Language Committee (2008). "Lesson One: Pronouncing and Writing the Tongva Language". Hyaare Shiraaw'ax 'Eyooshiraaw'a: Now You're Speaking Our Language (An Introduction to the Gabrielino/Tongva/Fernandeño Language). OL 25610961M.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d McCawley, William. The First Angelinos: The Gabrielino Indians of Los Angeles. Malki Museum Press, 1996
- ^ Native Languages of the Americas[year needed]
- ^ Munro, Pamela, et al. Yaara' Shiraaw'ax 'Eyooshiraaw'a. Now You're Speaking Our Language: Gabrielino/Tongva/Fernandeño. Lulu.com: 2008.
External links[]
- Native-languages.org: Gabrieliño (Tongva) Language
- Gabrielino language — overview at the Survey of California and Other Indian Languages.
- The Limu Project — active in Native California languages revitalization.
- 2002 Tongva speech spoken at Cal Poly Pomona during the opening of a Tongva ethnobotanic garden; speech begins at 35:10.
- Keepers of Indigenous Ways: Tongva Language History & classes
- Languages with Linglist code
- Tongva
- Indigenous languages of California
- Agglutinative languages
- Takic languages
- History of Los Angeles County, California
- History of Orange County, California
- History of San Bernardino County, California
- History of the San Fernando Valley
- Native American language revitalization