The Macro-Siouan languages are a proposed language family that includes the Siouan-Catawban, Iroquoian, and Caddoan families. Most linguists remain unconvinced that these languages share a genetic relationship, and the existence of a Macro-Siouan language family remains a subject of debate.
In the 19th century, Robert Latham suggested that the Siouan-Catawban languages are related to the Caddoan and Iroquoian languages. In 1931, Louis Allen presented the first list of systematic correspondences between a set of 25 lexical items in Siouan-Catawban and Iroquoian. In the 1960s and 1970s, Wallace Chafe further explored the link between Siouan-Catawban and Caddoan languages. In the 1990s, Marianne Mithun compared the morphology and syntax of all the three families. At present, the Macro-Siouan hypothesis based on relations among Siouan-Catawban, Caddoan, and Iroquoian is not universally accepted as proven.[1]
Vocabulary
Below is a comparison of selected basic vocabulary items in Proto-Siouan-Catawban, Proto-Iroquoian, and Pawnee (a Caddoan language).
- Abbreviations
- N = Proto-Northern Iroquoian
gloss Proto-Siouan[2] Proto-Iroquoian[3] Pawnee[4] head *rą-išú· *-hskʷ- páksuʔ hair *rą·tų́ *-kiɁɹh- úːsuʔ eye *ištá N *-kahɹ- kiríːkuʔ ear *rą́·tpa; *rąxu·- N *-(a)hõht- nose *hpa-sú· *-Ɂnjõːhs- icúːsuʔ tooth *i-hí·; *í·h-Sa (?) N *-noɁts-, *-noɁtsj- áːruʔ tongue *i-ré·ši háːtuʔ mouth *ʔí·he háːkauʔ hand *rąpé > *i-rąpe; *ų́·ke (?) *-oɁnj- íksuʔ foot *i-sí *-aːhs-, *-aːhsiɁt- ásuʔ breast *á·si *-nõɁt- éːtuʔ meat *i-yó· kísacki blood *(wa-)ʔí·(-re) N *-nkõ-, *-nkʷẽhs- páːtuʔ bone *wa-hú·(-re) N *-Ɂnẽj-; *-hskẽɁɹ- kíːsuʔ person *wą́·ke N *-õkʷeh, *-õkʷehsɹ-, *-õkʷeɁt- (v.) cáhriks name *yá·še N *-hsẽn- dog *wašų́ke, *wi-šų́·ke *kiːɹ ásaːki fish *wi-hó· *-tsjõɁt- kacíːki louse *(w-)hé· < **(wa-)hé· tree N *kaɹhit, *keɹhit, *keɹhiɁ, *kɹaheːt, *kɹahit rahaːpe leaf *á·pe N *-nɹaht- kuːtik flower *xyá; *xyéhe N *-ẽh- (Iroquoia) water *yo; *wa-rį́· *awẽɁ kíːcuʔ fire *(wa-)hpé·te *-tsiːɹ keːkauʔ ‘flame’ stone *(wa-)ʔį́·(-re); *rį́·sV; *į́-xʔe *-nẽːj- karítki earth *awą́·- N *-õhwẽtsj- huráːruʔ salt N *-tsikheɁt- road *yą́·ku N *-ah-, *-(a)hah- hatúːruʔ eat *rú·tE *-k- waːwa-a die *tʔé·(-re) N *-ihej- hurahac I *w- *hskʷi (2:1.SG) -t- you *yi·- ~ *yį·- *kõː (1:2.SG); N *iːts -s-
Notes
- ↑ Mithun, Marianne. 1999. The languages of native North America. p.305. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- ↑ Rankin, Robert L., Carter, Richard T., Jones, A. Wesley, Koontz, John E., Rood, David S. & Hartmann, Iren (eds.). (2015). Comparative Siouan Dictionary. Leipzig, Germany: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
- ↑ Julian, Charles (2010). A History of the Iroquoian Languages (PDF) (PhD thesis). University of Manitoba.
- ↑ Parks, Douglas R. 1979. The Northern Caddoan Languages: Their Subgrouping and Time Depths. Nebraska History 60: 197-213.
Bibliography
- Campbell, Lyle (1997). American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America. Oxford: Oxford University Press.