| Tonkawa | |
| States: | United States |
| Region: | Western Oklahoma, South-central Texas and into New Mexico |
| Ethnicity: | Tonkawa |
| Familycolor: | American |
| Family: | Language isolate |
| Iso3: | tqw |
| Map: | Tonkawa lang.png |
| Mapcaption: | Pre-contact distribution of the Tonkawa language |
| Notice: | IPA |
| Glotto: | tonk1249 |
| Glottorefname: | Tonkawa |
The Tonkawa language was spoken in Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico by the Tonkawa people. A language isolate, with no known related languages,[1] Tonkawa has not had L1 (first language) speakers since the mid 1900s.[2] Most Tonkawa people now only speak English, but revitalization is underway.
Tonkawa has 10 vowels:
| Front | Central | Back | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |||
| Mid | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |||
| Open | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |||||
Tonkawa has 15 consonants:
| Bilabial | Coronal | Dorsal | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||||
| Plosive | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |
| Affricate | pronounced as /ink/ | |||||
| Fricative | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||
| Approximant | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |||
There are two environments in which consonant clusters occur in Tonkawa:
Repeated or identical consonants are treated as one unit. However, the condition that causes this repetition has not been fully analyzed.
There are cases where the glottal stop is not used in the cluster or combination
There are certain consonants that can either begin or end in a cluster. However, if the cluster begins the syllable, there can be no intervening vowel.
Initial stem syllables that begin with h-
Final stem syllables
An interesting feature of Tonkawan phonology is that the vowels in even-numbered syllables are reduced. That is, long vowels are shortened, while short vowels disappear. Analyses of this were given by Kisseberth (1970), Phelps (1973, 1975) and Noske (1993).
The Tonkawa language is a syllabic language that bases its word and sentence prosody on even stressed syllables.
There are five types of syllable arrangements: (CL consonant, CC: consonant cluster, V: vowel)
The morphemes in Tonkawa can be divided as follows:
I. Themes
In Tonkawa the theme is composed of morphologic units. The basic unit is the stem. The stem is composed of two elements (the consonant and vowel) and modified by affixes. The theme, or stem, is functional, which means it changes as more affixation is added. This leads to the fusion of the stem and affix where it becomes difficult to isolate the word into its smaller units.
II. Affixes
III. Enclitics
In English, pronouns, nouns, verbs, etc., are individual words; Tonkawa forms the parts of speech differently, and the most important grammatical function is affixation. This process shows the subjects, objects, and pronouns of words and/or verbs. Within affixations, the suffix has more importance than the prefix.
The differentiation between subject and object is shown in the suffix. While the word order tends to be subject-object-verb (SOV), compounding words is very common in Tonkawa. Reduplication is very common in Tonkawa and affects only the verb themes. Usually, only one syllable undergoes reduplication, and it notes a repeated action, vigorous action, or a plural subject.
Nouns function as free themes, or stems, in Tonkawa. There is a limit of only two or three affixes that can compound with a noun. However, there are cases of a bound theme occurring in noun compounds, which occurs with the suffix -an is added. In English, pronouns and nouns are usually grouped together, but because pronouns in Tonkawa are bound themes, they will be discussed with the verb section.
| Case | Indefinite (singular/plural) | Definite (singular/plural) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -la/ -ka | -pronounced as /ʔaːla// -pronounced as /ʔaːka/ | |
| Accusative | -lak/ -kak | -pronounced as /ʔaːlak// -pronounced as /ʔaːkak/ | |
| Genitive | -pronounced as /ʔan/ | -pronounced as /ʔaːlʔan/ | |
| Dative (Arrival) | -pronounced as /ʔaːyik/ | ||
| Dative (Approach) | -pronounced as /ʔaːwʔan/ | ||
| Instrumental | -es / -kas | -pronounced as /aːlas// -pronounced as /ʔaːkay/ | |
| Conjunctive | -pronounced as /ʔen/ | -pronounced as /ʔaːlʔen/ | |
| Vocative | (bare stem) | (bare stem) |
Verbs are bound morphemes that have a limit of only two themes, the second theme being the modifying theme and usually serving as an adverbial theme. However, if the suffix -pronounced as /ʔe//-wa is added the verb functions as a free theme.
Pronouns are not used except for emphasis on the subject and are affixated as prefixes. Person and number are usually indicated by the affixation of the verb. Most pronouns are bound themes, especially the demonstrative pronouns.
| 1st person | saː- me | kew-saː- we/us |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd person | naː- you | we-naː- you pl./them |
| 3rd person | ʔa- him/her |
Demonstrative adverbs can be formed by adding -ca 'place', -l 'direction', -c 'manner' to the demonstrative pronouns below.
Example: pronounced as /waː/ 'that one aforementioned' + ca 'place = 'pronounced as /waː-ca/ 'that place aforementioned'
Interrogative pronouns can be formed by adding the prefix he- to the demonstrative pronouns as well by using the same format for the demonstrative adverbs.
Example: he 'interrogative' + pronounced as /teː/ 'this' + l 'direction' = pronounced as /he-teː-l/ 'where'
Indefinite pronouns can also be formed with affixation. (Interrogative + pronounced as /ʔax/)
Example: pronounced as /hecuː/ 'what' + pronounced as /ʔax/ = pronounced as /hecuː-ʔax/ 'anything, something, anyone, someone'
| Tonkawa Demonstrative | English Demonstrative | |
|---|---|---|
| pronounced as /waː-/ | the one aforementioned | |
| pronounced as /teː-/ | this | |
| pronounced as /heʔe// pronounced as /hepronounced as /ʔeː/// pronounced as /heː/ | that | |
| pronounced as /weː/ | (that) one yonder |
Also within the verbal-prefix category are the causatives pronounced as /ya-/ and pronounced as /nec-/, where pronounced as /ya-/ is the older form.
Verb suffixes are important in Tonkawa because they usually indicate the tense, negativity, and manner (outside of what is conveyed in the aforementioned prefixes) of the action performed.
| Suffix | Function | Placement | |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ape/-ap | Negation suffix | follows the theme but follows a second-person plural object pronoun, if present | |
| -pronounced as /nesʔe// -pronounced as /nesʔ/ | Dual subject suffix | follows the negation suffix, future tense suffix, and second-person plural object pronoun | |
| -pronounced as /wesʔe// -pronounced as /weʔ/ | Plural subject suffix | same position as the dual subject; occurs in the first and second persons in all modes | |
| -pronounced as /aːtew// -pronounced as /aːto/ | Future tense suffix | after the stem/theme (present tense: -pronounced as /ʔe/ or just -pronounced as /ʔ/; past tense: -pronounced as /ʔej/ or -pronounced as /ʔeːje/) | |
| -no/ -n | Continuative suffix | after the stem | |
| -we/ -pronounced as /oː// -o | declarative mode suffix | after the present or past tense | |
| -pronounced as /kʷa/ | Exclamatory suffix | after the 3rd person singular or at the end of the word | |
| -w | Imperative mode | only in the singular, dual, or second-person plural |
Enclitics are bound morphemes that are suffixed to verbs, nouns, and demonstratives that end with -k. Enclitics often express modal concepts in Tonkawa, which occur in the declarative, interrogative, and quotative/narrative clauses or statements.
| Clause | Suffix | Special Circumstances | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Declarative | -aw or -pronounced as /aːwe/ | ||
| Interrogative | -je or -pronounced as /jelkʷa/ | both take the pronounced as /ʔ/ suffix unless there is an interrogative pronoun | |
| Quotative/ Narrative | -pronounced as /noʔo// -pronounced as /laknoʔo/ | only added to verb forms with –k suffix and if the verb is used in telling a mythical story |
The orthography used on the Tonkawa Tribe's website is based on Americanist phonetic notation.[3]
| Alphabet | Pronunciation | Alphabet | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| c | pronounced as //ts// | a | pronounced as //a// | |
| h | pronounced as //h// | aꞏ | pronounced as //aː// | |
| k | pronounced as //k// | e | pronounced as //e// | |
| pronounced as /kʷ/ | pronounced as //kʷ// | eꞏ | pronounced as //eː// | |
| l | pronounced as //l// | i | pronounced as //i// | |
| m | pronounced as //m// | iꞏ | pronounced as //iː// | |
| n | pronounced as //n// | o | pronounced as //o// | |
| p | pronounced as //p// | oꞏ | pronounced as //oː// | |
| s | pronounced as //s// | u | pronounced as //u// | |
| t | pronounced as //t// | uꞏ | pronounced as //uː// | |
| w | pronounced as //w// | |||
| x | pronounced as //x// | |||
| pronounced as /xʷ/ | pronounced as //xʷ// | |||
| y | pronounced as //j// | |||
| pronounced as //ʔ// |
Long vowels are indicated with a following middle dot (·). The affricate pronounced as //ts// is written (c). The glottal stop pronounced as //ʔ// is written as a saltillo . The palatal glide pronounced as //j// is written (y).
The phonemic orthography used in Hoijer's Tonkawa Texts is in a slightly different version of Americanist transcription. It uses a colon for long vowels (꞉) and the IPA glottal stop letter (IPA|ʔ).
The following text is the first four sentences of Coyote and Jackrabbit, from Hoijer's Tonkawa Texts.
ha·csokonayla ha·nanoklaknoˀo xamˀalˀa·yˀik. ˀe·kʷa tanmaslakʷa·low hecne·laklaknoˀo lak. ha·csokonayla "ˀo·c!" noklaknoˀo. "ˀekʷanesxaw sa·ken nenxales!" noklaknoˀo. ˀe·ta tanmaslakʷa·lowa·ˀa·lak hewleklaknoˀo.
Gloss:
Coyote / he was going along, S / on the prairie. When he did so / Jackrabbit / he was lying, S / (accus.). Coyote / "Oho!" / he said, S. "Horse /my / I have found it!" / he said, S. And then / that Jackrabbit afm / he caught him, S.
In this gloss, S is an abbreviation for "it is said", and afm for "the aforementioned".
Vocabulary[4]
| English | Tonkawa | |
|---|---|---|
| One | We:'ispax | |
| Two | Ketay | |
| Three | Metis | |
| Four | Sikit | |
| Five | Kaskwa | |
| Man | Ha:'ako:n | |
| Woman | Kwa:nla | |
| Dog | 'Ekwan | |
| Sun | Taxas | |
| Water | A:x |