Chiwere language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Chiwere | ||
|---|---|---|
| Báxoje-Jíwere-Ñútˀachi | ||
| Spoken in | United States | |
| Region | Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas | |
| Total speakers | Uncertain but fewer that 40 | |
| Language family | Siouan-Catawban
|
|
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1 | None | |
| ISO 639-2 | – | |
| ISO 639-3 | iow | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
Chiwere (also called Iowa-Otoe-Missouria or Báxoje-Jíwere-Ñútˀachi) is a Siouan language originally spoken by the Missouria, Otoe, and Iowa peoples, who originated in the Great Lakes region but later moved throughout the midwest and plains. The language is closely related to Ho-Chunk, also known as Winnebago.
The Iowa tribe refers to their language as Báxoje ichˀé or Bah Kho Je (pronounced [ˈpaˌxodʒɛ ~ baˈxodʒɛ iˌtʃˀe]). The Otoe-Missouria dialect is called Jíwere ichˀé (pronounced [ˈtʃiweɾɛ ~ dʒiˈweɾɛ iˌtʃˀe]). The spelling Chiwere, used mostly by linguists, derives from the fact that the language has an aspiration distinction rather than a voice distinction, so that the unaspirated stops [b d j g] are sometimes heard as [p t ch k] by speakers of other languages. Although [tʃ] is a valid pronunciation of the first sound of Jiwere ~ Chiwere, it may mislead English speakers into pronouncing it [tʃʰ].
Similarly, a common folk etymology of Báxoje is "dusty noses," based on the misunderstanding of the first syllable bá as pá, or "nose."[1] However, the Iowa Tribe of Okahoma says Bah-Kho-Je means "grey snow," due to their winter lodges being covered with snow stained grey by fire smoke.[2]
Today, Chiwere is only spoken by very few elderly people within the tribal communities of the Otoe-Iowa in Oklahoma and Missouri. As of 2006, an estimated four members of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians still spoke their language, while 30 members of the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma speak their language.[3] The last completely fluent speaker of the Otoe-Missouria dialect was Truman Washington Dailey (Eagle clan name: Mashi Manyi, man name: Sunge Hka), who died in 1996.
Christian missionaries first documented Chiwere in the 1830s, but since then virtually nothing has been published about the language. Chiwere suffered a steady decline after extended European-American contact in the 1850s, and by 1940 the language had almost totally ceased to be spoken.
Currently, Chiwere is highly endangered. With the last two fluent speakers dying in the winter of 1996, only a handful of semi-fluent speakers remain, all of whom are elderly.[4] The Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma has sponsored language workshops in the past and hopes to host more in the future. They have provided tribal elders with recording devices to collects Chiwere words and songs.[5] The Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians is establishing a language program in conjunction with the University of Oklahoma Native American Studies Department.[6]
[edit] External links
- Ioway-Otoe-Missouria Language Website
- Ioway Cultural Institute : Language
- Iowa-Otoe-Missouri page at Native-Languages.org
- Iowa-Oto at Ethnologue
- Otoe-Missouria Hymns translated from English by Earl Plumley.
[edit] References
- ^ Goodtracks, Jimm (1992) Baxoje-Jiwere-Nyut'aji - Ma'unke: Iowa-Otoe-Missouria Language to English. Boulder, CO: Center for the Study of the Languages of the Plains and Southwest. (also) Goodtracks, Jimm (16 August 2008), personal communication. Ioway Otoe-Missouria Language Website
- ^ History of the Ioway. Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma. (retrieved 22 Feb 2009)
- ^ Anderton, Alice, PhD. Status of Indian Languages in Oklahoma. Intertribal Wordpath Society. 2009 (22 Feb 2009)
- ^ Welcome to the Ioway, Otoe-Missouria Language Website. Ioway, Otoe-Missouria Language. (retrieved 23 Feb 2009)
- ^ Oral History and Language. Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma. (retrieved 23 Feb 2009)
- ^ Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians Job Announcement. 7 Jan 2009 (23 Feb 2009)
