Summary
The Macro-Siouan languages are a proposed language family that includes the Siouan, 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.
| Macro-Siouan | |
|---|---|
| (controversial) | |
| Geographic distribution | eastern North America |
| Linguistic classification | Proposed language family |
| Subdivisions | |
| Glottolog | None |
 Pre-contact distribution of the proposed Macro-Siouan language family | |
In the 19th century, Robert Latham suggested that the Siouan 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 and Iroquoian. In the 1960s and 1970s, Wallace Chafe further explored the link between Siouan 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, Caddoan, and Iroquoian is not universally accepted as proven.[1]
Vocabulary edit
Below is a comparison of selected basic vocabulary items in Proto-Siouan, 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 edit
- ^ 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 edit
- Campbell, Lyle (1997). American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America. Oxford: Oxford University Press.