Caddo language

Use and language revitalization efforts

As of 2012, the Caddo Nation teaches weekly language classes; language CDs, a coloring book, and an online learning website are also available. As of 2010, a Caddo app is available for Android phones.

Consonants

Caddo has 19 contrastive consonants, a normal-sized consonant inventory. It is somewhat unusual in that it lacks lateral consonants. The IPA symbols for the consonants of Caddo are given below:

Caddo also features contrastive gemination ofconsonants, which is generally indicated in orthography by a double letter: /nɑ́ttih/ "woman."

Vowels

Caddo has three contrastive vowel qualities, /i/, /ɑ/, and /u/, and two contrastive vowel lengths, long and short, for a total of 6 vowel phonemes.

However, there is a great deal of phonetic variation in the short vowels. The high front vowel /i/ is generally realized as its lower counterpart /ɪ/, and the high back vowel /u/ is similarly often realized as its lower counterpart /ʊ/. The low central vowel /a/ has a wider range of variation, pronounced (most commonly) as /ɐ/ when it is followed by any consonant except a semivowel or a laryngeal consonant, as a low central vowel (for which IPA lacks a symbol) at the end of an open syllable or when followed by a laryngeal consonant, and as /ə/ before a semivowel.

In general, the long vowels do not feature this kind of variation but are simply lengthened versions of the phonemes that are represented in the chart.

Caddo also has four diphthongs, which can be written a number of different ways; the transcription below shows the typical Caddo Nation orthography (a vowel paired with a glide) and the IPA version, represented with vowels and offglides.

ay /aj/ – English eye

aw /aw/ – English out

iw /iw/ – English ew

'uy /uj/ – English boy

Tone

Caddo is a tone language. There are three tones in Caddo: low tone, which is unmarked (a); high tone, which is marked by an acute accent over the vowel (á); and falling tone, which is always long and marked by a grave accent over the vowel (àː).

Tone occurs both lexically (as a property of the word), non-lexically (as a result of tonological processes), and also as a marker of certain morphological features. For instance, the past tense marker is associated with high tone.

Tonological processes

There are three processes that can create non-lexical high tone within a syllable nucleus. See the section below for an explanation of other phonological changes which may occur in the following examples.

1. H-deletion VhCC → V^HighCC An /h/ before two consonants is deleted and the preceding vowel gains high tone: /kiʃwɑhn-t-ʔuh/ → [kiʃwɑ́nːt’uh] "parched corn" 2. Low tone-deletion VRV^LowC → V^HighRC A low tone vowel following a resonant (sonorant consonant) is deleted, and the preceding vowel gains a high tone. /sa-baka-nah-hah/ → [sawkɑ́nːhah] "does he mean it?" 3. Backwards assimilation VRV^High → V^HighRV^High A vowel preceding a resonant and a high tone vowel gains high tone. /nanɑ́/ → [nɑ́nɑ́ː] "that, that one"'

Vowel syncope

There are two vowel syncope processes in Caddo, which both involve the loss of a low-tone vowel in certain environments. The first syncope process was described above as low tone-deletion. The second syncope process is described below:

Interconsonantal syncope VCV^LowCV → VCCV A low-tone vowel in between a vowel-consonant sequence and a consonant-vowel sequence is deleted. (Shown with intermediary form): /kak#(ʔi)t’us-jaʔah/ → kahʔit’uʃaʔah → [kahʔit’uʃʔah] "foam, suds"

Consonant cluster simplification

As a result of the syncope processes described above, several consonant clusters emerge that are then simplified by way of phonological process. At the present stage of research, the processes seem to be unrelated, but they represent a phonetic reduction in consonant clusters; therefore, they are listed below without much further explanation.

1. nw → mm 2. tw → pp 3. tk → kk 4. n → m / __ [+labial] 5. ʔʔ → ʔ 6. hh → h 7. ʔ+Resonant → Resonant+ʔ / syllable final

Syllable coda simplification

Similar to the consonant cluster simplification process, there are four processes by which a syllable-final consonant is altered:

1. b → w / syllable final 2. d → t / syllable final 3. k → h / syllable final (but not before k) 4. tʃ → ʃ / syllable final

Word boundary processes

There are three word-boundary processes in Caddo, all of which occur word-initially:

1. n → t / # __ 2. w → p / # __ 3. y → d / # __ ni-huhn-id-ah/ → [tihúndah] "she returned"

Such processes are generally not applicable in the case of proclitics (morphemes that behave like an affix and are phonologically dependent on the morpheme to which they are attached). An example is the English articles.

Glottalization

Caddo has a glottalization process by which any voiceless stop or affricate (except p) becomes an ejective when it is followed by a glottal stop.

Glottalization [-sonorant, -continuant, -voice, -labial, -spread glottis] → [+constricted glottis] / ___ [+constricted glottis, -spread glottis] A voiceless stop or affricate (except p) becomes an ejective when it is followed by a glottal stop. /sik-ʔuh/ → [sik’uh] "rock"

Palatalization

Caddo has a palatalization process that affects certain consonants when they are followed by /j/, with simultaneous loss of the /j/.

Palatalization a) /kj/ → [tʃ] b) /sj/ → [ʃ] /kak#ʔa-k’as-jaʔah/ → [kahʔak’a ʃʔah] " one’s leg"

(Melnar includes a third palatization process, /tj/ → [ts]. However, /ts/ is not a palatal affricate so it has not been included here. Nevertheless, the third process probably occurs.)

Lengthening

Caddo has three processes by which a syllable nucleus (vowel) may be lengthened:

Syllable Lengthening Process One V^High(Resonant)CVC# → V^High(Resonant)ːCVC# When the second-to-last syllable in a word has a nucleus consisting of a high tone vowel (and, optionally, a resonant), and the last syllable has the form CVC, the high tone nucleus is then lengthened. /bak-‘ʔawɑ́waʔ/ → [bahʔwɑ́ːwaʔ] "they said" Syllable Lengthening Process Two V(Resonant)ʔ → V(Resonant) ː / in any prepenultimate syllable In any syllable before the penultimate, a glottal stop coda is deleted, and the remaining nucleus is lengthened. /hɑ́k#ci-(ʔi)bíhn-saʔ/ → [hɑ́hciːbíːsaʔ] " I have it on my back" Syllable Lengthening Process Three a) ij → iː b) uw →uː Any syllable nucleus with ij or uw must convert to a long vowel.

Education and preservation attempts

The Caddo Nation is making a concentrated effort to save the Caddo language. The Kiwat Hasinay ('Caddo Home') foundation, located at the tribal home of Binger, Oklahoma, offers regular Caddo language classes, in addition to creating dictionaries, phrase books, and other Caddo language resources. They have also made a long-term project of trying to record and digitally archive Caddoan oral traditions, which are an important part of Caddo culture.