Native to USA Native speakers 1,500 (2007) | ISO 639-3 apm | |
Ethnicity 3,000+ Chiricahua (2007) Language family Dené–Yeniseian?Na-DeneAthabaskanSouthern AthabaskanSouthwestern ApacheWesternMescalero-Chiricahua | ||
Mescalero-Chiricahua (also known as Mescalero-Chiricahua Apache) is a Southern Athabaskan language spoken by the Mescalero and Chiricahua tribes in Oklahoma and New Mexico. It is related to Navajo and Western Apache. Mescalero-Chiricahua has been described in great detail by the anthropological linguist Harry Hoijer (1904–1976), especially in Hoijer & Opler (1938) and Hoijer (1946). Hoijer & Opler's Chiricahua and Mescalero Apache Texts, including a grammatical sketch and traditional religious and secular stories, has been converted into an online "book" available from the University of Virginia.
Contents
Virginia Klinekole, the first female president of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, was known for her efforts to preserve the language.
There is at least one Apache language immersion school for children in Mescalero.
Consonants
The 31 consonants of Mescalero-Chiricahua:
Vowels
The 16 vowels of Mescalero-Chiricahua:
Mescalero-Chiricahua has phonemic oral, nasal, short, and long vowels.