Sahaptin language

Dialects

Sahaptin has four dialects in a dialect cluster :

Northern Sahaptin group

Northwest Sahaptin dialect cluster: Klickitat (Klikitat) (Yakama name: Xwálxwaypam or L'ataxat), Tainapam (Taidnapam / Táytnapam or Upper Cowlitz), Upper Nisqually (Meshal / Mashel or Mica'l, also known as Mishalpam), Yakima (Yakama) (Lower or Yakama proper, autonym: Mámachatpam), Kittitas (Upper Yakama, autonym: Pshwánapam or Pshwanpawam)

Northeast Sahaptin dialect cluster: Wanapum (Wanapam) (Wánapam), Palouse (Palus) (Yakama name: Pelúuspem), Lower Snake (Chamnapam, Wauyukma, and Naxiyampam), Walla Walla (Waluulapan)

Southern Sahaptin group (Columbia River cluster): Umatilla (Rock Creek Indians, Yakama name: Amatalamlama; Imatalamlama), Skin-pah (Sk'in tribe or Sawpaw, also known as Fall Bridge and Rock Creek people or K'milláma, a Tenino subtribe; perhaps another Yakama name for the Umatilla, who were known as Rock Creek Indians), Tenino (Tygh Valley dialect of the Tygh (Taih, Tyigh or Tayxɫáma) or "Upper Deschutes", Celilo dialect of the Wyam (Wayámɫáma) (Yakama name: Wayámpam) or "Lower Deschutes", also known as "Celilo Indians", Tenino dialect of the Dalles Tenino or "Tinainu (Tinaynuɫáma)"; John Day dialect oft the Dock-Spus (Tukspush or Takspasɫáma) or "John Day.")

Grammar

There are published grammars, a recent dictionary, and a corpus of published texts. Sahaptin has a split ergative syntax, with direct-inverse voicing and several applicative constructions.

The ergative case inflects third-person nominals only when the direct object is first- or second-person (the examples below are from the Umatilla dialect):

1) i-q̓ínu-šana yáka paanáy

3nom-see-asp bear 3acc.sg ‘the bear saw him’

2) i-q̓ínu-šana=aš yáka-nɨm

3nom-see-asp=1sg bear-erg ‘the bear saw me’

The direct-inverse contrast can be elicited with examples such as the following. In the inverse, the transitive direct object is coreferential with the subject in the preceding clause.

Direct:

3) wínš i-q̓ínu-šana wapaanłá-an ku i-ʔíƛ̓iyawi-ya paanáy

man 3nom-see-asp grizzly-acc and :3nom-kill-pst 3acc.sg ‘the man saw the grizzly and he killed it’

Inverse:

4) wínš i-q̓ínu-šana wapaanłá-an ku pá-ʔiƛ̓iyawi-ya

man 3nom-see-asp grizzly-acc and inv-kill-pst ‘the man saw the grizzly and it killed him’

The inverse (marked by the verbal prefix pá-) retains its transitive status, and a patient nominal is case marked accusative.

5) ku pá-ʔiƛ̓iyawi-ya wínš-na

and inv-kill-pst man-acc ‘and it killed the man’ (= ‘and the man was killed by it’)

A semantic inverse is also marked by the same verbal prefix pá-.

Direct:

6) q̓ínu-šana=maš

see-asp=1sg/2sg ‘I saw you’

Inverse:

7) pá-q̓inu-šana=nam

inv-see-=2sg ‘you saw me’

In Speech Act Participant (SAP) and third-person transitive involvement, direction marking is as follows:

Direct:

8) á-q̓inu-šana=aš paanáy

obv-see-asp=1sg 3sg.acc ‘I saw him/her/it’

Inverse:

9) i-q̓ínu-šana=aš pɨ́nɨm

3nom-see-asp=1sg 3erg ‘he/she/it saw me’

Phonology

The charts of consonants and vowels below are used in the Yakima Sahaptin (Ichishkiin) language:

Vowels

Vowels can also be accented (e.g. /á/).