Nahónda

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Nahónda

Introduction

Nahónda, also known as Nónda and referred to by its own speakers as Nahónda keloma (lit. "Nahónda speak"), is a language centered in Northwestern Montana. It is bordered by the Lakota Nation to the east, by the Cheyenne to the south, and the Blackfeet and Crow Nations to the north. Along its western border lies the Nez Percé Nation. Long considered a language isolate, new analyses has demonstrated it shares a common lineage with Minhast and Nankôre. It has now been classified as a member of the Nahenic language family, a small family that includes Minhast and Nankóre, as well as the recently discovered Neina or Na'ena language in northeast Siberia. Nahónda is the second largest member of this family, around 60,450 members in the First Nations Confederation, with a few expatriate communities the largest of which exists in southern Manitoba at around nine hundred members. Minhast remains the population juggernaut, at 26 million members in the Minhast homeland, and around 3 million more scattered in expatriate communities throughout the rest of the world.

Nahónda is an agglutinative and fusional language which is most apparent in its complex verb forms. It is a split-intransitive language of the Fluid-S subtype. Agents are explicitly marked while patients receive null marking. Nahónda canonical word order is SOV, as in both Minhast and Nankóre, but word order is quite flexible and may deviate from SOV word order for pragmatics or other discourse considerations. Like Minhast, it is considered a polysynthetic language as it exhibits polypersonal agreement, noun incorporation, head marking, holophrasis, and adverbial, modal, and evidential markers inside the verb complex. The evolution of Nahónda polysynthesis is complex, reflecting both developments from its Nahenic ancestry, and influences from outside sources, especially the Siouan languages and a substrate Iroquoian layer.

The influence of other Native North American languages cannot be overstated, as many had a major impact on the phonology, morphology, and lexicon of the Nahónda language. These influences caused it to diverge from it sister languages to the point that earlier linguists considered it to be a member of the Siouan languages, although the Iroquoian language family was also a main contender.

Phonology

Nahónda phonology is relatively straightforward. Except for ejectives acquired from Siouan and other surrounding languages, its phonemic inventory otherwise consists of an average set of consonants, and a five-vowel system. Its phonemic inventory is considerably larger than Nankóre, which lost most of its voiced consonants, and a slightly larger than Minhast, which lacks affricates. Unlike both Minhast and Nankóre, Nahónda has an exclusively CV syllabic structure. Thus, Nahónda cognates always end in a vowel, whereas the former allow consonants in coda position.

Nahónda Consonantal Inventory

At first glance, the Nahónda consonantal inventory appears to have preserved Proto-Nahenic's ejective consonants. However, upon further examination, the ejectives in Nahónda appear in words originally derived from languages falling within the Siouan Sprachbund; none are found in words reconstructed from the protolanguage. The original laryngeals and pharyngeals were also largely lost with the exception of /h/. The rhotic /r/ merged with /l/, likely due to Lakota influence.

Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Laryngeal
Plain Ejective Plain Ejective Plain Ejective Plain Ejective
Nasal m n
Plosive p b p' b' t d t' d' k g k' g' ʔ
Fricative s z s' z' ʃ ʒ h
Affricates t͡s d͡z t͡s' d͡z' t͡ʃ d͡ʒ t͡ʃ' d͡ʒ'
Approximants w j
Lateral l

Nahónda Vowel Inventory

  Front Near- front Central Near- back Back
Close
Blank vowel trapezoid.svg
i
u
o
ɛ
a
  Near-close
Close-mid
Mid
Open-mid
Near-open
Open

Grammar

Nouns

Gender

Like Minhast, Nahónda has a four-way gender distinction: masculine, feminine, neuter animate, and neuter inanimate. Just as in Minhast, Nahónda does not attach gender markers on nouns, but rather agreement affixes in the verb complex take up this role, each affix indicating the gender of its cross-indexed nominal argument. The verb's agreement affixes cross-index core roles only, i.e. the agent and patient; nouns that serve in a peripheral role are unmarked. Regardless, all nouns have inherent gender which must be memorized individually in order to select the proper verbal agreement affixes, or correctly identify the gender of a peripheral noun.

Number

Case

Nahónda distinguishes two core cases, agent and patient, and one oblique case, the genitive. The Patient case is unmarked and serves as the direct object of most transitive verbs, and the subject of stative verbs. The Genitive serves not only to mark possessors, but as the recipient with donor verbs, e.g. wíkha Džalo-da nitsátačeyo "Give Dzhalo the rope", the hearer of speech verbs, e.g. Enane-da kelómatačeyelo "Speak to Mother!", as well as the direct or indirect object of transitive verbs belonging to other semantic types, e.g. Goal, Experiencer, etc.

Nahónda Case Markers
Suffix Sample Paradigm
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Agent -hi -hipi šúnkawakáne-hi šúnkawakáne-hipi
Patient -∅ -pi šúnkawakáne šúnkawakáne-pi
Genitive -da -dapi šúnkawakáneda šúnkawakáne-dapi

Pronominal Forms


Number Person Agent Patient
Independent Bound Independant Bound
Singular 1st yate -ya- ya -ya-
2nd itá -ta- ta -ta-
3rd Masc. kane -ka- ka -na-
3rd Fem. kicela -kice- la -la-
3rd Neut. Anim. séha -se- se -se-
3rd Neut. Inanim. ma -ma- tsila -tsi-
4th hana -ha- wa -wa-
Plural
Plural 1st Incl akene -ake- ake -ke-
1st Excl nene -ne- ne -ne-
2nd tahene -tahe- ta -ta-
3rd Common kene -ke- ke -ke-
3rd Neut. Anim. setse -se- se -se-
3rd Neut. Inanim. mate -ma- ma -ma-
4th aháne -ahe- ahe -he-





Minhast:

Person - Number - Gender Independant Forms Bound Forms
Ergative Absolutive Oblique Attributive
1st Sg. yakte yak yak- -ek
2nd Sg. tahte taħ tah-
taħ-
-taħ
3rd Masculine - Common Sg. kūde kua kū- -na
3rd Feminine Sg. lēde- lea lē-
ley-
-lea
3rd Neuter Animate Sg. šemet šea šē-
šey-
-šea
3rd Neuter Inanimate Sg. mēde mea mē-
mey-
-mea
Plural
1st Plural Inclusive hakemt(e) hak hak- -(h)akkem
1st Pl Exclusive nemt(e) nem nem- -nem
2nd Pl. taħtemt(e)
tahemt(e)
taħtem
tahem
taħtem-
tahem-
taħm-
-taħtem
-tahem
-taħm
3rd Masc./Common Pl kemt(e) kem kem- -kem
3rd Neut. Anim. Pl. sešt(e) seš sešš(i)- -sseš
3rd Neut. Inanim Pl. maħt(e) maħ mah-
maħ-
-maħ

Nankôre

Intransitive Pronouns
Singular Plural
Independent Clitic Long Form Short Form
1S ak =ák akôs aóy
yoy
2S
ka
=ká kakôs koy
3S
ta
=tá takôs toy



Agent Patient
Person Independent Bound Independant Bound
1st du.excl tsatem tsat tsak at
1st du.incl tsiháka tsak tsihák ak (an)
2nd dual tsitá tsit tsitá
3rd masc.du tsakàl tskál tsakáhal tsak
3rd fem.du tsakìl tskál tsakíhil tsak
3rd mixed.du tsacé tsac tsac tsac
3rd anim.du tsamá tsam tsam tsam
3rd inanim.du tsakìl tskil tsašl tsaš
4th du. tsákce tsakc tsack tsašk



Agent Patient
Person Independent Bound Independant Bound
1st pl.excl hakém km hak ak
1st pl.incl. cayácu cac acù ac
2nd pl catáha ctah táha ta
3rd masc.pl ciláha clah cíla cīlà
3rd fem.pl ciláhe cláhē la la
3rd mixed.pl cilána clan lan lan
3rd anim.pl cikíla cklíha kíla kīlá
3rd inanim.pl ci?áca cyac áca áca
3rd High Public cihòtape cotape hotápe tapè
4th pl. cī?áca cīyac áca acà

Demonstratives

Like its relatives Minhast and Nankôre, Nahónda makes a four-way distinction in its demonstratives. Some forms, such as the Proximal and Medio-proximal demonstratives, show in the Agent forms an etymological relationship with Minhast. The Medio-proximal patient and Distal agent forms appear to be derived from the same source as in the corresponding Nankôre form. A common etymology for the Invisible form among all the sister languages has yet to be found. The Nahónda demonstratives are listed in the following table:

  Independent Clitic Meaning Nahenic Cognates
Agent Patient Agent Patient
Proximal saka ko =sa =ko This one, near the speaker
  • Proto-Nahenic:
  • Neina:
  • Common Minhast: sap (ABS)
  • Nankôre:
Medio-proximal na ho =na =ho This/that one near the listener "that"
  • Proto-Nahenic:
  • Neina:
  • Common Minhast: nax (ABS)
  • Nankôre: =hori
Distal wanko
wanku
wo =wa =wo Far from both speaker and listener
  • Proto-Nahenic:
  • Neina: =vaš
  • Common Minhast: waššī (ABS)
  • Nankôre: =nko
Invisible yanko
yanku
yo =ya =yo Used for objects beyond sight or obstructed by another object. It may also be used for a person or thing being referred to within a narrative or other discourse, and sometimes as a decessive.
  • Proto-Nahenic:
  • Neina:
  • Common Minhast: waššī (?) (Distal)
  • Nankôre: =nko (Distal)

The independent forms may serve as attributives, in which case they appear before the noun phrase. Unlike Minhast, which requires a connective particle to join the demonstrative to its head, in Nahónda the demonstrative is simply juxtaposed before its head, e.g.:

Wanko šúnkawakaninéhi owožutkopi kasukakatsané1
wanko šúnkawakán-ne-hi owožu-tko-pi ka-suka~ka-tsa-né
DIST horse-DET.cylindrical.object-AGT grass-DET.flat.prone.object-PL 3MS.AGT-run~INT-EVID.VIS-INTR.ACT

That horse is always racing across the plains.

Determiners

Like many languages that fall in the Siouan Sprachbund, Nahónda uses determiners to mark size and shape information on nouns. These determiners occur as a set of suffixes that attach to the noun preceding any case markers. These suffixes, descended from postural and motion verbs, reflect an evolutionary pathway similar to the non-Siouan languages. The verbs from which these suffixes developed originate from Nahenic roots.

Type Affix Source and Cognates Examples
Squat/Bulky
object, moving
-ksa-
  • Proto-Nahenic *peθ- "to be still"
  • Neina bod "tree"
  • Common Minhast puħt- "to stand upright"
  • Stone Speaker Minhast puhuta- "to steady, fix in place"
  • Nankóre ikca "to fall down"
  • Old Nahónda *ketsa "to sit down"
Wanku tatonkaksahi owožutkopi sesukakatsané.
wanku tatonka-ksa-hi owožu-tko-pi se-suka~ka-tsa-né.
DIST buffalo-DET.squat.object-AGT grass-DET.flat.prone.object-PL 3NS.ANIM.AGT-run-INT-EVID.VIS-INTR.ACT

That buffalo is running across the plain.
Flat object, stationary -tko-
  • Proto-Nahenic *yaphet- "to lie down"
  • Neina yovgod "tundra"
  • Common Minhast yafkut "flatlands, level terrain"
  • Nankóre ekkót "to lie down"
  • Old Nahónda *ikote "to sleep"
Cylindrical object, moving -ne-
  • Proto-Nahenic *neoy-, nioy- "log"
  • Neina neyoy "snag"
  • Minhast nūy (Salmonic dialects), nuyyi (Horse Speaker dialect) "tree trunk"
  • Nankóre tanottáyta' "obstruction" < *tanayoy ta'itá' "It (INAN) tripped s.o/s.t (ANIM)."
Wanko šúnkawakaninéhi owožutkopi kasukakatsané
wanko šúnkawakán-ne-hi owožu-tko-pi ka-suka~ka-tsa-né
DIST horse-DET.moving.object-AGT grass-DET.flat.prone.object-PL 3MS.AGT-run~INT-EVID.VIS-INTR.ACT

That horse is always racing across the plains.
Thin upright object, stationary -lo-
  • Proto-Nahenic *roθj- "to be thin"
  • Neina rožo "stick; bow drill (for making fire)"
  • Common Minhast ruħyan "to starve"
  • Nankóre raš "to be hungry"
  • Old Nahónda lóya "to be skinny"
Wanku tayénalo tsožutkopi tsanená
Wanku tayena-lo tsa-wožu-tko-pi tsane-ná
DIST tree-DET.thin.upright.object COLL-grass-DET.flat.object-PL stand-INTR.STAT

That lone tree stands by itself on the prairie.
Sharp or tapering object, stationary -tso-
  • Proto-Nahenic
  • Neina
  • Common Minhast kassu "tooth"
  • Nankóre
[TBD]
[TBD]
[TBD]

[TBD]


Numbers

Nahónda employs a base-10 system, although remnants of a base-20 system exist, as in tsentsatsa "twenty" (c.f. Minhast šentāz "twenty") and tsatsentatse "forty" (c.f. Minhast saššentāz "forty"). Siouan influence manifests again, from the numbers eleven through nineteen in the form of the prefix ak-, e.g. aktsunó "eleven" and aktsané "twelve". The prefix is derived from the Lakota prefix aké- found in the numbers eleven and up, as in the Lakota numbers akéwaŋži "eleven", and akénuŋpa "twelve", both literally meaning "ten and one" and "ten and two", respectively.

The accent shifted to ultimate position in virtually all numbers with the exceptions tsentsatsa and tsatsentatse. These exceptions usually occur where the base-20 system of the proto-language surface. Ironically, in their Minhast cognates the last syllable is stressed due to vowel lengthening of the final closed syllables, i.e. šentāz /ʃɛn'ta:z/ and saššentāz /saʃ:ɛn'ta:z/.

Number Cardinal Ordinal Verbal
one tsunó
two tsané
three dutsá
four maná
five gdané
six tsihá
seven glihá
eight nuná
nine galó
ten tatsnó
eleven aktsunó (ak- is derived from Lakota aké-, used for the 10's unit)
twelve aktsané
thirteen aktutsé
fourteen agmaná
fifteen akatsé
sixteen aktsihé
seventeen aglihé
eighteen agnuné
nineteen agdalé
twenty tsentsatsa
twenty-one tsanke tsunó
twenty-two tsanke tsané
twenty-three šentāz-u-duxt <--
thirty šentāz-u-tazem
forty tsatsentatse
fifty saššentāz-u-tazem
sixty duššentāz
seventy duššentāz-u-tazem
eighty meneštazem
ninety meneštazem-u-tazem
one hundred gādi
one thousand gaggādi

Verbs

Verb Template

The polysynthetic Nohandaráy verb follows a templatic paradigm (c.f. Northern Iroquioan languages).


Initials
Conjunctives Scalar Operators Reflexive/Reciprocal
Verb Core
Pronominals Verb Root Incorporated Noun
Medials
Adverbials Locatives Evidentials
Finals
Transitivity Precatives Clitics

There are three principal types of transitivity markers in Nahónda, transitive active, intransitive active, and intransitive stative. A minor fourth type of marker exists, a zero-valent intransitive impersonal marker, which is used principally for describing meteorological and supernatural events.

Affix Cognates
Transitive Active -čé Minhast hittu "to give"
Intransitive Active -né Minhast -an (?) (verbal intransitive marker)
Nankóre iná' (?) (copula)
Neina -nani (?) (verbal intransitive marker)
Intransitive Stative -ná Minhast -an (?) (verbal intransitive marker)
Nankóre iná' (?) (copula)
Intransitive Impersonal -ká

Male/Female Speech Marking

Nahónda verbs use special suffixes to differentiate whether the speaker is male or female. These suffixes have no cognates in any of the Nahenic languages, but were adopted from their immediate Siouan-speaking neighbors, specifically, the Lakota. These suffixes are apparently a recent borrowing, as the forms are exactly the same as in Lakota, having undergone no morphophonotactic changes.

Postural and Locomotive Verbs

Nahónda lacks adpositions and verbal applicative markers to indicate the locational or directional relationship of a noun phrase. Instead, postural and locomotive verbs are used to indicate oblique case relations:

Verb Meaning Cognates Examples
Ablative amané to approach Minhast hān "to come"
Comitative tsakané to accompany Minhast saħpan "to walk"
Instrumental tsipilače to use Minhast sespir "hand"
Yanelowonkeči, gatso yatsitsipilače
/janelo'wɔ̃ŋkɛt͡ʃi 'gat͡so jat͡sit͡si'pilat͡ʃɛ/
ya-ne-lo-awonke-če, gatso ya-ts-tsipila-če
1S.AGT-CL3-CL5-kill-TRN arrow 1S.AGT-CL5-use-TRN

I killed (the deer) with my arrow, lit. "I killed it using my arrow."

Particles

Syntax

Morphosyntactic Alignment

Nahónda morphosyntactic alignment is classified as the Split Intransitive type, also known as an Active-Stative alignment. Transitive clauses by definition take two core arguments, an Agent, and a Patient. Intransitive clauses take only one core argument. That the verb that core argument takes may denote either a state, e.g. "He is sick", or it may designate an action instigated by the the core argument, e.g. "He jumps". In the first case, the core argument takes marking which indicates it experiences or is affected by the state, while in the second the argument takes another marker which indicates that it instigates an action or event.

Languages of the Split Intransitive type may be further divided into one of two subtype. One type, the Split-S type, divides its verbs into two lexical division: one division is restricted to states; its NP argument is an experiencer or undergoer of the state, and hence takes one type of case marking. The other verbal division expresses events which indicate its core argument functions as an agent; the core argument thus takes marking distinct from that of an experiencer or undergoer. The other Split Intransitive subtype, the Fluid-S type, does not exhibit this verbal distinction: all verbs may serve to indicate state or events; case marking of the core argument depends on its semantic role, it is not preselected based on the verbal class, as Fluid-S type languages do not have distinct verbal classes.

Nahónda belongs to the Fluid-S type of languages. When the core argument of an Intransitive verb functions as a semantic Agent, it takes the marker =yo, whereas it takes the marker =ka when it is an Experiencer or Undergoer.

Footnotes

1) The Siouan languages, particularly Lakota, had a major impact on the Nahónda lexicon. We see this influence in this sample sentence Wanko šúnkawakánhi owožupi sukakatsa. Nahónda šúnkawakán "horse" is borrowed directly from Lakota šúŋkawakȟáŋ, as is owožu "grass". Even the plural marker -pi is borrowed from the Lakota plural marker -pi. The verb sukaka-tsa comes from Nahenic roots, c.f. Minhast sukkan "to be quick" and saru "to see".