Siksiká Iʼksistamiʼkssin
Blackfoot
Algonquian
Blackfoot (ISO 639-3: bla), known in the language as Siksikáí’powahsin or Niitsi’powahsin, is a Plains Algonquian language of the Blackfoot Confederacy. It is spoken among the Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani nations in southern Alberta, Canada, and the Blackfeet Nation in Montana, United States. The closely related regional varieties are Siksika, Kainai, Aapátohsipikani (Northern Piikani), and Aamsskáápipikani (Southern Piikani); language shift to English has left Blackfoot endangered, despite ongoing community revitalization and teaching. Blackfoot is polysynthetic, with complex verb morphology and relatively flexible word order, and a standardized Latin-based orthography adopted in Alberta in 1975 marks long sounds by doubling letters and includes a glottal-stop symbol.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Blackfoot
Water
aohkíí
/aoxkiː/
Fire
kówa
/koːwa/
Sun
naató'si
/naːtoʔsi/
Moon
kokómiksi
/kokoːmiksi/
Star
kakató'si
/kakatoʔsi/
Mother
nomó
/nomoː/
Father
apó
/apoː/
I
niistó
/niːsto/
You
kiistó
/kiːsto/
Name
inihka'sini
/inixkaʔsini/
Eye
istó
/istoː/
Hand
aksí
/aksiː/
Heart
—
/—/
Love
—
/—/
Tree
ohtá
/ohtaː/
House
mahkówa
/mahkoːwa/
Dog
imitáá
/imitaː/
Cat
pisimó
/pisimoː/
Eat
íta
/iːta/
Drink
oknáhsim
/oknaːhsim/
One
niʼtokska
/niʔtokska/
Two
naatoka
/naːtoka/
Hello
—
/—/
Thank you
—
/—/
Good
otstapé
/otstapeː/
Words compared
Compared with related Algonquian languages
| Meaning | Blackfoot | Proto-Ryukyuan | Babuza (Favorlang) | Proto-Kra-Dai | Haida | Mycenaean Greek | Guugu Yimithirr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | aohkíí /aoxkiː/ | *midu /midu/ | zalum /zalum/ | *naːm /naːm/ | xúu /χuː/ | 𐀄𐀈 /hudɔːr/ | buurraay /buːraːj/ |
| Fire | kówa /koːwa/ | *pii /piː/ | apoi /apoi/ | *vɤj /vɤj/ | guḵ /ɡuk̚/ | 𐀢 /pyːr/ | — /—/ |
| Sun | naató'si /naːtoʔsi/ | *teda /teda/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | t'áaw /tʰɑːw/ | 𐀀𐀸𐀪𐀍 /haːwelios/ | ngalan /ŋalan/ |
| Moon | kokómiksi /kokoːmiksi/ | *tuki /tuki/ | zilias /siliəs/ | — /—/ | x̱aad /χɑːt̚/ | 𐀕 /mɛːn/ | giitha /ɡiːt̪a/ |
| Star | kakató'si /kakatoʔsi/ | *posi /posi/ | botto /botːo/ | — /—/ | k'aayhlt'áa /kʼaːjɬtʼáː/ | 𐀀𐀳𐀫 /astɛːr/ | biidhi /biːt̪i/ |
| Mother | nomó /nomoː/ | *amma /amma/ | tina /tina/ | — /—/ | gúx̱ /ɡuχ/ | 𐀔𐀳 /maːtɛːr/ | ngamu /ŋamu/ |
| Father | apó /apoː/ | *aja /aja/ | tama /tama/ | — /—/ | yan /jɑn/ | 𐀞𐀳 /patɛːr/ | biiba /biːba/ |
| I | niistó /niːsto/ | *wa /wa/ | ka-ina /kaina/ | *kuː /kuː/ | hláa /ɬaː/ | 𐀁𐀒 /eɡɔː/ | ngayu /ŋaju/ |
| You | kiistó /kiːsto/ | *ura /ura/ | ijo /ijo/ | — /—/ | dáng /taŋ/ | 𐀶 /tuː/ | nyundu /ɲundu/ |
| Name | inihka'sini /inixkaʔsini/ | *na /na/ | naan /naːn/ | *ɟɯː /ɟɯː/ | kya'áang /kʲaʔáːŋ/ | 𐀃𐀜𐀔 /onoma/ | gadil /ˈkatil/ |
| Eye | istó /istoː/ | *mii /miː/ | macha /matʃa/ | *taː /taː/ | ǥáa /ŋɑː/ | — /—/ | miil /miːl/ |
| Hand | aksí /aksiː/ | *tii /tiː/ | rima /rima/ | *mɯː /mɯː/ | gaaw /ɡɑːw/ | 𐀐𐀁 /kʰɛːr/ | mungal /muŋal/ |
| Heart | — /—/ | *kimu /kimu/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐀠𐀫 /pʰilos/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | ohtá /ohtaː/ | *kii /kiː/ | kayu /kaju/ | *maːj /maːj/ | ginn /ɡɪn/ | 𐀈𐀬 /doru/ | yugu /juɡu/ |
| House | mahkówa /mahkoːwa/ | *yaa /jaː/ | ruma /ruma/ | — /—/ | tluwáa /tɬuːwɑː/ | 𐀺𐀂𐀒 /woikos/ | bayan /bajan/ |
| Dog | imitáá /imitaː/ | *in /in/ | asu /asu/ | *hmaː /hmaː/ | st'áat /sʰtʼɑːt/ | 𐀓𐀺 /kuwɔːn/ | gudaa /ɡudaː/ |
| Cat | pisimó /pisimoː/ | *maja /maja/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | číidii /tʂiːdiː/ | — /—/ | buthigan /but̪iɡan/ |
| Eat | íta /iːta/ | *kam- /kam/ | maan /maːn/ | — /—/ | kúu /kuː/ | 𐀁𐀈𐀕𐀙 /edmenai/ | budal /budal/ |
| Drink | oknáhsim /oknaːhsim/ | *num- /num/ | minum /minum/ | — /—/ | ɢ'áaɬ /ɢʼɑːɬ/ | 𐀡𐀜 /piːnɔː/ | — /—/ |
| One | niʼtokska /niʔtokska/ | *pitu /pitu/ | nata /nata/ | *nɯŋ /nɯŋ/ | stláa /stɬɑː/ | 𐀁 /hen/ | nubuun /nubuːn/ |
| Two | naatoka /naːtoka/ | *puta /puta/ | naroa /naroa/ | *soːŋ /soːŋ/ | sdáng /stáŋ/ | 𐀉𐀺 /duwoː/ | gudhirra /kut̪ira/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | otstapé /otstapeː/ | *masi /maɕi/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | ǥúud /ŋuːt̚/ | 𐀀𐀏𐀳 /aɡatʰos/ | awuun /awuːn/ |
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