Apsáalooke
Crow
Siouan
Crow (Apsáalooke) is a Siouan language spoken by roughly 3,000–4,000 people, chiefly on and around the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana, United States. It belongs to the Missouri Valley branch of Siouan and is most closely related to Hidatsa, although the two are distinct languages. Crow has complex verbal morphology, active–stative person marking, predominantly SOV word order, and a pitch-accent system. A Latin-based practical orthography marks vowel length and accent and is used in dictionaries, schools, and tribal language programs. Crow remains one of the more widely spoken Indigenous languages of the northern Plains, but transmission to children has declined, so Glottolog classifies it as threatened and shifting.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Crow
Water
baxúa
/baχua/
Fire
asxé
/asχe/
Sun
isaaxé
/isaaxe/
Moon
šuúa
/ʃua/
Star
ihké
/ihkéː/
Mother
immé
/imme/
Father
appé
/appe/
I
bíi
/biː/
You
díi
/tiː/
Name
iláshe
/iláʃe/
Eye
isúua
/isua/
Hand
basúa
/basua/
Heart
búua
/bua/
Love
—
/—/
Tree
bashée
/baʃe/
House
tipí
/tipi/
Dog
šixé
/ʃixe/
Cat
—
/—/
Eat
bua
/bua/
Drink
—
/—/
One
asxuúa
/asχua/
Two
dúupe
/duːpe/
Hello
áaxua
/aaxua/
Thank you
—
/—/
Good
aleé
/ale/
Words compared
Compared with related Siouan languages
| Meaning | Crow | Scythian | Yuchi | Umbrian | Proto-Tungusic | Oscan | Proto-Austronesian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | baxúa /baχua/ | ap /ap/ | cha /tʃa/ | utur /ˈu.tur/ | *mū /mū/ | — /—/ | *daNum /daNum/ |
| Fire | asxé /asχe/ | ātar /aːtar/ | tsoda /tsoda/ | pir /pir/ | *tawa /tawa/ | — /—/ | *Sapuy /Sapuy/ |
| Sun | isaaxé /isaaxe/ | hvar /xʷar/ | dethla /dɛhla/ | — /—/ | *sigūn /sigūn/ | — /—/ | *waRi /waRi/ |
| Moon | šuúa /ʃua/ | māh /maːh/ | zethla /zɛhla/ | — /—/ | *bēga /bēga/ | — /—/ | *bulaN /bulaN/ |
| Star | ihké /ihkéː/ | star /staːr/ | weʼyv /weʔỹ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | *bituqen /bituqen/ |
| Mother | immé /imme/ | mātar /maːtar/ | ahnʌh /ahnʌh/ | matrer /ˈma.trer/ | *eńi /eńi/ | maatúf /maːtof/ | *ina /ina/ |
| Father | appé /appe/ | pitar /pitar/ | — /—/ | patre /ˈpa.tre/ | *ama /ama/ | patír /patiːr/ | *ama /ama/ |
| I | bíi /biː/ | azu /azu/ | di /di/ | — /—/ | *bi /bi/ | egom /egom/ | *aku /aku/ |
| You | díi /tiː/ | tu /tuː/ | tse /tse/ | tu /tuː/ | *si /si/ | tú /tuː/ | *iSu /iSu/ |
| Name | iláshe /iláʃe/ | nama /naːma/ | tiʼe /tiʔe/ | nome /ˈnome/ | *gerbū /gerbū/ | númen /nuːmen/ | *ŋajan /ŋajan/ |
| Eye | isúua /isua/ | čašm /tʃaʃm/ | shela /ʃela/ | — /—/ | *ńāsa /ńāsa/ | — /—/ | *maCa /maCa/ |
| Hand | basúa /basua/ | zasta /zasta/ | — /—/ | manuv-e /ma.ˈnu.we/ | *ŋāla /ŋāla/ | manim /manim/ | *lima /lima/ |
| Heart | búua /bua/ | zard- /zard/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | *mēwan /mēwan/ | — /—/ | *pusuq /pusuq/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | bashée /baʃe/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | *mō /mō/ | — /—/ | *kaSiw /kaSiw/ |
| House | tipí /tipi/ | — /—/ | tsotʔa /tsotʔa/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | trííbúm /triːbom/ | *Rumaq /Rumaq/ |
| Dog | šixé /ʃixe/ | spaka /spaka/ | shtsé /ʃtsɛ/ | — /—/ | *ŋinda /ŋinda/ | — /—/ | *asu /asu/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eat | bua /bua/ | xwartan /xʷartan/ | gʌ /ɡʌ/ | — /—/ | *ǰep- /ǰep-/ | — /—/ | *kaen /kaen/ |
| Drink | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | *inum /inum/ |
| One | asxuúa /asχua/ | aiwa /aiwa/ | hahgo /hahɡo/ | unu /ˈu.nu/ | *emun /emun/ | — /—/ | *isa /isa/ |
| Two | dúupe /duːpe/ | duva /duva/ | nowe /nõˈwẽ/ | dur /dur/ | *ǰör /ǰör/ | dús /duːs/ | *duSa /duSa/ |
| Hello | áaxua /aaxua/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | aleé /ale/ | vohu /wohu/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
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