Hopílavayi
Hopi
Uto-Aztecan
Hopi (Hopílavayi; ISO 639-3: hop) is a Uto-Aztecan language spoken by roughly 5,000–7,100 people in villages on and around the three mesas of the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. It has several village varieties associated with the First, Second, and Third Mesas; the Third Mesa variety is especially well documented in the 30,000-entry Hopìikwa Lavàytutuveni dictionary. Hopi normally places the verb at the end of the clause, and its rich system of suffixes marks aspect, number, direction, and other grammatical categories. Its Latin-based practical alphabet distinguishes long and short vowels and writes the glottal stop with an apostrophe. Intergenerational transmission has weakened, but schools, community classes, dictionaries, and locally produced teaching materials support continued use and revitalization.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Hopi
Water
paahu
/paɑhu/
Fire
kukvay
/kukvɑj/
Sun
taawa
/tɑːwɑ/
Moon
muuyaw
/muːjɑw/
Star
soohu
/soːhɨ/
Mother
yu'at
/juʔɑt/
Father
na'at
/nɑʔɑt/
I
nuʼ
/nɨʔ/
You
um
/ʔɨm/
Name
tungwni
/tɨŋwni/
Eye
poosi
/poːsi/
Hand
maa't
/mɑːʔt/
Heart
—
/—/
Love
—
/—/
Tree
hotski
/hotski/
House
kiihu
/kiːhu/
Dog
pòoko
/poːko/
Cat
—
/—/
Eat
—
/—/
Drink
—
/—/
One
suukya'
/suːkjɑʔ/
Two
lööyö
/løːjø/
Hello
tàlawva
/tɑːlɑwvɑ/
Thank you
askwali
/ɑskwɑli/
Good
hopii
/hopiː/
Cuckoo
hospoa
/hosˈpoa/
Words compared
Compared with related Uto-Aztecan languages
| Meaning | Hopi | Proto-Kra-Dai | Proto-Uto-Aztecan | Neko | Proto-Austroasiatic | Oscan | Proto-Afroasiatic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | paahu /paɑhu/ | *naːm /naːm/ | *paʔ /paʔ/ | wai /wai/ | *ɗaːk /ɗaːk/ | — /—/ | *maw- /maw-/ |
| Fire | kukvay /kukvɑj/ | *vɤj /vɤj/ | *na- /na-/ | titɛ /titɛ/ | *ʔuːs /ʔuːs/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Sun | taawa /tɑːwɑ/ | — /—/ | *ta /ta/ | aatʌ /aːtʌ/ | *tŋiːʔ /tŋiːʔ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Moon | muuyaw /muːjɑw/ | — /—/ | *mɨca /mɨca/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Star | soohu /soːhɨ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | kumba /kumba/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Mother | yu'at /juʔɑt/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | *maʔ /maʔ/ | maatúf /maːtof/ | *ʔim- /ʔim-/ |
| Father | na'at /nɑʔɑt/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | patír /patiːr/ | *ʔab- /ʔab-/ |
| I | nuʼ /nɨʔ/ | *kuː /kuː/ | *nɨ /nɨ/ | na /na/ | *ʔaɲ /ʔaɲ/ | egom /egom/ | *ʔan- /ʔan-/ |
| You | um /ʔɨm/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | ga /ɡa/ | — /—/ | tú /tuː/ | — /—/ |
| Name | tungwni /tɨŋwni/ | *ɟɯː /ɟɯː/ | *tewa /tewa/ | iwi /iwi/ | — /—/ | númen /nuːmen/ | *sim- /sim-/ |
| Eye | poosi /poːsi/ | *taː /taː/ | *pusi /pusi/ | ta /ta/ | *mat /mat/ | — /—/ | *ʕayn- /ʕayn-/ |
| Hand | maa't /mɑːʔt/ | *mɯː /mɯː/ | *maʔ /maʔ/ | — /—/ | *tiːʔ /tiːʔ/ | manim /manim/ | — /—/ |
| Heart | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | hotski /hotski/ | *maːj /maːj/ | — /—/ | tei /tei/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| House | kiihu /kiːhu/ | — /—/ | *ki /ki/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | trííbúm /triːbom/ | — /—/ |
| Dog | pòoko /poːko/ | *hmaː /hmaː/ | — /—/ | gonʌ /ɡonʌ/ | *cɔː /cɔː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eat | — /—/ | — /—/ | *kwaʔa /kwaʔa/ | nei /nei/ | *ɟaː /ɟaː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Drink | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| One | suukya' /suːkjɑʔ/ | *nɯŋ /nɯŋ/ | *sɨmɨ /sɨmɨ/ | — /—/ | *muːj /muːj/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Two | lööyö /løːjø/ | *soːŋ /soːŋ/ | *wo /wo/ | iri /iri/ | *ɓaːr /ɓaːr/ | dús /duːs/ | *sin- /sin-/ |
| Hello | tàlawva /tɑːlɑwvɑ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | askwali /ɑskwɑli/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | hopii /hopiː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Cuckoo | hospoa /hosˈpoa/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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