Na:tinixwe Mixine:whe’
Hupa
Na-Dené (Athabaskan, Pacific Coast)
Hupa (Na:tinixwe Mixine:whe’, "the language of the Hoopa Valley people") is a Pacific Coast Athabaskan language of NW California, sister to Chilula and Whilkut. It has a typical Athabaskan classificatory-verb system with prefixing morphology, lateral fricatives (ɬ) and ejectives. Today it has only a handful of elderly L1 speakers but is the focus of intensive tribal revitalization including immersion schools.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Hupa
Water
xaŋ
/xɑŋ/
Fire
xoŋ’
/xoŋʔ/
Sun
hwa
/hwa/
Moon
hwa-ʼaŋʼ
/hwaʔɑŋʔ/
Mother
-an’
/-anʔ/
Father
-ta’
/-taʔ/
Eat
na-ya:n
/nɑjɑːn/
Drink
na-ʼa:n
/nɑʔɑːn/
Love
na-wh-ʼisht’e’n
/nɑwʔɪʃtʼɛʔn/
Heart
-piŋ
/-piŋ/
Tree
kin
/kɪn/
House
xontah
/xontɑh/
Dog
ɬi:n
/ɬiːn/
Cat
—
/—/
Hand
-laʼ
/-laʔ/
Eye
-na:ʼ
/-nɑːʔ/
Hello
ts’ehdiya’
/tsʼɛhdɪjaʔ/
Thank you
na:nehs-ʼe:n
/nɑːnɛhsʔɛːn/
One
ɬaʼ
/ɬaʔ/
Good
niwhoŋ
/nɪwhoŋ/
Sources
- Golla, Victor (1996) Hupa Language Dictionary. Second edition. Hoopa Valley Tribal Council.
- Sapir, Edward & Golla, Victor (2001) The Collected Works of Edward Sapir XIV: Northwest California Linguistics. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
- Glottolog: Hupa
Words compared
Compared with related Na-Dené (Athabaskan, Pacific Coast) languages
| Meaning | Hupa | Western Apache | Onondaga | Navajo | Mlabri | Hattic | Luwian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | xaŋ /xɑŋ/ | tu /tu/ | ohnekano:s /ohnekanoːs/ | tó /tóː/ | om /om/ | — /—/ | 𔓷𔗬𔖻𔑯 /wadar/ |
| Fire | xoŋ’ /xoŋʔ/ | kǫʼ /kṍʔ/ | oji:staʼ /odʒiːstaʔ/ | kǫʼ /kõːʔ/ | ʔus /ʔus/ | — /—/ | 𔑭𔖖𔖖𔗬 /paːhːur/ |
| Sun | hwa /hwa/ | shándaʼá /ʃándaːʔá/ | gaeh'kwa /ɡaehʔkwa/ | jóhonaaʼéí /dʒóhonɑːʔéːí/ | ŋay /ŋai/ | eštan /ɛʃtan/ | 𔖻𔗬𔑯 /tiwad/ |
| Moon | hwa-ʼaŋʼ /hwaʔɑŋʔ/ | tłʼéʼsanaaʼái /tɬʔeʔsanaːʔai/ | gaeh'kwa enitha /ɡaehʔkwa enitha/ | tłʼéhonaaʼéí /tɬʼéhonɑːʔéːí/ | thel /tʰel/ | kāp /kaːp/ | 𔓯𔗬 /arma/ |
| Mother | -an’ /-anʔ/ | shimá /ʃima/ | ekno:ha' /eknoːhaʔ/ | shimá /ʃimáː/ | mɛʔ /mɛʔ/ | ana /ana/ | 𔑯𔑯 /anna/ |
| Father | -ta’ /-taʔ/ | shitaa /ʃitaː/ | hak'no:ha' /hakʔnoːhaʔ/ | shizhéʼé /ʃiʒéːʔéː/ | paʔ /paʔ/ | pap /pap/ | 𔑯𔑯𔗬 /tati/ |
| Eat | na-ya:n /nɑjɑːn/ | yiyąʼ /jijãʔ/ | ekho:ne' /ekʰoːneʔ/ | yishą́ /jiʃã́ː/ | ʔiʔ /ʔiʔ/ | — /—/ | 𔑯𔗬 /ad/ |
| Drink | na-ʼa:n /nɑʔɑːn/ | yidlą /jidlãˀ/ | ehnega:i'ron /ehneɡaːiʔron/ | yishdlą́ /jiʃtɬã́ː/ | ʔaa /ʔaː/ | — /—/ | 𔑯𔓷 /aku/ |
| Love | na-wh-ʼisht’e’n /nɑwʔɪʃtʼɛʔn/ | ayóigóʼíí /ʔajoiɣoʔiː/ | gaonihsdá:wę /ɡaonihsdaːwɛ̃/ | ayóóʼánóshní /ɑjóːʔɑ́nóʃníː/ | kraʔ /kraʔ/ | — /—/ | 𔓷𔗬𔓯 /walaːhi/ |
| Heart | -piŋ /-piŋ/ | bíjéí /bidʒeː/ | awé:ri /aweːri/ | ajéí /ɑdʒéːí/ | kɛm /kɛm/ | pina /pina/ | 𔓷𔗬𔖻 /kard/ |
| Tree | kin /kɪn/ | tsin /tsin/ | ga:enda' /ɡaːendaʔ/ | tsin /t͡sin/ | tɔn /tɔn/ | — /—/ | 𔑯𔓯 /alana/ |
| House | xontah /xontɑh/ | kį /kĩ/ | ganǫhsoht /ɡanõhsoht/ | hooghan /hoːɣɑn/ | tu /tu/ | wel /wɛl/ | 𔑭𔗬𔑯 /parna/ |
| Dog | ɬi:n /ɬiːn/ | łį́į́ʼ /ɬĩːʔ/ | só:wa:s /soːwaːs/ | łééchąąʼí /ɬéːtʃãːʔí/ | cɛn /tɕɛn/ | — /—/ | 𔖻𔓷𔑯 /zuwana/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | mósí /mosi/ | takó:s /takoːs/ | mósí /mósí/ | meo /meo/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | -laʼ /-laʔ/ | shílaʼ /ʃilaʔ/ | onénǫhsa' /onenõhsaʔ/ | álaʼ /ʔálaʔ/ | tiʔ /tiʔ/ | — /—/ | 𔖻𔑯 /iʃʃa/ |
| Eye | -na:ʼ /-nɑːʔ/ | nadáá /nadaː/ | oga:tha' /oɡaːtʰaʔ/ | anááʼ /ʔanáːʔ/ | mɔt /mɔt/ | — /—/ | 𔖖𔗬 /hidu/ |
| Hello | ts’ehdiya’ /tsʼɛhdɪjaʔ/ | dahgotʼe /dahɡotʔe/ | sgë:nǫʼ /skẽːnõʔ/ | yáʼátʼééh /jɑ́ːʔɑ́tʼéːh/ | hahɔ /haho/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | na:nehs-ʼe:n /nɑːnɛhsʔɛːn/ | ahéheʼe /ʔaheːheʔe/ | nya:wę' /njaːwɛ̃ʔ/ | ahéheeʼ /ɑhéːheːʔ/ | knɔŋ /knoŋ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| One | ɬaʼ /ɬaʔ/ | dááłeʼ /daːɬeʔ/ | ska:t /skaːt/ | tʼááłáʼí /tʼɑ́ːɬɑ́ːʔí/ | mɔy /mɔi/ | — /—/ | 𔑯 /as/ |
| Good | niwhoŋ /nɪwhoŋ/ | nzhǫǫ /nʒõː/ | oyá:nre /ojaːnre/ | yáʼátʼééh /jɑ́ːʔɑ́tʼéːh/ | laʔ /laʔ/ | — /—/ | 𔓷𔓷 /walwa/ |
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