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
31 core words in Hupa
Water
xaŋ
/xɑŋ/
Fire
xoŋ’
/xoŋʔ/
Sun
hwa
/hwa/
Moon
hwa-ʼaŋʼ
/hwaʔɑŋʔ/
Star
sʼeʔ
/sʼeʔ/
Mother
-an’
/-anʔ/
Father
-ta’
/-taʔ/
I
whe
/hʷe/
You
niŋ
/nɪŋ/
Name
-ooziʔ
/oːzɪʔ/
Eye
-na:ʼ
/-nɑːʔ/
Hand
-laʼ
/-laʔ/
Heart
-piŋ
/-piŋ/
Love
na-wh-ʼisht’e’n
/nɑwʔɪʃtʼɛʔn/
Tree
kin
/kɪn/
House
xontah
/xontɑh/
Dog
ɬi:n
/ɬiːn/
Cat
—
/—/
Eat
na-ya:n
/nɑjɑːn/
Drink
na-ʼa:n
/nɑʔɑːn/
One
ɬaʼ
/ɬaʔ/
Two
nahx
/naːx/
Hello
ts’ehdiya’
/tsʼɛhdɪjaʔ/
Thank you
na:nehs-ʼe:n
/nɑːnɛhsʔɛːn/
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 | Navajo | Koyukon | Pyu | Onondaga | Chipewyan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | xaŋ /xɑŋ/ | tu /tu/ | tó /tóː/ | too /toː/ | ʔuy /uj/ | ohnekano:s /ohnekanoːs/ | tu /tu/ |
| Fire | xoŋ’ /xoŋʔ/ | kǫʼ /kṍʔ/ | kǫʼ /kõːʔ/ | konh /konh/ | vyaŋ /wjaŋ/ | oji:staʼ /odʒiːstaʔ/ | kʼón /kʼón/ |
| Sun | hwa /hwa/ | shándaʼá /ʃándaːʔá/ | jóhonaaʼéí /dʒóhonɑːʔéːí/ | so /so/ | ño /ɲo/ | gaeh'kwa /ɡaehʔkwa/ | sa /sa/ |
| Moon | hwa-ʼaŋʼ /hwaʔɑŋʔ/ | tłʼéʼsanaaʼái /tɬʔeʔsanaːʔai/ | tłʼéhonaaʼéí /tɬʼéhonɑːʔéːí/ | oolts'enh /ooltsʼenh/ | hla /hla/ | gaeh'kwa enitha /ɡaehʔkwa enitha/ | hadelyi /haðeli/ |
| Star | sʼeʔ /sʼeʔ/ | sǫʼs /sṍːs/ | sǫʼ /sṍʔ/ | so /sɔ/ | kar /karʔ/ | otsistoʼgwaʼ /odʒistoʔɡwaʔ/ | thën /θən/ |
| Mother | -an’ /-anʔ/ | shimá /ʃima/ | shimá /ʃimáː/ | enaa /enaː/ | na /na/ | ekno:ha' /eknoːhaʔ/ | ená /ena/ |
| Father | -ta’ /-taʔ/ | shitaa /ʃitaː/ | shizhéʼé /ʃiʒéːʔéː/ | etaa /etaː/ | paʔ /paʔ/ | hak'no:ha' /hakʔnoːhaʔ/ | etá /eta/ |
| I | whe /hʷe/ | shí /ʃí/ | shí /ʃí/ | see /siː/ | ŋa /ŋa/ | iʼ /iʔ/ | si /si/ |
| You | niŋ /nɪŋ/ | ni /ní/ | ni /ni/ | nee /niː/ | naŋ /naŋ/ | íseʼ /iseʔ/ | nen /nɛn/ |
| Name | -ooziʔ /oːzɪʔ/ | -zhiʼ /ʒìʔ/ | -zhiʼ /ʒìʔ/ | -zaakkʼeʼ /zàːkʼeʔ/ | miŋ /miŋ/ | yaʼts /jaʔts/ | -zí /zí/ |
| Eye | -na:ʼ /-nɑːʔ/ | nadáá /nadaː/ | anááʼ /ʔanáːʔ/ | nełtonh /neɬtonh/ | mik /mik/ | oga:tha' /oɡaːtʰaʔ/ | índa /inda/ |
| Hand | -laʼ /-laʔ/ | shílaʼ /ʃilaʔ/ | álaʼ /ʔálaʔ/ | ela /ela/ | lak /lak/ | onénǫhsa' /onenõhsaʔ/ | ela /ela/ |
| Heart | -piŋ /-piŋ/ | bíjéí /bidʒeː/ | ajéí /ɑdʒéːí/ | -dzaaya' /tsæːjəʔ/ | — /—/ | awé:ri /aweːri/ | eθey /eθej/ |
| Love | na-wh-ʼisht’e’n /nɑwʔɪʃtʼɛʔn/ | ayóigóʼíí /ʔajoiɣoʔiː/ | ayóóʼánóshní /ɑjóːʔɑ́nóʃníː/ | k'oonejee /kʼooneʒeː/ | — /—/ | gaonihsdá:wę /ɡaonihsdaːwɛ̃/ | hı́́la /hila/ |
| Tree | kin /kɪn/ | tsin /tsin/ | tsin /tsin/ | k'eyh /kʼejh/ | siŋ /siŋ/ | ga:enda' /ɡaːendaʔ/ | tθʼen /tθʼen/ |
| House | xontah /xontɑh/ | kį /kĩ/ | hooghan /hoːɣɑn/ | kkun /kːun/ | vaiŋ /waiŋ/ | ganǫhsoht /ɡanõhsoht/ | kǫ́é /kɔ̃e/ |
| Dog | ɬi:n /ɬiːn/ | łį́į́ʼ /ɬĩːʔ/ | łééchąąʼí /ɬéːtʃãːʔí/ | łeek /ɬeːk/ | kwiy /kwij/ | só:wa:s /soːwaːs/ | łı́ /ɬi/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | mósí /mosi/ | mósí /mósí/ | dotonh /dotonh/ | — /—/ | takó:s /takoːs/ | nábaye /nabaje/ |
| Eat | na-ya:n /nɑjɑːn/ | yiyąʼ /jijãʔ/ | yishą́ /jiʃã́ː/ | ghen /ɣen/ | cyaʔ /tɕaʔ/ | ekho:ne' /ekʰoːneʔ/ | ɂıłtsu /ʔiɬtsu/ |
| Drink | na-ʼa:n /nɑʔɑːn/ | yidlą /jidlãˀ/ | yishdlą́ /jiʃtɬã́ː/ | don /don/ | — /—/ | ehnega:i'ron /ehneɡaːiʔron/ | ɂıdla /ʔidla/ |
| One | ɬaʼ /ɬaʔ/ | dááłeʼ /daːɬeʔ/ | tʼááłáʼí /tʼɑ́ːɬɑ́ːʔí/ | łeek'eyh /ɬeːkʼejh/ | te /te/ | ska:t /skaːt/ | ɂıłąɣe /ʔiɬɔ̃ɣe/ |
| Two | nahx /naːx/ | naaki /naːki/ | naaki /nɑːkɪ/ | netaakkʼa /netàːkʼʌ/ | nit /nit/ | tékni /teɡni/ | nàke /naɡe/ |
| Hello | ts’ehdiya’ /tsʼɛhdɪjaʔ/ | dahgotʼe /dahɡotʔe/ | yáʼátʼééh /jɑ́ːʔɑ́tʼéːh/ | enaa basee' /enaː baseːʔ/ | — /—/ | sgë:nǫʼ /skẽːnõʔ/ | edlanetʼè /eðlanetʼe/ |
| Thank you | na:nehs-ʼe:n /nɑːnɛhsʔɛːn/ | ahéheʼe /ʔaheːheʔe/ | ahéheeʼ /ɑhéːheːʔ/ | baasee' /baːseːʔ/ | — /—/ | nya:wę' /njaːwɛ̃ʔ/ | mahsi cho /mahsi tʃo/ |
| Good | niwhoŋ /nɪwhoŋ/ | nzhǫǫ /nʒõː/ | yáʼátʼééh /jɑ́ːʔɑ́tʼéːh/ | nezoonh /nezoːnh/ | — /—/ | oyá:nre /ojaːnre/ | nezų /nezũ/ |
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