Onʌyota'káhkahʌ
Oneida
Iroquoian
Oneida (Onʌyota’a:ka, “People of the Standing Stone”; ISO 639-3: one) is a Northern Iroquoian language of the Haudenosaunee, historically associated with central New York and now used in Oneida communities in New York, Wisconsin, and at Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario. Only about 100–200 fluent first-language speakers, mostly elders, remain, although a group is learning it as a second language. Oneida is polysynthetic and verb-centered: a verb typically contains a pronominal prefix, a root, and an aspect suffix, and may incorporate a noun stem and other morphemes. Community Latin orthographies mark glottal stops with an apostrophe, long vowels with a colon, stress with acute accents, and use ʌ for a central vowel. Wisconsin’s Oneida Nation declared it its official national language in 1994, while immersion and mentor programs, school courses, dictionaries, recordings, and digital tools support revitalization.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Oneida
Water
otiʔkwah
/otiʔkwah/
Fire
onaʔ
/onaʔ/
Sun
karahkwah
/karahkwah/
Moon
tsikʌ
/tsikʌ/
Star
otsistohkwaʼ
/odʒistohkwaʔ/
Mother
aknulha
/aknulha/
Father
haʔnih
/haʔnih/
I
iʔí
/iˈʔi/
You
isé
/iˈse/
Name
yukyáts
/juˈɡjats/
Eye
oʔloh
/oʔloh/
Hand
okaʔ
/okaʔ/
Heart
oianeh
/oianeh/
Love
—
/—/
Tree
oyʌte
/ojʌte/
House
kanúhsote
/kanuhsote/
Dog
é:lhal
/ˈeːlhal/
Cat
taks
/taks/
Eat
ohkaʔ
/ohkaʔ/
Drink
ohwisaʔ
/ohwisaʔ/
One
skaʔkoh
/skaʔkoh/
Two
tékeni
/ˈtekeni/
Hello
—
/—/
Thank you
—
/—/
Good
kaʔuh
/kaʔuh/
Words compared
Compared with related Iroquoian languages
| Meaning | Oneida | Onondaga | Cayuga | Mohawk | Yuchi | Makasae | Blackfoot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | otiʔkwah /otiʔkwah/ | ohnekano:s /ohnekanoːs/ | ohnekanos /ohnekanos/ | ohnekanos /ohnekanos/ | cha /tʃa/ | ira /ˈira/ | aohkíí /aoxkiː/ |
| Fire | onaʔ /onaʔ/ | oji:staʼ /odʒiːstaʔ/ | ojistaʼ /odʒistaʔ/ | otsénhaʼ /odzʌ̃haʔ/ | tsoda /tsoda/ | ata /ˈata/ | kówa /koːwa/ |
| Sun | karahkwah /karahkwah/ | gaeh'kwa /ɡaehʔkwa/ | gaehkwa /ɡaehkwa/ | karahkwa /karahkwa/ | dethla /dɛhla/ | watu /ˈwatu/ | naató'si /naːtoʔsi/ |
| Moon | tsikʌ /tsikʌ/ | gaeh'kwa enitha /ɡaehʔkwa enitha/ | sǫi:ya /sõːja/ | ehníta /ehˈniːta/ | zethla /zɛhla/ | uru /ˈuru/ | kokómiksi /kokoːmiksi/ |
| Star | otsistohkwaʼ /odʒistohkwaʔ/ | otsistoʼgwaʼ /odʒistoʔɡwaʔ/ | otsihsdaʔ /otsihsdaʔ/ | otsistohkwaʔ /otsistohkwaʔ/ | weʼyv /weʔỹ/ | ipi /ipi/ | kakató'si /kakatoʔsi/ |
| Mother | aknulha /aknulha/ | ekno:ha' /eknoːhaʔ/ | agniha /aɡniha/ | isté:ha /isteːha/ | ahnʌh /ahnʌh/ | ina /ˈina/ | nomó /nomoː/ |
| Father | haʔnih /haʔnih/ | hak'no:ha' /hakʔnoːhaʔ/ | ha'nih /haʔnih/ | ranihá /raniha/ | — /—/ | baba /ˈbaba/ | apó /apoː/ |
| I | iʔí /iˈʔi/ | iʼ /iʔ/ | iːʔ /iːʔ/ | í:'i /íːʔi/ | di /di/ | ani /ani/ | niistó /niːsto/ |
| You | isé /iˈse/ | íseʼ /iseʔ/ | iːs /iːs/ | í:se' /íːseʔ/ | tse /tse/ | ai /ai/ | kiistó /kiːsto/ |
| Name | yukyáts /juˈɡjats/ | yaʼts /jaʔts/ | ohsęːnaʔ /ohsẽːnaʔ/ | ohsennaʔ /ohsennaʔ/ | tiʼe /tiʔe/ | naran /naran/ | inihka'sini /inixkaʔsini/ |
| Eye | oʔloh /oʔloh/ | oga:tha' /oɡaːtʰaʔ/ | oga:t /oɡaːt/ | kakahre /kakahre/ | shela /ʃela/ | nana /ˈnana/ | istó /istoː/ |
| Hand | okaʔ /okaʔ/ | onénǫhsa' /onenõhsaʔ/ | onénǫhsa /onenõhsa/ | o'nentsha /oʔnentsha/ | — /—/ | tana /ˈtana/ | aksí /aksiː/ |
| Heart | oianeh /oianeh/ | awé:ri /aweːri/ | awéri /aweri/ | awèrià /awɛriã/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Love | — /—/ | gaonihsdá:wę /ɡaonihsdaːwɛ̃/ | gaihwiyu /ɡaihwiju/ | aknoronhkwa /aknoronhkʷa/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | oyʌte /ojʌte/ | ga:enda' /ɡaːendaʔ/ | gaentaʼ /ɡaentaʔ/ | okwire /okʷire/ | — /—/ | ate /ˈate/ | ohtá /ohtaː/ |
| House | kanúhsote /kanuhsote/ | ganǫhsoht /ɡanõhsoht/ | ganǫhsoot /ɡanõhsoːt/ | kanonhsa /kanonhsa/ | tsotʔa /tsotʔa/ | oma /ˈoma/ | mahkówa /mahkoːwa/ |
| Dog | é:lhal /ˈeːlhal/ | só:wa:s /soːwaːs/ | shǫkáos /ʃõkaos/ | érhar /erhar/ | shtsé /ʃtsɛ/ | defa /ˈdɛfa/ | imitáá /imitaː/ |
| Cat | taks /taks/ | takó:s /takoːs/ | ditshokwáʔ /ditʃokwaʔ/ | takós /takos/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | pisimó /pisimoː/ |
| Eat | ohkaʔ /ohkaʔ/ | ekho:ne' /ekʰoːneʔ/ | gekho /ɡekʰo/ | kekhwa /kekʰwa/ | gʌ /ɡʌ/ | nawa /ˈnawa/ | íta /iːta/ |
| Drink | ohwisaʔ /ohwisaʔ/ | ehnega:i'ron /ehneɡaːiʔron/ | gehnegira /ɡehneɡira/ | kahnek /kahnek/ | — /—/ | gehe /ˈɡɛhɛ/ | oknáhsim /oknaːhsim/ |
| One | skaʔkoh /skaʔkoh/ | ska:t /skaːt/ | skat /skat/ | enska /enska/ | hahgo /hahɡo/ | u /ʔu/ | niʼtokska /niʔtokska/ |
| Two | tékeni /ˈtekeni/ | tékni /teɡni/ | téknih /ˈteknih/ | tékeni /teːɡeni/ | nowe /nõˈwẽ/ | lolae /loˈlae/ | naatoka /naːtoka/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | sgë:nǫʼ /skẽːnõʔ/ | sgë:nǫʼ /skẽːnõʔ/ | she:kon /ʃeːkon/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | nya:wę' /njaːwɛ̃ʔ/ | niáwę /niawɛ̃/ | niáwen /niawen/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | kaʔuh /kaʔuh/ | oyá:nre /ojaːnre/ | oyanre /ojanre/ | ioiánere /jojánere/ | — /—/ | rau /rau/ | otstapé /otstapeː/ |
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