Onoñdaʼgegáʼ nigaweñoʼdeñʼ
Onondaga
Iroquoian (Northern, Five Nations)
Onondaga (Onoñda’gegá’; ISO 639-3: ono) is a Northern Iroquoian language of the Onondaga Nation, one of the nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and is used in central New York and at Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario. Around 50 fluent speakers remain, most of them elders, so the language is critically endangered, although community members are learning it as a second language. Onondaga is polysynthetic and verb-centered: verbs carry pronominal prefixes and aspect suffixes and may incorporate noun roots, while constituent order is comparatively flexible. Community Latin orthographies use apostrophes for glottal stops, ñ for nasalization, middle dots for vowel length, and acute accents for stress. The language remains central to ceremony, law, and public life; the Onondaga Nation opened a dedicated Language Center in 2011, and classes, recordings, dictionaries, and immersion work strengthen transmission.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Onondaga
Water
ohnekano:s
/ohnekanoːs/
Fire
oji:staʼ
/odʒiːstaʔ/
Sun
gaeh'kwa
/ɡaehʔkwa/
Moon
gaeh'kwa enitha
/ɡaehʔkwa enitha/
Star
otsistoʼgwaʼ
/odʒistoʔɡwaʔ/
Mother
ekno:ha'
/eknoːhaʔ/
Father
hak'no:ha'
/hakʔnoːhaʔ/
I
iʼ
/iʔ/
You
íseʼ
/iseʔ/
Name
yaʼts
/jaʔts/
Eye
oga:tha'
/oɡaːtʰaʔ/
Hand
onénǫhsa'
/onenõhsaʔ/
Heart
awé:ri
/aweːri/
Love
gaonihsdá:wę
/ɡaonihsdaːwɛ̃/
Tree
ga:enda'
/ɡaːendaʔ/
House
ganǫhsoht
/ɡanõhsoht/
Dog
só:wa:s
/soːwaːs/
Cat
takó:s
/takoːs/
Eat
ekho:ne'
/ekʰoːneʔ/
Drink
ehnega:i'ron
/ehneɡaːiʔron/
One
ska:t
/skaːt/
Two
tékni
/teɡni/
Hello
sgë:nǫʼ
/skẽːnõʔ/
Thank you
nya:wę'
/njaːwɛ̃ʔ/
Good
oyá:nre
/ojaːnre/
Words compared
Compared with related Iroquoian (Northern, Five Nations) languages
| Meaning | Onondaga | Cayuga | Mohawk | Tuscarora | Oneida | Western Neo-Aramaic | Magahi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ohnekano:s /ohnekanoːs/ | ohnekanos /ohnekanos/ | ohnekanos /ohnekanos/ | awę: /awɛ̃ː/ | otiʔkwah /otiʔkwah/ | ܡܘܝܐ /moːja/ | पानी /paːni/ |
| Fire | oji:staʼ /odʒiːstaʔ/ | ojistaʼ /odʒistaʔ/ | otsénhaʼ /odzʌ̃haʔ/ | ujihst /udʒihst/ | onaʔ /onaʔ/ | ܐܫܬܐ /iʃtaː/ | आग /aːɡ/ |
| Sun | gaeh'kwa /ɡaehʔkwa/ | gaehkwa /ɡaehkwa/ | karahkwa /karahkwa/ | hęhts /hɛ̃hts/ | karahkwah /karahkwah/ | ܫܡܫܐ /ʃemʃaː/ | सूरज /suːraj/ |
| Moon | gaeh'kwa enitha /ɡaehʔkwa enitha/ | sǫi:ya /sõːja/ | ehníta /ehˈniːta/ | hęhts uri:węh /hɛ̃hts uɾiːwɛ̃h/ | tsikʌ /tsikʌ/ | ܣܗܪܐ /sahraː/ | चान /tʃaːn/ |
| Star | otsistoʼgwaʼ /odʒistoʔɡwaʔ/ | otsihsdaʔ /otsihsdaʔ/ | otsistohkwaʔ /otsistohkwaʔ/ | utsíhstaʔ /utsíhstaʔ/ | otsistohkwaʼ /odʒistohkwaʔ/ | ܟܘܟܒܐ /kawkba/ | तारा /taːraː/ |
| Mother | ekno:ha' /eknoːhaʔ/ | agniha /aɡniha/ | isté:ha /isteːha/ | raknų:hak /ɾaknũːhak/ | aknulha /aknulha/ | ܐܡܐ /emaː/ | माय /maːj/ |
| Father | hak'no:ha' /hakʔnoːhaʔ/ | ha'nih /haʔnih/ | ranihá /raniha/ | rakhnih /ɾakhnih/ | haʔnih /haʔnih/ | ܒܒܐ /babːaː/ | बाबू /baːbuː/ |
| I | iʼ /iʔ/ | iːʔ /iːʔ/ | í:'i /íːʔi/ | íːʔ /iːʔ/ | iʔí /iˈʔi/ | ܐܢܐ /ana/ | हम /ɦəm/ |
| You | íseʼ /iseʔ/ | iːs /iːs/ | í:se' /íːseʔ/ | íːsaʔ /iːsaʔ/ | isé /iˈse/ | ܚܐܟ /ħatʃ/ | तूँ /tũː/ |
| Name | yaʼts /jaʔts/ | ohsęːnaʔ /ohsẽːnaʔ/ | ohsennaʔ /ohsennaʔ/ | utsheːnaʔ /utsʰeːnaʔ/ | yukyáts /juˈɡjats/ | ܐܫܡܐ /eʃma/ | नाम /naːm/ |
| Eye | oga:tha' /oɡaːtʰaʔ/ | oga:t /oɡaːt/ | kakahre /kakahre/ | ka:tæk /kaːtæk/ | oʔloh /oʔloh/ | ܥܝܢܐ /ʕajna/ | आँख /aːŋkʰ/ |
| Hand | onénǫhsa' /onenõhsaʔ/ | onénǫhsa /onenõhsa/ | o'nentsha /oʔnentsha/ | kéhskweh /kehskweh/ | okaʔ /okaʔ/ | ܐܝܕܐ /iða/ | हाथ /haːtʰ/ |
| Heart | awé:ri /aweːri/ | awéri /aweri/ | awèrià /awɛriã/ | kęhsa' /kɛ̃hsaʔ/ | oianeh /oianeh/ | ܠܒܐ /lebaː/ | मन /mən/ |
| Love | gaonihsdá:wę /ɡaonihsdaːwɛ̃/ | gaihwiyu /ɡaihwiju/ | aknoronhkwa /aknoronhkʷa/ | krunyę:tas /kɾuɲɛ̃ːtas/ | — /—/ | ܚܘܒܐ /ħubaː/ | प्रेम /preːm/ |
| Tree | ga:enda' /ɡaːendaʔ/ | gaentaʼ /ɡaentaʔ/ | okwire /okʷire/ | nyęt /ɲɛ̃t/ | oyʌte /ojʌte/ | ܐܝܠܢܐ /elona/ | गाछ /ɡaːtʃʰ/ |
| House | ganǫhsoht /ɡanõhsoht/ | ganǫhsoot /ɡanõhsoːt/ | kanonhsa /kanonhsa/ | kanéhse'ę /kanehseʔɛ̃/ | kanúhsote /kanuhsote/ | ܒܝܬܐ /bajθa/ | घर /ɡʱər/ |
| Dog | só:wa:s /soːwaːs/ | shǫkáos /ʃõkaos/ | érhar /erhar/ | čerʼ /tʃeɾʔ/ | é:lhal /ˈeːlhal/ | ܟܠܒܐ /kalbaː/ | कूकूर /kuːkuːr/ |
| Cat | takó:s /takoːs/ | ditshokwáʔ /ditʃokwaʔ/ | takós /takos/ | takʼo:s /takʔoːs/ | taks /taks/ | ܩܛܘܢܐ /qatˤuna/ | बिलाई /bilaːi/ |
| Eat | ekho:ne' /ekʰoːneʔ/ | gekho /ɡekʰo/ | kekhwa /kekʰwa/ | kré:nuʼ /kɾeːnuʔ/ | ohkaʔ /ohkaʔ/ | ܐܟܠ /iʔχel/ | खैना /kʰaiːnaː/ |
| Drink | ehnega:i'ron /ehneɡaːiʔron/ | gehnegira /ɡehneɡira/ | kahnek /kahnek/ | kré:hwiʼ /kɾeːhwiʔ/ | ohwisaʔ /ohwisaʔ/ | ܫܬܐ /ʃetaː/ | पीना /piːnaː/ |
| One | ska:t /skaːt/ | skat /skat/ | enska /enska/ | ę:cæ /ɛ̃ːtsæ/ | skaʔkoh /skaʔkoh/ | ܚܕ /xeð/ | एक /eːk/ |
| Two | tékni /teɡni/ | téknih /ˈteknih/ | tékeni /teːɡeni/ | néʔkti /neʔkti/ | tékeni /ˈtekeni/ | ܬܪܝܢ /tren/ | दू /duː/ |
| Hello | sgë:nǫʼ /skẽːnõʔ/ | sgë:nǫʼ /skẽːnõʔ/ | she:kon /ʃeːkon/ | skę:nu /skɛ̃ːnu/ | — /—/ | ܫܠܡܐ /ʃlomaː/ | परणाम /prəɳaːm/ |
| Thank you | nya:wę' /njaːwɛ̃ʔ/ | niáwę /niawɛ̃/ | niáwen /niawen/ | nyaʼwę: /ɲaʔwɛ̃ː/ | — /—/ | ܬܘܕܝ /tawdiː/ | धन्यवाद /dʱənjəbaːd/ |
| Good | oyá:nre /ojaːnre/ | oyanre /ojanre/ | ioiánere /jojánere/ | unę:tsweht /unɛ̃ːtsweht/ | kaʔuh /kaʔuh/ | ܛܒܐ /tˤaːβa/ | नीक /niːk/ |
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