Skarù:rę'
Tuscarora
Iroquoian (Northern, Tuscarora-Nottoway)
Tuscarora (Skarù:rę', "shirt-wearing people") is a Northern Iroquoian language whose speakers originally inhabited present-day eastern North Carolina. After the Tuscarora War (1711-1715), most migrated north to join the Five Nations Iroquois Confederacy as the Sixth Nation, settling primarily in upstate New York and on the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario. Critically endangered; the Tuscarora School (Niagara Falls NY) and language program at Six Nations Polytechnic conduct revitalization.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Tuscarora
Water
awę:
/awɛ̃ː/
Fire
ujihst
/udʒihst/
Sun
hęhts
/hɛ̃hts/
Moon
hęhts uri:węh
/hɛ̃hts uɾiːwɛ̃h/
Star
utsíhstaʔ
/utsíhstaʔ/
Mother
raknų:hak
/ɾaknũːhak/
Father
rakhnih
/ɾakhnih/
I
íːʔ
/iːʔ/
You
íːsaʔ
/iːsaʔ/
Name
utsheːnaʔ
/utsʰeːnaʔ/
Eye
ka:tæk
/kaːtæk/
Hand
kéhskweh
/kehskweh/
Heart
kęhsa'
/kɛ̃hsaʔ/
Love
krunyę:tas
/kɾuɲɛ̃ːtas/
Tree
nyęt
/ɲɛ̃t/
House
kanéhse'ę
/kanehseʔɛ̃/
Dog
čerʼ
/tʃeɾʔ/
Cat
takʼo:s
/takʔoːs/
Eat
kré:nuʼ
/kɾeːnuʔ/
Drink
kré:hwiʼ
/kɾeːhwiʔ/
One
ę:cæ
/ɛ̃ːtsæ/
Two
néʔkti
/neʔkti/
Hello
skę:nu
/skɛ̃ːnu/
Thank you
nyaʼwę:
/ɲaʔwɛ̃ː/
Good
unę:tsweht
/unɛ̃ːtsweht/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Iroquoian (Northern, Tuscarora-Nottoway) languages
| Meaning | Tuscarora | Onondaga | Cayuga | Mohawk | Wichita | Oneida | Koyukon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | awę: /awɛ̃ː/ | ohnekano:s /ohnekanoːs/ | ohnekanos /ohnekanos/ | ohnekanos /ohnekanos/ | kicʔa /kitsʔa/ | otiʔkwah /otiʔkwah/ | too /toː/ |
| Fire | ujihst /udʒihst/ | oji:staʼ /odʒiːstaʔ/ | ojistaʼ /odʒistaʔ/ | otsénhaʼ /odzʌ̃haʔ/ | hatʔihks /hatʔihks/ | onaʔ /onaʔ/ | konh /konh/ |
| Sun | hęhts /hɛ̃hts/ | gaeh'kwa /ɡaehʔkwa/ | gaehkwa /ɡaehkwa/ | karahkwa /karahkwa/ | saːkihirikiʔis /saːkihiɾikiʔis/ | karahkwah /karahkwah/ | so /so/ |
| Moon | hęhts uri:węh /hɛ̃hts uɾiːwɛ̃h/ | gaeh'kwa enitha /ɡaehʔkwa enitha/ | sǫi:ya /sõːja/ | ehníta /ehˈniːta/ | — /—/ | tsikʌ /tsikʌ/ | oolts'enh /ooltsʼenh/ |
| Star | utsíhstaʔ /utsíhstaʔ/ | otsistoʼgwaʼ /odʒistoʔɡwaʔ/ | otsihsdaʔ /otsihsdaʔ/ | otsistohkwaʔ /otsistohkwaʔ/ | hokʼwahriʔ /hokʼʷahriʔ/ | otsistohkwaʼ /odʒistohkwaʔ/ | so /sɔ/ |
| Mother | raknų:hak /ɾaknũːhak/ | ekno:ha' /eknoːhaʔ/ | agniha /aɡniha/ | isté:ha /isteːha/ | ʔatsi /ʔatsi/ | aknulha /aknulha/ | enaa /enaː/ |
| Father | rakhnih /ɾakhnih/ | hak'no:ha' /hakʔnoːhaʔ/ | ha'nih /haʔnih/ | ranihá /raniha/ | ʔaːsi /ʔaːsi/ | haʔnih /haʔnih/ | etaa /etaː/ |
| I | íːʔ /iːʔ/ | iʼ /iʔ/ | iːʔ /iːʔ/ | í:'i /íːʔi/ | náⁱʔ /náːʔ/ | iʔí /iˈʔi/ | see /siː/ |
| You | íːsaʔ /iːsaʔ/ | íseʼ /iseʔ/ | iːs /iːs/ | í:se' /íːseʔ/ | áⁱʔ /áːʔ/ | isé /iˈse/ | nee /niː/ |
| Name | utsheːnaʔ /utsʰeːnaʔ/ | yaʼts /jaʔts/ | ohsęːnaʔ /ohsẽːnaʔ/ | ohsennaʔ /ohsennaʔ/ | -riʔ /riʔ/ | yukyáts /juˈɡjats/ | -zaakkʼeʼ /zàːkʼeʔ/ |
| Eye | ka:tæk /kaːtæk/ | oga:tha' /oɡaːtʰaʔ/ | oga:t /oɡaːt/ | kakahre /kakahre/ | kiriːkihinaʔ /kiɾiːkihinaʔ/ | oʔloh /oʔloh/ | nełtonh /neɬtonh/ |
| Hand | kéhskweh /kehskweh/ | onénǫhsa' /onenõhsaʔ/ | onénǫhsa /onenõhsa/ | o'nentsha /oʔnentsha/ | ʔiskʔa /ʔiskʔa/ | okaʔ /okaʔ/ | ela /ela/ |
| Heart | kęhsa' /kɛ̃hsaʔ/ | awé:ri /aweːri/ | awéri /aweri/ | awèrià /awɛriã/ | kaːc /kaːts/ | oianeh /oianeh/ | -dzaaya' /tsæːjəʔ/ |
| Love | krunyę:tas /kɾuɲɛ̃ːtas/ | gaonihsdá:wę /ɡaonihsdaːwɛ̃/ | gaihwiyu /ɡaihwiju/ | aknoronhkwa /aknoronhkʷa/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | k'oonejee /kʼooneʒeː/ |
| Tree | nyęt /ɲɛ̃t/ | ga:enda' /ɡaːendaʔ/ | gaentaʼ /ɡaentaʔ/ | okwire /okʷire/ | tahaːriʔ /tahaːɾiʔ/ | oyʌte /ojʌte/ | k'eyh /kʼejh/ |
| House | kanéhse'ę /kanehseʔɛ̃/ | ganǫhsoht /ɡanõhsoht/ | ganǫhsoot /ɡanõhsoːt/ | kanonhsa /kanonhsa/ | kaːhikʔa /kaːhikʔa/ | kanúhsote /kanuhsote/ | kkun /kːun/ |
| Dog | čerʼ /tʃeɾʔ/ | só:wa:s /soːwaːs/ | shǫkáos /ʃõkaos/ | érhar /erhar/ | kicʔariːh /kitsʔaɾiːh/ | é:lhal /ˈeːlhal/ | łeek /ɬeːk/ |
| Cat | takʼo:s /takʔoːs/ | takó:s /takoːs/ | ditshokwáʔ /ditʃokwaʔ/ | takós /takos/ | — /—/ | taks /taks/ | dotonh /dotonh/ |
| Eat | kré:nuʼ /kɾeːnuʔ/ | ekho:ne' /ekʰoːneʔ/ | gekho /ɡekʰo/ | kekhwa /kekʰwa/ | taʔac /taʔats/ | ohkaʔ /ohkaʔ/ | ghen /ɣen/ |
| Drink | kré:hwiʼ /kɾeːhwiʔ/ | ehnega:i'ron /ehneɡaːiʔron/ | gehnegira /ɡehneɡira/ | kahnek /kahnek/ | kiːckiriʔeːhirʔa /kiːtskiɾiʔeːhiɾʔa/ | ohwisaʔ /ohwisaʔ/ | don /don/ |
| One | ę:cæ /ɛ̃ːtsæ/ | ska:t /skaːt/ | skat /skat/ | enska /enska/ | cʔiːʔas /tsʔiːʔas/ | skaʔkoh /skaʔkoh/ | łeek'eyh /ɬeːkʼejh/ |
| Two | néʔkti /neʔkti/ | tékni /teɡni/ | téknih /ˈteknih/ | tékeni /teːɡeni/ | wic /wits/ | tékeni /ˈtekeni/ | netaakkʼa /netàːkʼʌ/ |
| Hello | skę:nu /skɛ̃ːnu/ | sgë:nǫʼ /skẽːnõʔ/ | sgë:nǫʼ /skẽːnõʔ/ | she:kon /ʃeːkon/ | nakahaʔahirʔa /nakahaʔahiɾʔa/ | — /—/ | enaa basee' /enaː baseːʔ/ |
| Thank you | nyaʼwę: /ɲaʔwɛ̃ː/ | nya:wę' /njaːwɛ̃ʔ/ | niáwę /niawɛ̃/ | niáwen /niawen/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | baasee' /baːseːʔ/ |
| Good | unę:tsweht /unɛ̃ːtsweht/ | oyá:nre /ojaːnre/ | oyanre /ojanre/ | ioiánere /jojánere/ | — /—/ | kaʔuh /kaʔuh/ | nezoonh /nezoːnh/ |
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