Yaqui language

Yaqui
Yoem Noki
Pronunciation	[joʔem noki]
Native to	Mexico, U.S.
Region	Sonora, Arizona
Native speakers	12,000  (2000)[1]
Language family	Uto-Aztecan Taracahitic Cáhita Yaqui
Language codes
ISO 639-3	yaq

Yaqui (or Hiaki), locally known as Yoeme or Yoem Noki, is a Native American language of the Uto-Aztecan family. It is spoken by about 15,000 people, mostly of the border Yaqui people, in the region around the Mexican state of Sonora, and Arizona in the United States.

Phonology

The remarks below use the orthography used by the Pascua Yaqui Tribe in the United States. There are also several orthographic systems used in Mexico differing slightly from this, mainly in using Spanish language values for several consonants and Spanish language spelling rules [e.g., "rohikte" would be written "rojicte"]. There are minor differences between Mexican and US dialects in inclusion or exclusion of sounds, most notably the US dialects tend to exclude an intervocalic "r" and final "k".

Vowels

Yaqui vowels are pronounced very much like they are in standard Spanish:

"A" is pronounced similarly to that in (American English) "father" (International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) /a/).

"E" is pronounced similarly to that in (Am. Eng.) "get" (IPA /e/).

"I" is pronounced similarly to that in (Am. Eng.) "machine" (IPA /i/).

"O" is pronounced similarly to that in (Am. Eng.) "go" (IPA /o/).

"U" is pronounced similarly to that in (Am. Eng.) "rude" (IPA /u/).

Vowels may be either short or long in duration. Often, long vowels are reduced in length when the word they are used in is used constructively, e.g., 'maaso' ('deer') is shortened to 'maso' in 'maso bwikam' ('deer songs'). Long vowels are written by doubling the vowel. Long vowels may change tone, and this is not represented in the written language. Some writers have referred to Yaqui as being a tonal language, but the modern forms of the language do not show any widespread and significant use of tonemes.

Consonants

The following consonantal sounds are present in Yaqui: b, ch, (d), (f), (g), h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w, y, and one or two glottal stops (IPA /ʔ/), represented by an apostrophe. Except the glottal stops, most of them are pronounced nearly the same as they are in English, although "p", "t", and "k" are not aspirated. In the IPA, they are respectively /b t͡ʃ (d) (f) (ɡ) h k l m n p r s t β w j/. Many Yaqui speakers make no difference between b and v, pronouncing both as /β/, and this appears to be intrinsic to the language and not an influence of Spanish. Additionally, there are two consonants written as clusters: "bw" (IPA /bʷ/) and "kt" (IPA /k͡t/), "bw" being a rounded "b" ('bwikam') and "kt" a simultaneous articulation of "k" and "t" ('rohikte'). The "kt" sound is found in many other Uto-Aztecan languages. Pronunciation of the rounded "b" as "b"+"w" and the "kt" as "k"+"t" is acceptable, but non-native.

Note that "d", "f", and "g" are present only in English and Spanish loanwords. Often they are substituted with the native sounds "t"/"r"/"l", "p", and "w"/"k", respectively.

In Mexico, many speakers will often substitute "g" for syllable-initial "w". This is largely because the phoneme /w/ is not present in northern Mexican Spanish as an independent consonantal phoneme, but rather as either a variant of the vowel /u/ or as an adjunct to /g/ and /k/. Use of "g" in place of "w" is considered by Yaqui speakers as a Mexicanism and not as standard Yaqui usage even in Mexico.

Glottal Stops

There is at least one glottal stop, which is phonemic. There also appears to be a "fainter" glottal stop sometimes used between vowels but with apparently little predictability. Whether this is phonemic or not is still unclear.

Sound Symbolism

Sound symbolism is present in Yaqui. For example, a word with the letter “l” in it may either be pronounced normally, to denote approval from the speaker, or with an “r” in place of the “l” to denote disapproval or disfavor on the part of the speaker. Either variant form is correct.

Devoicing

Devoicing occurs at the ends of phrases. This is especially notable with the sound “m” and with vowels. Yaqui speech often has a “breathy” sound to English speakers.

Gestures

One word, laute, has two contradictory meanings: “quickly” and “slowly.” (Similar to the problem encountered with the English word “mercurial,” which can mean either “unhesitating” or “scatter-brained.”) The word is often accompanied with a quick or slow open-handed movement to indicate the meaning. (Alternatively, laute could be translated as “at a different rate of speed” which requires a hand gesture to indicate the nature of the difference when needed for clarification.)

Grammar

Syntax

Yaqui word order is generally subject–object–verb.

The object of a sentence is suffixed with “-t,” or, if the word already ends in “t,” with “-a.”

Here is a simple sentence: “Inepo huuhit vichnu”, or “I am looking at the woman.”

Inepo	huuhit	vichnu
I	woman	look at

Case

Yaqui is a "noun-heavy" agglutinative language. Nouns and pronouns are often declined in ways that may be strange to Western learners.

For example, the first person singular pronoun "in" or "ne" (which varies by dialect), is more often used in the form "inepo", which can be translated "within me". The "-(e)po" ending is quite common and seems to denote much more than simple physical inclusion.

Nouns

Plural nouns are formed by adding the suffix "-im", or "-m" if the noun ends in a vowel.

• Tekil - Job
• Tekilim - Jobs

If a plural noun is the object of a sentence, the suffixation of "-t" or "-ta" is not used.

Inepo	huuhim	vichnu
I	women	look at

Verbs

Usually, adding the suffix "-k" to a verb indicates past tense, though there are many exceptions. If a verb ends in a diphthong, "-kan" is added. If a verb ends in "-i", "-akan" is added. If a verb ends in "-o" or "-u", "-ekan" is added, and if a verb ends in "-a", "-ikan" is added. If a verb ends in "-k", "-an" is added.

Regularly, "-ne" indicates the future.

Adjectives

In Yaqui, adjectives very often act as verbs (in Afro-Asiatic linguistics, they would be called stative verbs). For instance, "vemela" or "new", would most often be used to mean "is new". Adjectives have tenses, the same as verbs.

Reduplication

Reduplication is present in Yaqui. Reduplicating the first syllable of a verb indicates habitual action:

• eta - shuts
• e'eta - usually shuts

Primary reduplication is also used to pluralize adjectives.

Reduplicating the second consonant of a verb is used to show that an action is performed rarely.

Sample Words and Phrases

• o'ow - man
• hamut - woman
• tu'i hiapsek - kind (lit. "good hearted")
• halla'i - friend
• maaso - deer
• aamu - to hunt

• aman ne tevote em yevihnewi - "I extend my greetings"

Greetings often are very formal. The following formula of four phrases is often used even among close friends:

• Lios em chania - "Greetings!" (to one person, to more than one: Lios em chaniavu) (lit. "God preserves you!", Lios [sometimes pronounced Lioh] is a very early borrowing of the Spanish "Dios")
• Lios em chiokoe - (the reply to the above, lit. "God pardons you!")
• Empo allea - "May you rejoice!" (lit. "In you happy", 'allea' is said to be from the Spanish 'alegre', meaning 'happy')
• Kettu'i - "How kind!"

Kinship Terminology

Immediate family	Male	Female
Mother	Ae	Ae
Father	Achai	Hapchi
Older Brother	Sai	Avachi
Younger Brother	Saila	Wai
Older Sister	Ako	Ako
Younger Sister	Wai	Wai

Extended family	Father's	Mother's
Grandmother	Namuli	Namuli
Grandfather	Hamuli	Hamuli
Mother	Haaka	Asu
Father	Havoi	Apa
Older Brother	Haavi	Kumui
Younger Brother	Samai	Taata
Older Sister	Ne'esa	Chi'ila
Younger Sister	Nana	Mamai

^[2]

Language revitalization and teaching

In 2009, the Pascua Yaqui Tribal Council and the University of Arizona collaborated on a program in which tribal elders teach the Yaqui language to families.^[3] As of 2010, a revitalization project was underway at the University, "using 30 year old audio tapes recorded by tribal member Maria Leyva."^[4] As of 2012, "Any teaching materials, tools, lessons, audio lessons, etc.," on the website of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe were "restricted to 'Tribally enrolled Members' only."^[2]

References

Bibliography

• John M. Dedrick, Eugene H. Casad (1999). Sonora Yaqui Language Structures. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press. ISBN 9780816519811. Retrieved 2012-09-29. 
• Johnson, Jean Bassett (1962, posthumous). El Idioma Yaqui. Mexico DF: Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia.
• Shaul, David L. (1999). Yoeme-English English-Yoeme Standard Dictionary. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-7818-0633-X
• Spicer, Edward H. "Inventory of the Edward H. and Rosamond B. Spicer Papers, 1911-2000 (bulk 1937-1988); Series VIII: Yaqui Files, 1935-1995 (Bulk 1939-1988)". Arizona Archives Online. Retrieved 2012-09-29. 

External links

Yaqui language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator

• Yaqui Vocabulary List, from the World Loanword Database
• Yaqui Swadesh vocabulary list from Wiktionary
• Yaqui Indian Language (Yoeme)
• OLAC resources in and about the Yaqui language

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