Fox language

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For the language of the animal, see Fox § Vocalization.

Fox
Meskwaki-Sauk-Kickapoo
Meshkwahkihaki
Native toUnited States, Mexico
RegionCentral Oklahoma, Northeastern Kansas, Iowa, and Coahuila
Ethnicity760 Meskwaki and Sauk and 820 Kickapoo in the US (2000 census)[1] and 423 Mexican Kickapoo (2010 census)[2]
Native speakers
700: 250 Sauk and Fox and 400 Kickapoo in the US (2007–2015)[1]
60 Kickapoo in Mexico (2020 census)[3]
Dialects
Latin,
Great Lakes Algonquian syllabics
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
sac – Fox and Sauk
kic – Kickapoo
qes Mascouten
Glottologfoxx1245
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File:Oklahoma Indian Languages.png
Map showing the distribution of Oklahoma Indian Languages
File:Lang Status 40-SE.svg
Kickapoo is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Fox (known by a variety of different names, including Mesquakie (Meskwaki), Mesquakie-Sauk, Mesquakie-Sauk-Kickapoo, Sauk-Fox, and Sac and Fox) is an Algonquian language, spoken by a thousand Meskwaki, Sauk, and Kickapoo in various locations in the Midwestern United States and in northern Mexico.

Dialects

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The three distinct dialects are:

  • Fox or Meskwakiatoweni (Meskwaki language)[4][failed verification] (also called Mesquakie, Meskwaki)
  • Sauk or Thâkiwâtowêweni (Thâkîwaki language) (also rendered Sac), and
  • Kickapoo or Kiikaapoa (also rendered Kikapú; considered by some to be a closely related but distinct language).[5]

If Kickapoo is counted as a separate language rather than a dialect of Fox, then only between 200 and 300 speakers of Fox remain. Extinct Mascouten was most likely another dialect, though it is scarcely attested.[citation needed]

Revitalization

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Most speakers are elderly or middle-aged, making it highly endangered. The tribal school at the Meskwaki Settlement in Iowa incorporates bilingual education for children.[4][6] In 2011, the Meskwaki Sewing Project was created, to bring mothers and girls together "with elder women in the Meskwaki Senior Center sewing traditional clothing and learning the Meskwaki language."[7]

Prominent scholars doing research on the language include Ives Goddard,[8] Lucy Thomason of the Smithsonian Institution, and Amy Dahlstrom of the University of Chicago.

Phonology

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The consonant phonemes of Fox are given in the table below. The eight vowel phonemes are: short /a, e, i, o/ and long /aː, eː, iː, oː/.

Labial Alveolar Postalveolar
or palatal 		Velar Glottal
Nasal m n
Plosive plain p t tʃ k
preaspirated ʰp ʰt ʰtʃ ʰk
Fricative s ʃ h
Approximant j w

Other than those involving a consonant plus /j/ or /w/, the only possible consonant cluster is /ʃk/.

Until the early 1900s, Fox was a phonologically very conservative language and preserved many features of Proto-Algonquian; records from the decades immediately following 1900 are particularly useful to Algonquianists for this reason. By the 1960s, however, an extensive progression of phonological changes had taken place, resulting in the loss of intervocalic semivowels and certain[which?] other features.[9]

Grammar

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According to A Concise Dictionary of the Sauk Language by Gordon Whittaker,[10] the language's nouns can be divided into animate and inanimate groups. Animate nouns end in -a (ex: tîtîwa /ˈti:.ti:.wa/, "blue jay (bird)"). To pluralise most animate nouns, the ending is transformed from -a to -aki (ex: tîtîwa -> tîtîwaki). The few exceptions that exist have specific forms, according to the Dictionary.

Inanimate nouns typically end in -i (ex: mâtethi /ˈma:.tet.hi/, "knife"). To pluralise most inanimate nouns, the ending is transformed from -i to -ani (ex: mâtethi -> mâtethani). Like the animate nouns, the few exceptions that exist also have specific forms, according to the Dictionary.[11]

Verbs can be divided into transitive and intransitive; transitive involves two parties (i.e "I give it to you!" / "Kemînêwene!"), while intransitive is one party (i.e "You're alive." / "Kepemâtethi.")

Animate intransitive (using "pemâtethiwa" as an example)
Subject Verb (Sauk) Translation
ne(t)- (I/me) nepemâtethi I am alive
ke(t)- (you) kepemâtethi you are alive
-wa (s/he) pemâtethiwa s/he is alive
ne(t)- ... -pena (we [exclusive]) nepemâtethipena we (exclusive; think "We, but not YOU.") are alive
ke(t)- ... -pena (we [inclusive]) kepemâtethipena we (inclusive; think "We and you.") are alive
ke(t)- ... -pwa (you [plural]) kepemâtethipwa you (plural) are alive; you all are alive
-waki (they) pemâtethiwaki they are alive
Inanimate intransitive (using "kehkyâhiwa" as an example)
Subject Verb (Sauk) Translation
-wi (it) kehkyêwi it is old
-wani (they [inanimate]) kehkyâhiwani they (inanim.) are old
Animate transitive (using "ahkawâpatamwa" as an example)
Subject Verb (Sauk) Translation
ke(t)- ... -ene (I -> you) netahkawâpatene I take care of you (ahkawâpatamwa can also mean to watch out [for] / look out [for])
ke(t)- ... -enepwa (I -> you [plural]) netahkawâpatenepwa I take care of you (plural); I take care of you all
ne(t)- ... -âwa (I -> him/her) netahkawâpatâwa I take care of him/her
ne(t)- ... -âwaki (I -> them) netahkawâpatâwaki I take care of them
ke(t)- ... -i (you -> me) ketahkawâpati you take care of me
ke(t)- ... -âwa (you -> him/her) ketahkawâpatâwa you take care of him/her
ke(t)- ... -ipena (you -> us) ketahkawâpatipena you take care of us
ke(t)- ... -enepena (we -> you) ketahkawâpatenepena we take care of you
ne(t)- ... -ekwa (s/he -> me) netahkawâpatekwa s/he takes care of me
ke(t)- ... -ekwa (s/he -> you) ketahkawâpatekwa s/he takes care of you
-êwa (s/he -> him/her/them) ahkawâpatêwa s/he takes care of him/her/them
ne(t)- ... -ekonâna (s/he -> us [exc.]) netahkawâpatekonâna s/he takes care of us (exc.)
ke(t)- ... -ekonâna (s/he -> us [inc.]) ketahkawâpatekonâna s/he takes care of us (inc.)
ke(t)- ... -ekowâwa (s/he -> you [plural]) ketahkawâpatekowâwa s/he takes care of you (plural); s/he takes care of you all
ne(t)- ... -âpena (we [exc.] -> him/her/them) netahkawâpatâpena we (exc.) take care of him/her/them
ke(t)- ... -âpena (we [inc.] -> him/her/them) ketahkawâpatâpena we (inc.) take care of him/her/them
ke(t)- ... -ipwa (you [plural] -> me) ketahkawâpatipwa you (plural) take care of me; you all take care of me
ke(t)- ... -âpwa (you [plural] -> him/her/them) ketahkawâpatâpwa you (plural) take care of him/her/them; you all take care of him/her/them
ne(t)- ... -ekôki (they -> me) netahkawâpatekôki they take care of me
ke(t)- ... -ekôki (they -> you) ketahkawâpatekôki they take care of you
-êwaki (they -> him/her/them) ahkawâpatêwaki they take care of him/her/them
ne(t)- ... -ekonânaki (they -> us [exc.]) netahkawâpatekonânaki they take care of us (exc.)
ke(t)- ... -ekonânaki (they -> us [inc.]) ketahkawâpatekonânaki they take care of us (inc.)
ke(t)- ... -ekowâwaki (they -> you [plural]) ketahkawâpatekowâwaki they take care of you (plural); they take care of you all
Inanimate transitive (using "ahkawâpatamwa" as an example)
Subject Verb (Sauk) Translation
ne(t)- ... -a (I -> it/them) netahkawâpata I take care of it/them (ahkawâpatamwa can also mean to watch out [for] / look out [for])
ke(t)- ... -a (You -> it/them) ketahkawâpata You take care of it/them
-amwa (S/He -> it/them) ahkawâpatamwa S/He takes care of it/them
ne(t)- ... -âpena (We [exc.] -> it/them) netahkawâpatâpena We (exc.) take care of it/them
ke(t)- ... -âpena (We [inc.] -> it/them) ketahkawâpatâpena We (inc.) take care of it/them
ke(t)- ... -âpwa (You [plural] -> it/them) ketahkawâpatâpwa You [plural] take care of it/them
-âmoki (They -> it/them) ahkawâpatamwâmoki They take care of it/them

This conjugation is only for verbs that end in -amwa; all other animate transitive verbs take the same conjugation as the animate intransitive verbs.[12]

Vocabulary

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Sauk numerals are as follows:[13]

nekoti one
nîshwi two
nethwi three
nyêwi four
nyânanwi five
nekotwâshika six
nôhika seven
neshwâshika eight
shâka nine
metâthwi ten

Writing systems

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File:Bis carta en lengua kikapu.pdf
Letter in the Kickapoo language written in Coahuila, Mexico, in the 1950s

Besides the Latin script, Fox has been written in two indigenous scripts.[14]

Fox I

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File:Great Lakes Algonquian Syllabics, Second Style.png
The Fox I script[15]

"Fox I" is an abugida based on the cursive French alphabet (see Great Lakes Algonquian syllabics). Consonants written by themselves are understood to be syllables containing the vowel /a/. They are:

Syllable
𝓁[a] /pa/
𝓉 /ta/
𝓈 /sa/
𝒸𝓁 /ʃa/[b]
𝓉𝓉 /tʃa/[c]
ℐ[d] /ya/
𝓌 /wa/
𝓂 /ma/
𝓃 /na/
𝒦 /ka/
𝛿[e] /kwa/[f]
  1. ^ Written as a tall loop, similar to a cursive b or l.
  2. ^ Character ⟨d⟩ for /š/ derives from French ⟨ch⟩.
  3. ^ Character ⟨tt⟩ for /č/ derives from French ⟨tch⟩.
  4. ^ The cursive form of capital I is a more graphically accurate approximation for /ja/; the actual character is a small clockwise loop with a long tail.
  5. ^ The actual character for /gwa/ or /kwa/ is shaped more like a cursive g or a with a long, winding tail that goes in a loop, almost like a figure-8 shape.
  6. ^ Character ⟨q⟩ for /kw/ derives from French ⟨q(u)⟩.

Vowels are written by adding dots to the consonant:

𝓁 /pa/
𝓁. /pe/
𝓁· /pi/
𝓁.. /po/

Fox II

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File:Great Lakes Algonquian Syllabary, Third Style.png
The Fox II script[16]

"Fox II" is a consonant–vowel alphabet. According to Coulmas, /p/ is not written (as /a/ is not written in Fox I). Vowels (or /p/ plus a vowel) are written as cross-hatched tally marks.

Consonants (approximately)
+ /t/
𝒞 /s/
ⵕ /ʃ/
𝒾 /tʃ/[a]
ñ /v/[b]
═ /j/
ƧƧ /w/
𐌎 /m/
ⵌ /n/
𝒞ʼ /k/
Ƨ𝒞 /kw/
Vowels (approximately)
x /a/
ʜ /e/[c]
ⱶʜ /i/[d]
ʜʜ /o/[e]
  1. ^ Without the dot/tittle
  2. ^ Actually like one script n stacked on another.
  3. ^ This is like a small capital H with the cross-bar sticking out on either side.
  4. ^ Resembles Chinese 卅 but lower and wider.
  5. ^ Resembles Chinese 卌, but lower and wider.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b Fox and Sauk at Ethnologue (24th ed., 2021) Closed access icon
    Kickapoo at Ethnologue (24th ed., 2021) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía. (2015). Lenguas indígenas en México y hablantes (de 3 años y más) al 2015. Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Lenguas indígenas y hablantes de 3 años y más, 2020 Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine INEGI. Censo de Población y Vivienda 2020.
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  10. ^ Whittaker 2005.
  11. ^ Whittaker 2005, pp. 7–8.
  12. ^ Whittaker 2005, p. 13.
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  14. ^ Coulmas 1999, pp. 153–155.
  15. ^ Jones 1906, p. 90.
  16. ^ Jones 1906, pp. 90–91.

References

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Further reading

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