Cayuga language

Cayuga (Template:Langx) is a Northern Iroquoian language of the Iroquois Proper (also known as "Five Nations Iroquois") subfamily, and is spoken on Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation, Ontario, by around 240 Cayuga people, and on the Cattaraugus Reservation, New York, by fewer than 10.

Cayuga is critically endangered, with only 115 people of the Indigenous population reporting Cayuga as their mother tongue in the 2021 Canadian census. The Cayuga people are working to revitalize the language. As an example of such, Six Nations Polytechnic has developed apps on iOS and study programs in Cayuga, Oneida, Mohawk and others.

Dialects

There are at least two distinct dialects of Cayuga. Two are spoken at Six Nations of the Grand River in southern Ontario. Another, called "Seneca-Cayuga", was spoken in Oklahoma until its extinction in the 1980s.

The two dialects of the Cayuga at Six Nations are often associated with the two Cayuga longhouses, Sour Springs or “Upper” Cayuga and “Lower” Cayuga. Differences between these two dialects of southern Ontario are known to include two phonological patterns. In the Lower Cayuga (LC) variety, underlying *tj sequences surface as /ky/, e.g. LC gyę:gwa’ /kjɛ̃ːkwaʔ/ vs (UC) ję:gwa’ /tjɛ̃ːkwaʔ/. Another apparent difference involves the metrical pattern of Laryngeal Spreading. In Lower Cayuga words, odd-numbered vowels preceding /h/ or /ʔ/ are pronounced with the voice quality of the following consonant. That is to say, such vowels are pronounced with whispered vowels when preceding /h/ or creaky voice before /ʔ/. An example of this occurs in the word for ‘nine,’ gyoHdo̜h [kjo̤htõh].

Phonology

Modern dialects

There are two varieties of Cayuga. The Lower Cayuga dialect is spoken by those of the Lower End of the Six Nations and the Upper Cayuga are from the Upper End. The main difference between the two is that the Lower Cayuga use the sound and the Upper use the sound .Template:Sfn Also, pronunciation differs between individual speakers of Cayuga and their preferences.

Vowels

There are five oral vowels in Cayuga, as well as four long vowels, Template:IPAblink, Template:IPAblink, Template:IPAblink, and Template:IPAblink.Template:Sfn Cayuga also has three nasalized vowels, Template:IPAblink, Template:IPAblink, and Template:IPAblink.Template:Sfn Both Template:IPAblink and Template:IPAblink are rare sounds in Cayuga. The latter is not phonemic, but surfaces due to a phonological pattern of nasalization, where underlying /a/ becomes Template:IPAblink when following a nasal vowel. Sometimes, the sounds Template:IPAblink and Template:IPAblink are used interchangeably according to the speaker's preference. After long Template:IPAblink and Template:IPAblink, an Template:IPAblink sound can be heard, especially when before Template:IPAblink, Template:IPAblink, Template:IPAblink, Template:IPAblink, Template:IPAblink, and Template:IPAblink.Template:Sfn

Vowels can be devoiced as Template:IPAblink allophonically, indicated in the orthography used at Six Nations by underlining them.

MonophthongsTemplate:Sfn

	Front			Back
	Oral	Long	Nasal	Oral	Long	Nasal
High	Template:IPAslink Template:Angbr	Template:IPAslink Template:Angbr
Mid	Template:IPAslink Template:Angbr	Template:IPAslink Template:Angbr	Template:IPAslink Template:IPAslink Template:Angbr	Template:IPAslink Template:Angbr	Template:IPAslink Template:Angbr	Template:IPAslink Template:IPAslink Template:Angbr
Low				Template:IPAslink Template:Angbr	Template:IPAslink Template:Angbr	Template:IPAslink Template:Angbr [sic]

/ɑ̃/ occurs in only a few words. /ɛ̃/ may be pronounced [ʌ̃], and /õ/ may be [ũ].

Long vowels

Length is important because it alone can distinguish two completely different meanings from one another. For example:
[haʔseʔ] you are going
[haʔseː] you wentTemplate:Sfn

Devoiced vowels

Following are some words that demonstrate what some vowels sound like when they occur before [h]. In words like , , , and , Template:IPAblink and Template:IPAblink devoiced as , sound like a whispered Template:IPAblink, and Template:IPAblink and Template:IPAblink devoiced as , sound like a whispered Template:IPAblink. Furthermore, the Template:IPAblink in and is nasalized because of Template:IPAblink and Template:IPAblink. The consonant before the nasalized vowel becomes voiceless.Template:Sfn Also, odd-numbered vowels followed by Template:IPAblink are devoiced, while even-numbered vowels followed by Template:IPAblink are not.Template:Sfn

Consonants

Like other Iroquoian languages, Cayuga has a very small consonant inventory.

ConsonantsTemplate:Sfn

	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Labiovelar	Glottal
Nasal	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr
Plosive	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr		Template:IPA link Template:Angbr		Template:IPA link Template:Angbr
Affricate	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr
Fricative	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr
Continuant	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr	Template:IPA link Template:Angbr		Template:IPA link Template:Angbr

Allophonic variations that occur in Cayuga:

• Template:IPAslink becomes voiced Template:IPAblink before sonorants. The sound [d] does not exist word-finally.Template:Sfn
• Template:IPAslink becomes voiced Template:IPAblink before sonorants.
• Template:IPAslink becomes Template:IPAblink before Template:IPAslink, Template:IPAslink or Template:IPAslink.
• Template:IPAslink becomes Template:IPAblink when preceding front vowels Template:IPAslink and Template:IPAslink, and as Template:IPAblink before sonorants. It can also be heard as Template:IPAblink and freely before Template:IPAblink and Template:IPAblink, respectively. Speakers may use Template:IPAblink and interchangeably according to the speaker's preference.
• Template:IPAslink can be voiceless as Template:IPAblink (sounds like or Template:IPAblink).
• Template:IPAslink can also be voiceless Template:IPAblink (sounds like ).
• Template:IPAslink:
  • "A vowel devoices if the vowel and a following Template:IPAblink are in an odd-numbered syllable."Template:Sfn For example: the Template:IPAblink in Template:Sfn
  • The vowel is voiced when it and a following Template:IPAslink are in an even-numbered syllable and in "absolute word-initial position or in word-final position, or preceded by another Template:IPAblink."Template:Sfn For example: Template:Gloss; Template:GlossTemplate:Sfn

Accent

Most words have accented vowels, resulting in a higher pitch.Template:Sfn Where the stress is placed is dependent on the "position of the word in the phrase."Template:Sfn The default location for stress for nouns is on final vowel. "In words that are at the end of a phrase, accent falls on the 2nd last vowel, the 3rd last vowel, or occasionally, on the 4th vowel from the end of the word."Template:Sfn For example:

'I just heard it'Template:Sfn

These sounds are long, especially in an even-numbered position. When nouns and verbs are not at the end of a phrase, accent is placed on the final vowel.Template:Sfn For example:

'I heard it, I didn't see it'Template:Sfn

Morphosyntax

Cayuga is a polysynthetic language. As with other Iroquoian languages, the verbal template contains an optional prepronominal prefix, a pronominal prefix (indicating agreement), an optional incorporated noun, a verbal root, and an aspectual suffix. The nominal template consists of an agreement prefix (usually neuter for non-possessed nouns), the nominal root, and a suffix.

Further reading

• Dyck, Carrie, Frances Froman, Alfred Keye & Lottie Keye. LIN 6050 Structure of Cayuga. Course Package.. Ms. Memorial University of NL and Woodland Cultural Centre.

External links

• Cayuga: Our Oral Legacy (COOL)
• Cayuga: Our Oral Legacy (COOL)(NEW)
• Cayuga at LanguageGeek
• Ohwęjagehká: Ha’degaénage: Cayuga
• Sgę́nǫ’ Ga[?]hnawiyo'geh! - How to say "hello" in Cayuga
• OLAC resources in and about the Cayuga language