The Shawnee language is a Central Algonquian language , spoken in parts of central and northeastern Oklahoma by the Shawnee people. It was originally spoken by these people in a broad territory throughout the Eastern United States, mostly north of the Ohio River. They occupied territory in Ohio , West Virginia , Kentucky , and Pennsylvania .
9-552: Monocacy ( Shawnee : Monnockkeseymay ) may refer to the Monocacy River in Maryland , USA. Monocacy may also refer to: Shawnee language Shawnee is closely related to other Algonquian languages, such as Mesquakie-Sauk (Sac and Fox) and Kickapoo . It has 260 speakers, according to a 2015 census, although the number is decreasing. It is a polysynthetic language that is described to have freedom in word ordering. Shawnee
18-433: A near minimal pair has been found for Shawnee /i/ and /ii/ . In (3) and (4), a minimal pair has been found for Shawnee /a/ and /aa/ . (1) ho-wiisi'-ta 'he was in charge' (2) wi 'si 'dog' (3) caaki yaama 'all this' (4) caki 'small' However, no quantitative contrasts have been found in the vowels /e/ and /o/ . Shawnee consonants are shown in the chart below. /k/ and /kk/ contrast in
27-620: Is classified as an endangered language . Additionally, development outside of the home has been limited. A dictionary and portions of the Bible translated from 1842 to 1929 were translated into Shawnee. Absentee-Shawnee Elder George Blanchard Sr., former governor of his tribe, teaches classes to Head Start and elementary school children, as well as evening classes for adults, at the Cultural Preservation Center in Seneca, Missouri. His work
36-468: Is severely threatened, as many speakers have shifted to English. The approximately 200 remaining speakers are older adults. Some of the decline in usage of Shawnee resulted from the United States' assimilation program carried out by Indian boarding schools , which abused, starved, and beat children who spoke their Native languages. This treatment often extended to the family of those children as well. Of
45-668: The 4,576 citizens of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe around the city of Shawnee , more than 100 are speakers. Of the 3,652 citizens of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe in Ottawa County , only a few elders are speakers. Of the 2,226 citizens of the Shawnee Tribe , or Loyal Shawnee in northeastern Oklahoma around Whiteoak, there are fewer than 12 speakers. Because of such low figures and the percentage of elderly speakers, Shawnee
54-803: The same phoneme: [ ʔ ] occurs in syllable final position, while [h] occurs at the beginning of a syllable. Stress in Shawnee falls on the final syllable (ultima) of a word. In Shawnee phonology, consonant length is contrastive. Words may not begin with vowels, and between a morpheme ending with a vowel and one starting with a vowel, a [y] is inserted. Shawnee does not allow word-final consonants and long vowels. ye- SUB - kkil hide -a - DIR -ki −3S. AO ye- kkil -a -ki SUB- hide -DIR −3S.AO when (I) hide him ye- SUB - kkil hide -a - DIR -kki −3P. AO ye- kkil -a -kki SUB- hide -DIR −3P.AO when (I) hide them These affixes ( -ki , -kki ) are object markers in
63-406: The transitive animate subordinate mode. The subject is understood. [h] Insertion ∅→[h]/#____V A word may not begin with a vowel. Instead, an on-glide [h] is added. For example: There are two variants of the article -oci , meaning 'from'. It can attach to nouns to form prepositional phrases, or it can also be a preverb. When it attaches to a noun, it is -ooci , and when attached to
72-423: The verbal affixes -ki (which marks third person singular animate objects) and -kki (which marks third person plural animate objects). The Shawnee /θ/ is most often derived from Proto-Algonquian *s. Some speakers of Shawnee pronounce /ʃ/ more like an alveolar [s] . This pronunciation is especially common among Loyal Band Shawnee speakers near Vinita , Oklahoma. [ ʔ ] and [h] are allophones of
81-627: Was profiled on the PBS show American Experience in 2009. The classes are intended to encourage speaking Shawnee among families at home. The Eastern Shawnee have also taught language classes. The Shawnee Tribe launched a language immersion program in 2020 with virtual and in-person classes. Conversational Shawnee booklets, CDs, and a Learn Shawnee Language website are available. Shawnee has six vowels, three of which are high, and three are low. In Shawnee, /i/ tends to be realized as [ɪ] , and /e/ tended to be pronounced [ɛ] . In (1) and (2),
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