The Yuki–Wappo or Yukian languages are a small language family of western California consisting of two distantly related languages, both now extinct .
21-557: The Yukian languages may be, along with Chumashan and perhaps languages of southern Baja such as Waikuri , one of the oldest language families established in California, before the arrival of speakers of Penutian , Uto-Aztecan , and perhaps even Hokan languages. All three are spoken in areas with long-established populations of a distinct physical type. The family consists of Yuki consisted of three dialects: Yuki, Coast Yuki, and Huchnom. Wappo consisted of four dialects spoken in
42-434: A distinct physical type. The population in the core Chumashan area has been stable for the past 10,000 years. However, the attested range of Chumashan is recent (within a couple thousand years). There is internal evidence that Obispeño replaced a Hokan language and that Island Chumash mixed with a language very different from Chumashan; the islands were not in contact with the mainland until the introduction of plank canoes in
63-506: A number of hypothetical relationships: To date, none of these proposals have been successfully demonstrated. Chumashan languages Chumashan is an extinct and revitalizing family of languages that were spoken on the southern California coast by Native American Chumash people , from the Coastal plains and valleys of San Luis Obispo to Malibu , neighboring inland and Transverse Ranges valleys and canyons east to bordering
84-411: A symmetrical six-vowel system. The distinctive high central vowel is written various ways, including <ɨ> "barred I," <ə> "schwa" and <ï> "I umlaut." Contemporary users of the languages favor /ɨ/ or /ə/ . Striking features of this system include The Central Chumash languages have a complex inventory of consonants. All of the consonants except / h / can be glottalized; all of
105-725: Is associated with the Mendocino Complex around Clear Lake (3000 BCE ), while Wappo of the Napa Valley is associated with the St. Helena Aspect of the Augustine Pattern . Proto-Yukian peoples may be of the Post Pattern (9000 BCE ). Some evidence suggests the two languages separated around 2000–1000 bce . Wappo speakers may have separated from Yuki due to migrations of Pomoan peoples. Alternatively,
126-541: The Napa Valley , with a fifth dialect spoken in an enclave on Clear Lake . Wappo and Yuki are quite divergent grammatically and lexically (Goddard 1996: 83), which has led to contested theories about their relationship. Additionally, the Wappo and Yuki people were quite distinct culturally and even in physical type (Goddard 1996: 83). The Yuki–Wappo languages appear to belong to the very earliest strata of languages in California, even predating Hokan (Goddard 1996: 84). Yuki
147-760: The Pomo on the California coast, and the Yuman peoples along the lower Colorado River . Some linguists also include Chumash , between San Luis Obispo and Los Angeles, and other families, but the evidence is insubstantial, and most now restrict Hokan to some or all of the languages listed below. The Hokan languages retained by Kaufman (1988) due to regular sound correspondences and common core vocabulary are as follows. (The data on which these conclusions were drawn have not been published or evaluated by anyone else.) Apart from Shasta–Palaihnihan and Yuman, all branches are single languages or shallow families. Marlett (2008) reevaluated
168-564: The San Joaquin Valley , to three adjacent Channel Islands : San Miguel , Santa Rosa , and Santa Cruz . The Chumashan languages may be, along with Yukian and perhaps languages of southern Baja California such as Waikuri , one of the oldest language families established in California, before the arrival of speakers of Penutian , Uto-Aztecan , and perhaps even Hokan languages . Chumashan, Yukian, and southern Baja languages are spoken in areas with long-established populations of
189-508: The 1770s and 1830s: Roland Dixon and Alfred L. Kroeber suggested that the Chumashan languages might be related to the neighboring Salinan in a Iskoman grouping. Edward Sapir accepted this speculation and included Iskoman in his classification of Hokan . More recently it has been noted that Salinan and Chumashan shared only one word, which the Chumashan languages probably borrowed from Salinan (the word for 'white clam shell', which
210-694: The Hokan hypothesis, leading to its acceptance by many specialists in the languages of California, Oregon, and Mesoamerica . However, some skepticism remains among scholars. Linguist Paul Rivet claimed the Yurumanguí language of Colombia was part of the Hokan family. This claim has not been accepted by historical linguists. Terrence Kaufman wondered if Hokan might be related to Oto-Mangean of Central America. An automated computational analysis ( ASJP 4) by Müller et al. (2013) found lexical similarities among Seri , Yuman and Tequistlatecan . However, since
231-643: The Yuki and Wappo may have entered Northern California as distinct communities that settled in different areas, or Wappo speakers may have migrated south from the Yuki–Wappo heartland in the upper reaches of the Eel River. The Wappo migration to Alexander Valley in the 19th century was due to a war with the Southern Pomo . The relationship between Yuki and Wappo was contested by Jesse Sawyer who believes that
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#1732791727722252-640: The analysis was automatically generated, the grouping could be either due to mutual lexical borrowing or genetic inheritance. The geographic distribution of the Hokan languages suggests that they became separated around the Central Valley of California by the influx of later-arriving Penutian and other peoples; archaeological evidence for this is summarized in Chase-Dunn & Mann (1998). These languages are spoken by Native American communities around and east of Mount Shasta , others near Lake Tahoe ,
273-775: The consonants except / h /, / x / and the liquids can be aspirated. Proto-Chumash reconstructions by Klar (1977): Hokan languages The Hokan / ˈ h oʊ k æ n / language family is a hypothetical grouping of a dozen small language families spoken mainly in California , Arizona , and Baja California . The name Hokan is loosely based on the word for "two" in the various Hokan languages: *xwak in Proto-Yuman, c-oocj (pronounced [koːkx] ) in Seri , ha'k in Achumawi , etc. The "Hokan hypothesis"
294-712: The evidence and concluded that the evidence for Seri and Salinan has not been systematically or convincingly presented. The inclusion of the Tequistlatecan languages has also not received much support. The Chumash languages were once included, but that position has been almost universally abandoned. A lexicostatistical classification of the Hokan languages by Zhivlov (2013) is roughly presented as follows. Zhivlov (2013) does not consider Jicaquean (Tol) and Washo to be Hokan languages. Some Hokan lexical correspondences from Mary R. Haas (1963) are provided below. Similar forms for 'tongue' include: Shaul (2019) notes
315-410: The first millennium AD. Although some say the Chumashan languages are now extinct or dormant, language revitalization programs are underway with four of these Chumashan languages. These languages are well-documented in the unpublished fieldnotes of linguist John Peabody Harrington . Especially well documented are Barbareño , Ineseño , and Ventureño . The last native speaker of a Chumashan language
336-468: The mainland in the early 19th century. John Peabody Harrington conducted fieldwork on all the above Chumashan languages, but obtained the least data on Island Chumash, Purisimeño, and Obispeño. There is no linguistic data on Cuyama, though ethnographic data suggests that it was likely Chumash (Interior Chumash). The languages are named after the local Franciscan Spanish missions in California where Chumashan speakers were relocated and aggregated between
357-453: The similarities are due to linguistic borrowing and shared areal features . However, William Elmendorf has presented some persuasive evidence in favor of the relationship, noting that they are as close as two branches of Indo-European. Campbell (1997) considers Elmendorf's evidence to be conclusive. Mithun (1999) reports that the relationship remains open to question, Golla (2011) that it is securely demonstrated. Yuki–Wappo has been linked to
378-494: Was Barbareño speaker Mary Yee , who died in 1965. Six Chumashan languages are attested , all now extinct. However, most of them are in the process of revitalization, with language programs and classes. Contemporary Chumash people now prefer to refer to their languages by native names rather than the older names based on the local missions. Obispeño was the most divergent Chumashan language. The Central Chumash languages include Purisimeño, Ineseño, Barbareño and Ventureño. There
399-451: Was a dialect continuum across this area, but the form of the language spoken in the vicinity of each mission was distinct enough to qualify as a different language. There is very little documentation of Purisimeño. Ineseño, Barbareño and Ventureño each had several dialects, although documentation usually focused on just one. Island Chumash had different dialects on Santa Cruz Island and Santa Rosa Island , but all speakers were relocated to
420-405: Was first proposed in 1913 by Roland B. Dixon and Alfred L. Kroeber , and further elaborated by Edward Sapir . Initial follow-up research found little additional evidence that that these language families were related to each other. But since about 1950, increased efforts to document Hokan languages and to establish sound correspondences in proposed lexical resemblance sets have added weight to
441-407: Was used as currency). As a result, the inclusion of Chumashan into Hokan is now disfavored by most specialists, and the consensus is that Chumashan has no identified linguistic relatives. The Chumashan languages are well known for their consonant harmony (regressive sibilant harmony). Mithun presents a scholarly synopsis of Chumashan linguistic structures. The Central Chumash languages all have
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