Southern Sierra Miwok (also known as Meewoc, Mewoc, Me-Wuk, Miwoc, Miwokan, Mokélumne, Moquelumnan, San Raphael, Talatui, Talutui, and Yosemite) is a Utian language spoken by the Native American people called the Southern Sierra Miwok of Northern California. Southern Sierra Miwok is a member of the Miwok language family. The Miwok languages are a part of the larger Utian family. The original territory of the Southern Sierra Miwok people is similar to modern day Mariposa County, California. The Southern Sierra Miwok language is nearly extinct with only a few speakers existing today.Golla, Victor. California Indian Languages. Berkeley: University of California, 2011. Print. A language revitalization effort is in progress in the Southern Sierra Miwok Nation.
The name Miwok comes from the Sierra Miwok word miwwik meaning "people" or "Indians". It was originally used in 1877 for the Plains and Sierra Miwok people, but was later reassigned to its current usage in 1908 to describe the set of Utian languages distinct from the western Coastanoan (Ohlone) languages.
Phonology
Consonants Below are the 15 consonants of the Southern Sierra Miwok written in IPA (the common orthography is noted within ):
BilabialDentalAlveolarPost-alveolarVelarGlottalNasalPlosive Affricate Fricative LateralSemivowel
There is considerable variation within the phonemes listed in the chart above. For example, the following allophones are in free variation with each other intervocalically and proceeding voiced consonants: ( ~ ~ ) ( ~ ~ ) ( ~ ) ( ~ ~ )
Also, is in free variation with only in intervocalic environments. is slightly postvelar when it occurs before or , and in these situations it is often written . When positioned intervocalically or after voiced consonants there is free variation between the velar and slightly postvelar variants of the following sounds: ( ~ ~ ). Lastly, the following phonemes only occur in English loan words: .
Vowels Below are the long and short variants of the 6 vowels of the Southern Sierra Miwok language written in IPA (the common orthography is noted within ):
FrontCentralBack High Mid Low
are highest when long, as shown in the chart above. However, is also high before and . is at its lowest before and while is lowest only before . is slightly lower before , but, along with and , is lowest before , and , with pronounced at approximately . Also, is slightly backed before . acts the most differently compared to the other vowels as it is backed to when long and is slightly fronted before and and both fronted and raised before and .
Length Since vowel and consonant length is contrastive, length (represented as ) is considered to be a separate (archi-)phoneme.
Syllable structure There are two types of syllables in Southern Sierra Miwok: light, CV, and heavy, CV: or CVC. In each word, one of the first two syllables is always heavy, so therefore every Southern Sierra Miwok word contains at least one heavy syllable. Because of this preference towards heavy syllables, consonant clusters are usually separated to form codas of preceding syllables.
Stress Southern Sierra Miwok uses the following three stress levels: Primary Stress- This falls on the first heavy syllable in any word. Furthermore, the coda of this syllable is usually pronounced for a greater length of time than is normal in other syllables. Secondary Stress- This stress falls on any heavy syllables succeeding the primary stressed syllable. In the event of a long sequence of heavy syllables, the trochee stress system is adopted. Weak Stress- This falls on all light syllables.
Morphology Every Southern Sierra Miwok word consists of a root and (usually) one to two suffixes. Below are definitions of common terms used to describe the basic structure of a Southern Sierra Miwok word: Stem = (root) + (1 optional suffix) Base = (root) + (at least 1 suffix) Theme = (base) + (modal suffix) OR (stem type) OR (allomorph of a root) Word = (theme) + (final suffix) + (optional postfix)
Morphophonemics Below is a list of frequently occurring morphophonemic rules which Broadbent (1964) defines as "a rule of phonologically conditioned variation which applies to all morphemes, or allomorphs, of suitable morphophonemic shape.". The morphophonemic sequence /ij/ is pronounced as /i:/. The morphophoneme /H/ is pronounced as /:/ ~ /Ø/. zero /Ø/ occurs when followed by one consonant that is followed by any type of juncture, or if it is preceded by a consonant cluster. length /:/ occurs elsewhere. The morphophoneme /X/ is also pronounced as /:/ ~ /Ø/. length /:/ occurs between a vowel and a single consonant, but lengthens the following consonant e.g. VXCV is pronounced as VCCV zero /Ø/ occurs elsewhere. The morphophoneme /Y/ is pronounced as /ɨ/ ~ /u/ ~/o/. if the preceding vowel is /u/, /Y/ is pronounced as /u/. if the preceding vowel is /o/, /Y/ is pronounced as either /u/ or /o/. /Y:/ is pronounced as /u:/. /Y/ is pronounced as /ɨ/ elsewhere.
Verbal themes Verbal Themes are morpheme sequences followed immediately by pronominal (final) suffixes.
Present Imperfect Indicative (-Ø-), [final suffix[theme[base hɨwa:-t]-Ø]-ma:] hɨwa:tma: "I am running" Present Perfect Indicative (-ak-), /k/ is deleted if the final suffix is length /-:/. Below is a discussion of the various allomorphs of (-ak-): /-ak-/ ~ /-a-/: occurs if the base ends in any consonant e.g. [final suffix[theme[base hɨwa:-t]-ak]-Ø] hɨwa:tak "I ran just now" /-nak-/ ~ /-na-/: occurs if the base ends in any short vowel e.g. ʔenpu-nak-muhme: "you chased us" /-hak-/ ~ /-ha-/: occurs if the base ends in any long vowel e.g. not͡ʃu:-ha-: "he cried" Present Imperative (-eH-). Below is a discussion of the various allomorphs of (-eH-): /-ni-/ ~ (/-n-/ ~ /-X-/): occurs after the following verbal suffixes, /-jikk-/, /-na-/ benefactive, /-na-/ causative, /-nY-/, /-nHukku-/ causative. /-X-/: occurs after suffixes /-:hi-/, /-jo-/, /-lo-/, /-po-/, /-ehi-/ and /-wo-/ e.g. kal-jo-X-ʔ "kick him!" /-Ø-/: occurs between suffixes /-:hi-/ and /-muhme:-/, after /-ŋHe-/, after /-tkuH-/ and after the following irregular verb bases /ʔuhhuH-/ "to drink", /ʔɨwwɨH-/ "to eat", /ʔut͡ʃt͡ʃuH-/ "to stay", /wɨH-/ "to go", /kottoH-/ "to go on ahead" and /talliH-/ "to arise e.g. wɨH-Ø-ti: "let's go!" /-koX-/: occurs after bases ending in vowels and the allomorph /-k-/ of the verbal suffix [-ksY-] /-eH-/: occurs elsewhere e.g.[final suffix[theme[base hɨwa:-t]-eH]-ʔ] hɨwa:teʔ "run!"
Below is a chart of allomorphs of common Southern Sierra Miwok irregular verbal bases.
Present Imperfect Present Perfect Imperative English nocuH- nocc- ~ noccu:- nocc-eH- "to cry" ʔuhuH- ʔuhhu:- ʔuhhuH-Ø- "to drink" ʔywwy- ʔywwy:- ʔywwyH-Ø- "to eat" ʔuccu- ʔuccu:- ʔuccuH-Ø- "to stay" wy:- wy:- wyH-Ø- "to go" kotto- kotto:- kottoH-Ø- "to go on ahead" (none) talli:- talliH-Ø- "to arise"(none) hyj:- ~ hyjjy:- hyj:-eH- "to see" (none) ʔell- ʔell-eH- "to leave"
Verbal suffixes Verbal suffixes occur before the verbal theme and, along with the root, form the base of the word. Southern Sierra Miwok has many verbal suffixes, most of which are fully productive and can be applied to any stem of an appropriate shape, class and meaning. Verbal suffixes have derivational meanings. Furthermore, each verbal suffix has rules and requirements as to the shape of the stem that it can follow e.g. the suffix /-cc-/ "static" must follow a stem that is shaped CV- or CVCV- or CVCVCV-. In the instance that a stem does not end in the appropriate form, either length /:/ or a glottal stop /ʔ/ will be added where a consonant is needed or /Y/ when a vowel is needed.
Also, many suffixes display allomorphy depending on the following modal suffix. In these cases, the suffix spoken before the present imperfect zero suffix /-Ø-/ is treated as the basic form. Lastly, two or more verbal suffixes often appear in the same word. Usually, the morphemes are ordered by immediate constituency, however, they can also be ordered depending on the stem-shape requirements of the last two suffixes of the base. In addition, some suffix combinations have separate stem requirements unlike if the suffixes were to appear alone. Below is an example of a typical verbal suffix: /-mhi-/, reciprocal. This is a fully productive suffix that can follow any stem but appears as /-mh-/ before the present perfect and imperative modal suffixes. The following present perfect form is either /-ak-/ or /-a-/ and the imperative is /-eH-/. ʔammymhi "to exchange gifts" hywa:tymhe:ti: "let's run a race!" ʔelŋemhappu: "they have left each other"
Nominal themes Nominal themes refer to theme suffixes that are followed directly by case markings or by Series 1 or 2 pronominal suffixes (see Syntax) before the case marker. These themes can be hard for native English speakers to learn as many of them do not translate to English nouns but can be translated as past or future tense English verbs or verbal phrases. However, most forms which translate to English nouns, adverbs and adjectives are included as nominal themes. The three categories of nominal themes are: Class 1: nominal themes which are always followed by Series 1 pronominal suffixes These themes usually correspond to English verbal expressions such as ʔenpu-ni- “can chase” Class 2: nominal themes which are always followed by Series 2 pronominal suffixes Similar to class 1 nominal themes, these also usually correspond to English verbal expressions Class 3: nominal themes which can be followed by either Series 1 or Series 2 pronominal suffixes (with differences of meaning) or that are followed by case marking alone. This is the largest class and includes all monomorphemic nominal themes such as neH “this” and hawakkac “sucker fish” and are typically translated as English nouns, adjectives or adverbs. When class 3 nominal themes are followed by Series 1 pronominal suffixes, they take on a possessive meaning (i.e. my dog) but when they are followed by Series 2 pronominal suffixes, they generally take on a subject-predicate construction (i.e. I am a chief).
Independent personal pronouns Southern Sierra Miwok does not require the use of independent personal pronouns. Instead, they are used in the nominative and accusative cases for emphasis and clarification, their roots are as follows:
singular plural 1st person kanni- mahhi- 2nd person mi- mi-ko- 3rd person ʔissak- ʔissak-koH-
Demonstrative roots The following three demonstrative roots are class 3 nominal themes and are among the shortest roots in the language. They can be followed by a number of different suffixes and usually change considerably in meaning according to the attached suffix, they are: /neH-/ “this;here”: This theme refers to a location near the speaker. Occasionally, /neH-/ is found followed by a case suffix or the postfix ʔok. In this instance, it can replace the third person singular independent pronoun. However, unlike an independent personal pronoun, it can also be followed by the instrumental case. Furthermore, when followed by the ablative, allative or locative case, /neH-/ usually means “(from, to or at) this place, here”. The following are some possible combinations using /neH-/: neH-wi-n “uphill” ne-pu-ksY- “this is the way it is” /ʔi-/ “that;there”: This theme refers to a location far away from the location of the speaker. /ʔi-/, like /neH-/, can also replace a third person pronoun, and when it is followed by the ablative, allative or locative cases it usually means “(from, to or at) this place, there”. The following are some possible combinations using /ʔi-/: ʔi-cc “to do that; to choose that one; to mean” ʔi-wwi-n “now” ʔi-ni-(case) “that one” /mi-/ “what?”: This theme occurs with an “information, please” meaning. The following are some possible combinations using /mi-/: mi-taH-n “when?” mi-nni “where?” mitokho “how many?”
Nominal suffixes