Nottoway , also called Cheroenhaka and Nottoway-Meherrin, is an extinct language historically spoken by the Meherrin and Nottoway peoples. Nottoway is closely related to Tuscarora within the Iroquoian language family. Two tribes of Nottoway are recognized by the state of Virginia: the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia and the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe. Other Nottoway descendants live in Wisconsin and Canada, where some of their ancestors fled in the 18th century. The last known speaker, Edith Turner, died in 1838. The Nottoway people are undertaking work for language revival.
Knowledge of Nottoway comes primarily from a word list collected on March 4, 1820. Former President Thomas Jefferson’s handwritten letter to Peter S. Du Ponceau, on July 7, 1820, states that a Nottoway Indian vocabulary was obtained on March 4th, 1820 from Edith Turner, styled as their “Queen,” by John Wood, a former Professor of Mathematics at the College of William and Mary.Thomas Jefferson to Peter S. Du Ponceau, July 7, 1820 Du Ponceau recognized the language immediately as Iroquoian, writing that he was "struck as well as astonished at its decided Iroquois Physiognomy."Peter S. DuPonceau to Thomas Jefferson, July 12, 1820, The Thomas Jefferson Papers, Series 1, The Library of Congress. Blair A. Rudes (1981) concluded that Nottoway is a distinct language from Tuscarora, but closest to Tuscarora within Iroquoian.
In addition to the vocabulary collected by John Wood, a few additional words were gathered by James Trezvant.Encyclopedia Virginia
Phonology Vowels
By comparing words in Wood’s vocabulary with cognates in other Iroquoian languages, Blair Rudes (1981) was able to reconstruct the phonemes of Nottoway. According to Rudes, Nottoway has five vowel phonemes as seen in the following table. These symbols, which Rudes uses in his transcriptions, are consistent with the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Note that the mid central vowel is nasalized.
FrontCentralBackHighMidLow
Examples of these vowels are shown in the following table (from the Wood vocabulary). Wood's spelling of Nottoway was based on English and was therefore not systematic. A comparison to Tuscarora cognates in the rightmost column, however, provides evidence of Wood's intended vowel sound. /i/tariha‘hot’cf. Tuscarora yuʔnarihə̃whisk‘five’ cf. Tuscarora wískaheeta‘sun’cf. Tuscarora híhtæʔkeenu‘swamp’cf. Tuscarora kí:nə̃ʔ/e/owena‘iron’cf. Tuscarora uwǽ:nə̃hoter‘sand’cf. Tuscarora uʔtǽhæhdekanee‘two’ cf. Tuscarora nǽ:kti:/a/oyag‘six’cf. Tuscarora úhyaʔkgatkum‘blood’cf. Tuscarora kátkə̃ʔ/o/owena‘iron’cf. Tuscarora uwǽ:nə̃howees‘ice’cf. Tuscarora uwí:sæhakuhor‘old man’cf. Tuscarora rúhuhr, akúhuhr ‘one’s old man’/ə̃/hahenū‘thunder’cf. Tuscarora haʔ híʔnə̃ʔdeeshū‘stars’ cf. Wyandot tíšɔ̃hdekra‘eight’cf. Tuscarora nǽ:krə̃ʔauwa'water’cf. Tuscarora á:wə̃ʔ
Consonants Nottoway has ten consonant phonemes, listed in the table below. Like the vowels, these consonant phonemes were reconstructed by Rudes using John Wood's vocabulary and knowledge of related languages. Most of the symbols that Rudes uses are the same as the IPA symbols. Where they differ, the IPA symbol is included in square brackets. The three labial consonants are in parentheses because these phonemes are only present in five words of the language, none of which are of Iroquoian descent. The letter ‘m’ also sometimes occurs at the end of a word after a vowel, but this is to indicate nasalization of the previous vowel, not the presence of the phoneme /m/.
LabialDentalPalatalVelarGlottalPlosive()Nasal()Affricate Fricative()Approximant
The following table shows example words with each of these consonants (also from the Wood vocabulary). Comparison to related languages (primarily Tuscarora) allowed Rudes to reconstruct some of the consonant phonemes (in bold). /t/aheeta'sun'cf. Tuscarora híhtæʔotkum'devil'cf. Tuscarora úʔtkə̃hoter'sand'cf. Tuscarora uʔtǽhæhoteusag'nose'cf. Tuscarora uʔtyə̃́hsæhdekra'eight'cf. Tuscarora nǽ:krə̃ʔdeeshū'stars'cf. Wyandot tíšɔ̃hdekanee'two'cf. Mohawk tékeni/k/keenu'swamp'cf. Tuscarora ki:nə̃ʔkaintu'fish'cf. Tuscarora kə̃́:čə̃hekunsquare'cheeks'cf. Tuscarora ukə̃́skaræhunkoharae'eyes'cf. Tuscarora ukáhræhwaquast'good'cf. Tuscarora wákwahstaquia'deer'cf. Tuscarora á:kwæhgatkum'blood'cf. Tuscarora kátkə̃ʔoyag'six'cf. Tuscarora úhyaʔk/ʔ/onushag'house'cf. Mohawk kanṹ/č/cheer'dog'cf. Tuscarora číhrgeekquam'gold'cf. Tuscarora učitkwáhnæhuntchore'to eat'cf. Tuscarora ə̃čú:riʔ ‘it ate’yautatch'air'cf. Tuscarora úʔna:č ‘wind’unte'one'cf. Tuscarora ə̃́:čikaintu'fish'cf. Tuscarora kə̃́:čə̃h/s/whisk'five'cf. Tuscarora wísk/h/ohonag 'skin'cf. Mohawk óhnaʔ/n/hahenū'thunder'cf. Tuscarora haʔ híʔnə̃ʔ/r/cheer'dog'cf. Tuscarora číhrquerū'rabbit'cf. Tuscarora kwǽ:ruhorwisag‘tail’cf. Tuscarora uʔrhwə̃́:θæhdekra'eight'cf. Tuscarora nǽ:krə̃ʔquaharrag'apple'cf. Tuscarora kwáhrakwaskarrow'hog'cf. Tuscarora waθkwá:ræh/w/owees 'ice'cf. Tuscarora uwí:sæhauwa'water'cf. Tuscarora á:wə̃ʔowena'iron'cf. Tuscarora uwǽ:nə̃horwisag'tail'cf Tuscarora uʔrhwə̃́:θæhwaquast'good'cf. Tuscarora wákwahstaquia'deer'cf. Tuscarora á:kwæhkosquenna'mouse'cf. Tuscarora ruskwǽ:nə̃hquerū'rabbit'cf. Tuscarora kwǽ:ruh/y/oyentu'rat'cf. Tuscarora ruyə̃́ʔtuhgotyakum'husband'cf. Tuscarora katyá:kə̃hoteusag'nose'cf. Tuscarora uʔtyə̃́hsæh
Syllable structure The English-based spelling Wood used makes it difficult to determine syllable structure. Most words, however, are consistent with the syllable structure (C)V(C)(C): Syllable shapeWood's Nottoway spellingVotosag'tooth'CVgakuhar'to wash'CVCorwisag'tail'CVCCwakwast'good'VCorwisag'tail' An exception is words that begin with /kw/ (which may have been a complex segment): A RabbitQuerūcf. Tuscarora kwǽ:ruh There is also limited evidence that words could end in three consonants: A Squirrelosarst Consonant clusters must include /w/ or /s/, and possibly /n/. /w/ is the most common, but /s/ is still regularly seen in words like Whisk 'five'. The status of /n/ is uncertain since Wood used to represent nasal vowels.
Aside from Whisk 'five', most content words are multisyllabic.
Grammar Possessive prefixes Rudes (1981) notes that Nottoway has two series of pronominal prefixes used for inalienable and alienable possession. Inalienable nouns, such as body parts, are possessed with the prefix ge- 'my': ge-snunke 'my hand', ge-tunke 'my belly'. Alienable nouns are possessed with the prefix ak- 'my': ak-uhor '(my) old man', aqu-eianha '(my) boy'. These two series of pronominal prefixes are also used on verbs, where they indicate the agent and patient, respectively. The full set of prefixes is listed in the table below. Possessive prefixesFirst singular inalienable possessive (my; I)ge-ge-snunke‘my hand’ (recorded as ‘your hand’)ge-tunke'my belly' (recorded as 'your belly')Second singular inalienable possessive (your; you)se-/s-se-tunke‘your belly’ (recorded as ‘my belly’)se-tarakē‘the head (your head)’Feminine/zoic inalienable possessive (her/one's; she)ye-/e-ye-tunke'(one's) nails'e-skaharant'(one's) mouth'First-person singular alienable possessive (my; I/me)ak-/aqu-ak-uhor‘(my) old man’aqu-eianha‘(my) boy’Second-person singular alienable possessive (your; you)sa-sa-ttaak'(your) bed'sa-tuntatag'(you) listen'Feminine/zoic kinship possessive (her/one's; she/it/one)’go-go-tyāg‘(one’s) marriage’go-tyakum‘(her) husband’
Other affixes In addition to the possessive prefixes, Rudes identifies a number of other affixes appearing in the Wood vocabulary. They are as follows: Partitive (indicates part of a whole; also used to form multiples of ten)ne(e)-newisha‘short’arsaneewarsa'thirty'Dualicde-, to-, te-towatgeheterise‘lightning’dewartha‘twenty’Aoristwa-, un-untchore'to eat'wasweke'to speak'Semireflexiveat-, t-, ate-satuntatag'(you) listen'untoreesweg'(it) drown(ed)'Reflexive (action done to oneself)tat-untatren‘(it) cut’untatreeyou‘(it) kill(ed)’Simple Noun-agototorag'door'onushag'house'Internal locative (“in,” “under”)-coonoraracoon‘the woods’External locative (usually means “on,” or “at,” but loses its locative meaning when attached to a body part)-kesetunke‘your belly’skeshunke‘your flesh’Characterizer (person who is part of a group)-hoka, -hakaʔtcherohakaʔ‘Cheroenhaka people’“Teen” (as in “thirteen,” “fourteen,” etc.)-ahrarsaskahr‘thirteen’dekraskahr‘eighteen’
Word order
Most of the written Nottoway materials are vocabularies rather than texts, so scholars can only make limited assumptions about the syntactic structure of the language. However, Rudes (1981) explains three syntactic characteristics that are supported by recorded Nottoway evidence:
1. The definite article precedes a noun, as in Tuscarora.
2. Of two adjacent nouns, the first noun modifies the second.
3. An adjective follows the noun it modifies, and most likely could also precede it.
Rudes tentatively reconstructs noun incorporation based on these examples:
Nottoway yuhtaquaahkum 'shoemaker' (lit. 'one makes shoes') yu- 'neuter patient prefix' -htaqua- 'shoe' (cf. Tuscarora uhnáhkwaʔ, Seneca ahtáhkwaʔ) -ahkum 'to assemble' (cf. Tuscarora -ahk 'to pick up')
Nottoway satuntatag 'to listen' (lit. 'you stand up your ears') s- 'second singular agent prefix' -at- 'reciprocal' -unta- 'ear' (cf. Tuscarora uhə̃́hnæh, Onondaga ohə̃́htaʔ) -tag 'to stand + '(?) descriptive aspect' (cf. Onondaga iktaʔ 'I'm standing,' Seneca iːkeːt)
Vocabulary The following vocabulary is from Wood as cited in Rudes from the version Jefferson sent to Du Ponceau.
Nouns of the Universe Wood's EnglishWood's Nottoway spellingCognatesThe SunAheetacf. Tuscarora híhtæʔThe MoonTethrākeThe StarsDeeshūcf. Wyandot tíšɔ̃hThe CloudsUrasequeThunderHahenūcf. Tuscarora haʔ híʔnə̃ʔLightningTowatgeheterisecf. Tuscarora næwatkarǽʔnari:ksAirYautatchGodQuakerhuntèDevilOtkumcf. Tuscarora útkə̃hRainYountoutchcf. Tuscarora wə̃́:tu:čSnowKankausIceOweescf. Tuscarora uwí:sæhFireAuteurWaterAuwa cf. Tuscarora á:wə̃ʔa riverJokea great riverOnoschiokeThe OceanOwan Fetchotacf. Tuscarora á:wə̃ʔ ‘water’a mountainYenuntenuntecf. Tuscarora unə̃́ʔnæhThe WoodsOraracoonRocksOruntagLightYouhanhūDarknessAsuntācf. Tuscarora uhθə̃́:ʔnæha Swamp Keenucf. Tuscarora kí:nə̃ʔSandOtercf. Tuscarora uʔtǽhæhGold or CopperGeekquanSilver WaneeIron Owena cf. Tuscarora uwǽ:nə̃hHeaven Quakeruntika
Of the Human Species Wood's EnglishWood's Nottoway SpellingCognatesManEnihācf. Tuscarora raʔníhə̃h ‘he’s male’An old manAkuhorcf. Tuscarora rúhuhr, akúhuhr ‘one’s old man’A young manAquatioA boyAqueianhaA womanEkeningAn old womanAquasuariA young womanChewasrishaDeathAnseeheA dead bodyWahehunThe head SetarakēMarriageGotyāgA husbandGotyakumcf. Tuscarora katyá:kə̃hA wifeDekesA sonWakatontaA daughterEruhāA KingTirerThe bellyUnkēMy bellySetunkecf. Tuscarora sætkwə̃́ʔkyæ ‘your stomach’Your bellyGetunkeThe hand or fingersNunkeMy handSesnunkecf. Mohawk sesnṹhsaʔke ‘your hand’Your handGesnunkecf. Mohawk kesnṹhsaʔke ‘my hand’The right handPanunkeeThe left handMatapanunkeeThe thighOtitchagThe kneeSunshekeThe legFransekeThe footSaseekeThe hairHoweracThe eyesUnkoharaecf. Tuscarora ukáhræhThe mouthEskaharantThe earsSuntunkecf. Tuscarora shə̃hnə̃́ʔkyæ ‘your ears’The tongueDarsunkeThe teethOtosagcf. Tuscarora utú:ʔθæhThe neckSteerekeThe noseOteusagcf. Tuscarora uʔtyə̃́hsæhThe lipsOarāgThe chinOchagThe toesSeekeBloodGatkumcf. Tuscarora kátkə̃ʔSkinOhonagcf. Mohawk óhnaʔFleshSkeshunkeNailsYetunkeHeartSunkeThe cheeksEkunsquarecf. Tuscarora ukə̃́skaræhThe breathUnturesThe Eye browsEskarunkeA shoemakerYuntaquaankum (Yuhtaquaahkum)
Of Animals