Yokuts language of California

Citation preview

YOKUTS LANGUAGE OF CALIFORNIA

This volume comprises one of a series of publications on research in general anthropology published by The Viking Fund, a founda­ tion created and endowed at the instance of Axel L. WennerGren for scientific, educational, and charitable purposes. The reports, numbered consecutively as independent contributions, appear at irregular intervals.

VIKING FUND PUBLICATIONS IN ANTHROPOLOGY Number Two

STANLEY NEWMAN

New York · 1944

Reprinted -with the permission of the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, Inc.

JOHNSON REPRINT CORPORATION 111 Fifth Avenue, N ctv York 3, N. Y. Johnson Reprint Company Limited Berkeley Square House, London, W. 1.

C O R N E L IU S O S G O O D

Editor

COPYRIGHT 1944 BY THE VIKING FUND, INC. 10 ROCKEFELLER PLAZA NEW YORK 20, N.Y. Printed in the United States of America

First reprinting, 1963, Johnson Reprint Corporation

PREFACE HE material for this grammar was collected during the summers of 1930 and 1931. The entire first summer was devoted to field work on the Yawel· mani dialect of Yokuts. Data from other Yokuts dialects were gathered during the second summer: a few weeks each were given to Chukchansi, Gashowu, and Chawchila; less complete information was obtained from Choynimni and Wikchamni. The largest group of Yokuts'speaking people lives on the Tule River Reservat tion, fifteen miles east of the town of Porterville, situated in the lower foothills of southcentral California. This Reservation stands in the region formerly occupied by the Yaudanchi and Wikchamni tribes. But a comparatively recent migration of Yawelmani from their home near Bakersfield to the Reservation has turned the linguistic tide so sharply that the lingua franca of the Reservation, at present, is Yawelmani, the dialect of the newcomers, rather than Yaudanchi or Wikchamni, the dialects of the original inhabitants. A dialectically diversified group of Yokuts lives in the region around Friant, twenty miles east and slightly north of Fresno. Here I collected material from Gashowu, which appeared to be the principal dialect, Chawchila, Choynimni, and Chukchansi. Most of my Chukchansi data, however, were obtained from in' formants living near Coarsegold, about twenty miles north of Friant. The informants used during the two summers of field work were:

T

Ross Ellis, Yawelmani, Tule River Reservation Frank Manuel, Yawelmani, Tule River Reservation Mrs. Jim Alto, Wikchamni, Tule River Reservation Mrs. William Tripp, Wikchamni, Tule River Reservation Mrs. Ida Lewis, Gashowu, Friant Jimmy Domingo, Gashowu, Friant George Rivercombe, Gashowu, Friant Mrs. Rosie Domingo, Choynimni, Friant Johnny Jones, Chawchila, Friant Bill Wilson, Chukchansi, Friant M artin Wilson, Chukchansi, Friant Chicago Dick, Chukchansi, Coarsegold Henry Chenot, Chukchansi, Coarsegold The Yokuts dialect divisions established by Kroeber1 are' borne out by the 1 A. L. Kroeber, The Tofyts Language of South Central California (University of California Publications, American Archaeology and Ethnology, voL 2, no. 5,1907). 5

6

VIKING FUND PUBLICATIONS IN ANTHROPOLOGY: 2

more detailed structural evidence of the six dialects represented in this grammar. Kroeber’s material includes a wider range of dialects than my own, for many of the dialects which he covered in his field study of 1900-04 had disappeared by the time my field work began, some thirty years later. His monograph remains, therefore, as a most valuable source of comparative data for the Yokuts dialects. M y first published account of Yokuts, written shortly after the field trip of 1930, was a brief schematic treatment of the Yawelmani dialect.2 In 1932 a short grammar of Yokuts was submitted as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.3 Several years later I prepared an article presenting a structural analy­ sis of Yawelmani; this paper is to appear in a volume devoted to similar descriptive treatments of other primitive languages. A more general discussion of Yokuts morphology and syntax is contained in a recent monograph, prepared in collabora­ tion with Dr. A. H. Gayton.4 The Yokuts grammar in its present form was largely completed by 1936, as a revised and expanded version of my doctoral dissertation. 1 am indebted to the Committee on Research in Native American Languages for its financial support, which made the two field trips possible, and to Dr. Frans Boas for his constant encouragement. Dr. A. L. Kroeber generously put at my dis­ posal his unpublished Yokuts material and aided my field work by helping me locate the scattered Yokuts groups. M y deepest gratitude must go to my teacher, the late Dr. Edward Sapir. His friendship and keen judgment guided my work for many years; his memory continues to be a profound inspiration. Stanley N ewman

New York, 1943. 2 S. Newman, The Yawelmani Dialect of Tol^uts (International Journal of American Lin' guiatics, vol. 7,1932, pp. 85-89). 3S. Newman, A Grammar of Yokuts, an American Indian Language of California (Manuscript in Yale University, New Haven, 1932). 4 “Linguistic aspects of Yokuts style,'1in A. H. Gayton and S. Newman, Yokuts and Western Mono myths (Anthropological Records, University of California, Berkeley, vol. 5, no. 1, 1940).

CONTENTS P R E F A C E .......................................................................................................

5

ABBREVIATIONS AND S Y M B O L S .................................................... 11 Special S y m b o ls ................................................................................. 11 PHONOLOGY. . . ................................................................................. 13 1. C o n so n a n ts................................................................................. 13 Stops, Affricatives, Fricatives, and Sibilants...............................13 Nasals, Semivowels, and Laterals................................................15 Aspiration and Glottal S t o p ......................................................16 Double Consonants....................................................................... 18 Rasping Timbre............................................................................. 18 2. Vowels...................................................................................................19 Vowel P h o n em es....................................................................... 19 Basic Vowel P a t t e r n ................................................................. 20 Vocalic H a rm o n y ................................................................ 21 Vocalic Change...................................................................... 22 3. Syllabic Structure...................................................................................26 4. S tr e s s ...................................................................................... 28 5. Special Phonological P rocesses........................................................... 29 Suffix T ru n c a tio n ....................................................................... 29 Contraction...................................................................................30 Assimilation and D issim ila tio n ......................................... 31 M etathesis............................................................................ 32 MORPHOLOGY AND S Y N T A X .......................................................... 33 6. Grammatical P ro c e sse s................................................................ 33 Dynamic Vowel C h a n g e ........................................................... 33 Suffixation . . . . · ........................................................... 34 R eduplication............................................................................. 36 Proclisis..................................................................................37 Consonantal C h a n g e ................................................................. 38 7. Verb Stems: General C onsiderations................................................38 Types of B a s e ...................................................................... 38 Morphological Cleavage among the Base Types . . . 40 The Base Pattern in the Morphological Systems . . . 41 8. The Basic V e r b ...................................................................................42 Reduced S t e m ...................................................................... 42 7

VIKING FUND PUBLICATIONS IN ANTHROPOLOGY : 2

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

Weak S te m ....................... . . Broken Stem....................... · * Glottal·Weak St e m. . . . . Zero Stem . . . . . . . Strong Stem ............................ . . Strong-Zero Stem . . . . . . A-Induced Stem...................... . . . ’A-Induced Stem . . . . . . . E*-Induced Stem...................... . . . I-Induced Stem . . Weak-Glottal Stem ........................................ Causative S t e m s ........................................ The Numeral V e r b ........................................... Numeral B ases............................................. Cardinal Numerals............................................. The -Wiyi V e r b ......................................................... General Characteristics....................................... Biliteral Proclitic Verbs . Quadriliteral Proclitic Verbs . . . . . Triliteral Proclitic Verbs . . . . . Basic Verb Derivatives........................ . . The Reduplicated V e rb ............................. . . General Characteristics...................... . Full Stem . . . . . . . . Zero S t e m ........................................ . . Weak S te m ......................................... . . I-Induced S tem .................................. . . A-Induced Stem. . . Full-Zero S te m ......................................................... Durative Stem s......................................................... The Thematic V e rb .................................. . . General Characteristics....................... . . Theme T y p e s .................................. . . The Normal S te m ............................ . Analogical S t e m s ............................. . Verb Suffixes: General Consideration............................ Combination and Order of Suffixes . . . . Semantic Functions of the Root . . : . . Voice Suffixes................................................................. P a s s iv e .............................................................. M edio-Passive................................................... C om itative................................................... .

. .

47 48 48 48 49 50 51 51 52 52 52 53 54 54 54 55 55 56 58 58 60 61 61 . 6 1 . 63 63 . 63

. . . . . . . . . . ·. · .

65 65 66 69 74 79 79 . . 82 . 85 . . . 83 . . . 84 . * 85

. ■64 ·65

·64

NEWMAN: YOKUTS LANGUAGE OF CALIFORNIA

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

9

In d ire ctiv e..........................................................................86 Reflexive or Reciprocal........................................................ 87 Desiderative-Reflexive........................................................ 90 C a u s a t i v e ................................... 90 C ausative-Repetitive........................................................ 94 Other Voice Suffixes with Mixed Functions . .9 5 Aspect S u ffix e s.......................................................... .9 6 Durative Suffixes of the Primary Base System . . . . 97 Durative Suffixes of the Verbal Theme System . . . . 102 Consequent.........................................................................106 R e p e titiv e .........................................................................108 C o n tin u a tiv e ...................................................................110 Distributive........................................................................ 112 In c h o a tiv e .........................................................................112 Celerative and R e t a r d a t iv e ............................................113 Other Aspect Suffixes with Mixed Functions . . . . 113 Suffixes of Modal D e r iv a tio n ................................................. 113 D e s id e r a tiv e ...................................................................114 Hortatory or Prioritive.......................................................113 Exclusive.............................................................................. 117 Other Suffixes of Modal Derivation W ith Mixed Functions 118 Modal Suffixes . . . . . . ............................. 118 Imperative . . . . . . ............................. 118 Precative......................................... 119 Dubitative ................................................................ · 120 Other Modal Suffixes with Mixed Functions . .121 Tense Suffixes........................................................................ · 121 A o r i s t ...................................................................... .121 Narrative A o r i s t .............................................................124 Passive A o r i s t ...................................................................125 F u t u r e .............................................................................. 126 Passive Future . * .................................. · 132 Other Tense Suffixes with Mixed Functions . * 132 Gerundial Suffixes..................................................................... · 134 Consequent Gerundial..................................................... . 134 Contemporaneous G eru n d ial......................................... . 136 Resultative G erundial.......................................................137 Passive G e ru n d ia l................................... . . . . 138 Non-Directive G e ru n d ial................................................. 138 Precative Gerundial............................................................ 140 Predicated G e ru n d ia l....................................................... 141

10

VIKING FUND PUBLICATIONS IN ANTHROPOLOGY: 2

Multiplicative G erundial.............................................. 142 20. Nominalizing Suffixes............................................................... 142 Verbal N o u n ............................................................... 143 Agentive.......................................................................... 151 A djunctive.................................................................... 162 21. Noun Stems and Suffixes: General Considerations . . . 167 The Noun and the V e r b .............................................. 167 The Noun Root............................................................... 169 22. The Regular S t e m ............................................................... 170 General Considerations. . . 170 Noun Theme 1A ................................................................... 174 Noun Theme I B ................................................................... 177 Noun Theme I I A ....................................................................1S7 Noun Theme I I B ....................................................................189 23. Case Suffixes of the Regular S te m ...................................................195 S u b je c tiv e ............................................................................... 195 O b j e c ti v e ...............................................................................196 Possessive . . . . . . . . . . . 199 Indirect Objective . . . . . . . . . . 201 Ablative............................ . . . . . . . 202 Locative......................................................... . . . 203 24. Plural Stems and Their Case Suffixes . . . . . . . 204 Plural Stems.................................................... . . . 205 Plural Noun Themes . . . . . . . 210 Plural Case Paradigm . . . . . . . . 211 25. Thematizing Processes of the Noun . . . . 214 Nominalizing Suffixes . . . . . . . 215 Verbalizing Suffixes........................................ . . . 222 26. Demonstratives, Pronouns, and Interrogatives . . . . 227 Demonstratives............................................. . . . 2 2 7 Personal Pronouns........................................ . . . 229 Imperative P ro n o u n s .................................. . . . 232 Interrogative Pronouns.................................. . . . 232 The Ha*- In te rro g a tiv e s ............................ . . . 233 27. Particles and In terje ctio n s.................................. . . . 235 Particles....................... ....................... . . . 235 Interjections. . . . ....................... . . . 239 SPECIMEN TEXT AND A N A L Y S IS ........................................................ 240 The Basket-W om an.................................. 240 Free T ra n sla tio n ........................................ 242 Analysis of T e x t ........................................ 243

ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS Abbreviations

Dynamic Vowel Symbols

(§2:9-16,12:6) A —A'induced Ά —’A'induced B —broken d —dulled d' —strong-dulled E* —E'-induced F —full h —half-strong I —I-induced 1 —low-weak L —long r —retained R —reduced s —strong S —strong S’ —strong-glottal w —weak w’ —weak-glottal W —weak W*—weak-glottal ’W—glottal-weak Z —zeroed z' —strong-zeroed Z —zero

abl. — ablative abs. — absolutive Chaw. — Chawchila Choy. — Choynimni Chuk. — Chukchansi ex. — exclusive fnt. — footnote Gash. — Gashowu in. — inclusive ind. — indirective ind. obj.— indirect objective loc. — locative obL — oblique obj. — objective p. — person pc. — preconsonantal pf. — prefinal plu. — plural poss. — possessive pv. — prevocalic sing. — singular subj. — subjective Wik. — Wikchamni Yaw. — Yawelmani

SPECIAL SYMBOLS 'ile'’ile-'ic/ *'û& *?yiün **n-hin -] -ic/ -/ -x r.. ’ile[*]k

(form followed by hyphen) a stem (§2 :5) (form followed by diagonal) a theme (§12:1) (form preceded by asterisk) a base (§7 :1) (form preceded by asterisk and question mark) a fake base (§12:19) (form preceded by two asterisks) a reconstructed form (suffix preceded by hyphen) a final suffix (§6 :6) a zero final suffix (§6 :6, fht. 30) (suffix followed by diagonal) a thematizing suffix (§6:6) a zero thematizing suffix (§6:6, fnt. 30) (suffix followed by two dots) an auxiliary (§6 :9) (length sign enclosed in brackets) an organically long vowel secondarily shortened (§2:17) ’ile*0' (element enclosed in parentheses) an inorganic protective element (§1:13,3:3-5) Λ .. ifiay (glottal stop followed by three dots) a floating glottal stop (§1:8, 1:13) 11

PHONOLOGY 1. CONSONANTS §1:1. The consonantal system of Yokuts may be described as follows:

Stops Intermediate A spirate Glottalized

Labial

Dental

Alveolar

b

d t t

d

P P

Afiricatives Intermediate A spirate Globalized

PalatoAlveolar

Palatal

g k k

t f l l t

Z c c

X

Fricatives Sibilants

s

Nasals Simple Globalized

m » m

Semivowels Simple Glottalized

w w

5

a ή

9 9 y i

Laterals Simple Globalized

1 I

A spiration G lottal stop

h

*

STOPS, AFFRICATIVES, FRICATIVES, AND SIBILANTS

§1:2. The dialects vary in their articulation of intermediate stops and afinca* tives. The speakers of Yawelmani, Chawchila, Wikchamni, and Choynimni pro* nounce these consonants as true intermediates; but in Gashowu they are thor< oughly voiced, and in Chukchansi my youngest informant (Henry Chenot, IS years old) voiced them consistently, although my older informants pronounced them with the lenis unaspirated voiceless articulation of intermediates. For typo* graphical convenience the voiced symbols will be used to indicate these sounds in all dialects. 13

14

VIKING FUND PUBLICATIONS IN ANTHROPOLOGY: 2

§1:3. The aspirate stops and affricatives are pronounced alike in all dialects, the degree of aspiration being similar to that of the English aspirated stop or affricative in initial position. The simplified symbols, without the sign of aspira­ tion, will be employed for these aspirate phonemes. §1:4. In all dialects the glottaiized stops and affricatives are articulated with a light degree of glottal plosion. Glottaiized stops are pronounced with a simul­ taneous release of the glottis and the stop closure. §1:5. All dialects possess the labial, dental, and palatal stops. The alveolar stop series, articulated with the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge, is found in all dialects but Chukchansi. Yokuts d, in the rare instances of its occur­ rence, is represented by Chukchansi s; t is generally Chukchansi s and sometimes c; £ is regularly Chukchansi c. In the following examples of nouns in the subjective case, the cognate forms, where they occur in Gashowu, Choynimni, Chawchila, and Wikchamni, are equivalent to the Yawelmani illustrations with respect to the alveolars. Yokuts d > C h u k . s: Yaw. ga*df, C huL gas, “p is ' (American Spanish cochi) Yokuts t> C h u k . s: Yaw. tinik, Chuk. sinik, “nose"; Yaw. natit, Chuk. nasis, “rattle­ snake"; Yaw. talxat, Chuk. talxas, “ tongue" Yokuts t> C h u k . t: Yaw. tip m , Chuk. £ipni\ “one endowed w ith magic pow ers"; Yaw. huw tuw us, Chuk. huwCuwç-an, “a game" Yokuts > Chuk. c: Yaw. ta y ta y , Chuk. caycay, “ bluejay"; Yaw. 'o t’ow, Chuk. ’d6dw, “ head"; Yaw. dindinit', Chuk. dindinic, “thick"

§1:6. The palato-alveolar affricatives are pronounced with the blade of the tongue: c as in English “church," t being the glottaiized and ξ the intermediate, or voiceless unaspirated, consonants of this set. These three phonemes constitute the sole affricative series of Chawchila, Chukchansi, Gashowu, and Choynimni. But Yawelmani and Wikchamni diverge from this affricative pattern; instead of one series these dialects have two. Both dialects possess a dental affricative series—an intermediate ? (as in English “rods"), an aspirate c, and a glottaiized έ; in addition, Yawelmani possesses an alveolar set of affricatives, g, ç, and ç, similar in articula­ tory position to the alveolar stops, and Wikchamni has the palato-alveolar series, g, à, and c, phonetically equivalent to the single affricative set found in Chawchila, Chukchansi, Gashowu and Choynimni. As the following examples illustrate, the dental affricatives of Yawelmani correspond to those of Wikchamni. Yaw. ciy, W ik. ciy, “ bone"; Yaw. co’pun, W ik. co‘pun, “ believe, consent" (verb base); Yaw. bucon, “man's brother's son, woman's sister's son," Wik. bucorj, “ son, man's brother’s son"; Yaw. aw ca\ Wik. 'awca, “fox"; Yaw. b ç r x , W ik. dogo*x, “frighten" (verb base); Yaw. yawlic, W ik. yawdic, “w o lf’

The alveolar affricatives of Yawelmani and the palato-alveolar affricatives of Wik­ chamni correspond in most instances, though both of these series are extremely rare in their respective dialects.

NEWMAN: YOKUTS LANGUAGE OF CALIFORNIA

15

Yaw. m izna\ W ik. m i|an, “ indeed, surely” (particle); Yaw. nowoç, W ik. nowoö, “ befriend” (verb base)

Apparently the two sets of affricatives in Yawelmani and Wikchamni represent two originally distinct series, for they cannot be differentiated on the basis of any mechanical rules of occurrence. I t would seem, therefore, that Chawchila, C hub chansi, Gashowu, and Choynimni have independently merged the two originally distinct sets of Yokuts affricatives into a single palato-alveolar set. §1:7. The lone fricative x (as in German “ Nacht”) is found in all the dialects. Two sibilants occur in each dialect. Yawelmani and Wikchamni distinguish between s and §, equivalent respectively to Chawchila, Gashowu, and Choynimni s and § and to Chukchansi $ and s. Compare the sibilants in the following examples. Yaw. and W ik. sam a\ C haw , and Choy. Sama\ Chuk. §ama\ “m outh” ; Yaw. xe*six, W ik. ke*sik, C haw., Gash., and Choy. xe'lix, Chuk. xe*$ix, “ fingernail” ; Yaw. "anas, Choy. ana§, Chuk. ’anaç, “ pack-basket” Yaw. §e’eL, Chuk. se-’al, “ rain” ; Gash, çitxü, Chuk. sidgil, “ ground squirrel” ; Yaw. b çit, W ik. ’uçit, Choy. ’uçut, C huk. b sit, “ fire” ; Gash, kuyeç, Chuk. xoyes, “ animal's h o rn ” NASALS, SEMIVOWELS, AND LATERALS

§1:8. Each of the simple nasals, semivowels, and laterals is balanced with a globalised consonant which is treated as a distinct phoneme with the following limitation: it can never appear initially in a word or in a syllable that follows a closed syllable. This positional limitation suggests that the globalized consonants of this group are secondary phonemes historically, derived from simple consonants plus an intrusive glottal stop. A t present the floating glottal stop of suffixes (§1 :13) may infect only the second consonant of a stem, if that consonant is a nasal, semivowel, lateral, or glottal stop. A few examples of Yawelmani verbal stems add' ing the consequent agentive suffix, . . . a’ (subjective case), will illustrate the difference in treatment between these glottal-absorbing consonants and other con­ sonants. 1) Stems whose second consonant absorbs the floating glottal stop: din-, “ protect, shield,” plus Λ . . a \ consequent agentive, > d ifia \ “ one w ho has (it) protected, one w ho has already protected (it), a protector” ;* pufi-, “ fold,” > p u n a ’; cam-, “ grasp tightly in th e hand,” >cam V ; tal-, “ shatter,” > t a l a \ m a \ “look down,” > m a V ; ’ami-, “help, aid,” > ’amla’; taw t-, “die,” > ta w ta ’; tbyx-, “ give medicine,” > tb y x o ';fi tbyV , “get rusty,” > tb y x o ’; diV . “make,” > d i$ a ’· 2) Stems whose second consonant rejects the floating glottal stop: wiç-, “ straighten,” > w i§ Y ; lap-, “w hip,” > la p Y ; muh-, “ dive,” > m u h Y ; piçw-, “catch,” > p iç w a \ 'ugn-, “ drink,” > \ig n a ’; daft-, “ track, trail,” > d a t'ta \ 5* 5 The functional range of the consequent agentive suffix is discussed in §20:19. • Vocalic harmony is responsible for the change of the suffix Λ . . a' to . o'; see §2:5.

16

VIKING FUND PUBLICATIONS IN ANTHROPOLOGY: 2

The glottal-absorbing characteristic of these consonants functions alike in all dialects. §1:9. The dialects also agree in partially whispering 1, w, and y in final posi­ tion: Wikchamni yakaw, “stone,” might be written phonetically as yakawhw. In Chawchila final m and n are similarly whispered. The globalized consonants, w, y, I, m, fi, and g, when they occur finally in a word or in a closed syllable, are heard as -w ^ or even as ''hw, etc. But this final whispering has no phonemic sig­ nificance; in order to preserve an accurate phonemic transcription, this phonetic peculiarity of final whispering will not be indicated. §1 :10. Medially, the simple consonants of this set are as fully voiced as ini­ tially. But the globalized consonants, when they occur medially and intervocalically, vary in articulation: -w- and -y- are very lightly rubbed, becoming almost indistinguishable from -w- and -y-; -I- is sometimes pronounced with a similar rubbing or rasping quality, but often it is articulated more clearly, being heard as -IT or -T with a sharp glottal catch; -m-, -ή-, and -g- are always pronounced with a slight glottal break, as -mm- or -’m-, etc. For phonemic consistency the glottalized consonants of this group will be uniformly written -w-, -y-, -I-, -m-, -fi-, and -g-, regardless of position. §1:11. Within the set of glottal-absorbing consonants Wikchamni diverges from the other dialects in two respects. It is the only dialect among those investi­ gated that retains the palatal nasals, g and g\ which in other dialects have been pooled with n and ή.7 And it is the only dialect that lacks the laterals, these being in all instances replaced in Wikchamni by d. In Chawchila, Chukchansi, Gashowu, and Ghoynimni the cognates of the following nouns resemble the Yawelmani forms in possessing a lateral consonant. Yokuts 1, I > W ik. d: Yaw. b m it, W ik. damit, “mountain” ; Yaw. culuy, W ik. cuduy, “hide, skin” ; Yaw. talxat, Wik. tadxat, “ tongue” ; Yaw. manal, W ik. magad, “ tear” (of weeping); Yaw. 'iEkinin, Wik. ’idkifiin, “w ater inhabitants” ; Yaw. banyiT, W ik. bog’yid, “tw ice.” A n original 1 is supplanted by Wik. d even in foreign loan-words: Gash. lame§, Wik. dame’sa, “table,” < Spanish “la mesa.” ASPIRATION AND GLOTTAL STOP

§1 :12. The aspiration and the glottal stop also constitute a special phono­ logical group. They are the only consonants that may affect vowels. When either of these consonants occurs medially in a stem, a following strong vowel will, so to speak, break through the medial h or ’ and influence the preceding vowel to become 7 Since the occurrence of g or g as against n or ή cannot be phonetically controlled in Wikchamni, it is assumed that these phonemes represent an earlier stratum of Yokuts phonetic develop­ ment than the composite n or ή of dialects other than Wikchamni. For additional comparative evi­ dence from other Yokuts dialects see A. L. Kroebcr, The Yokuts Language of South Central Call· fornia (University of California Publications, American Archaeology and Ethnology, vol. 2, no. 5, 1907, pp. 330-331, 346). The g is found in three of the six dialect groups that Kroeber establishes.

NEWMAN: YOKUTS LANGUAGE OF CALIFORNIA

17

strong-assimilated; i.e., the first vowel assumes the quality but not the long quan­ tity of a genuinely strong vowel. For example, to add the Yawelmani agentive suffix, -ic (subjective case), a verb stem is required whose first and second vowels are respectively weak and strong—u and o*, i and e·, etc.; stems whose medial con­ sonant is other than h or ’ follow this dynamic vowel requirement, but both the stem vowels are strong in quality when the medial consonant is h or \ 1) Strong-assimilated first vowel: tehe-'ic, “one who is getting lean’*; leV’ic, “one who is sinking"; moho'\i6,8“one who is diving"; woVyuc, “one who is falling asleep." 2) Weak first vowel: diye*'ic, “one who is getting in the lead"; ’ipe-'ic, “one who is swimming"; muio*"uc, “one who is turning his back"; 'ugomuc, “one who is drinking." This vocalic effect of h and ’ is restricted to stems having a weak and a strong vowel; any other dynamic quality of the second vowel does not influence the first vowel when these consonants appear medially.9 §1:13. These two consonants also share a positional restriction: neither h nor *may occur finally in a root as true, organic consonants. This restriction in the glottal stop is to be explained phonologically. There are three types of glottal stop in Yokuts: the glottal stop as an organic consonant, structurally interchangeable with any other consonant that occurs initially or medially; the floating glottal stop of suffixes, indicated by , which infects the second consonant of a stem (§1:8); and the protective glottal stop, written f). In order to preserve that in­ flexible rule of Yokuts syllabic structure which does not permit the juxtaposition of two vowels, the (’) is interposed as a hiatus-filler between vowels that should morphologically follow each other. A final vowel on the absolutive noun stem, which adds the zero subjective suffix -], is also considered vulnerable, and a glottal stop must be attached for protection. A n example of some case forms of a Yawel­ mani noun will illustrate 1) the protective glottal stop following the vulnerable final vowel of the absolutive stem, 2) die protective glottal stop acting as a hiatusfiller between the final vowel of the oblique stem and the initial vowel of the suffix, and 3) the disappearance of this inorganic element before a suffix beginning with a consonant. 1) Absolutive sasaQ-] (subjective) “eye" 2) Oblique prevocalic sasa*Q'in (possessive) 3) Oblique preconsonantal sasa*-nit (ablative) Oblique prefinal sasa[']-w10 (locative) If the Yokuts glottal stop was ever an organic consonant in final position, it has 1 The change of the suffix -ic to -uc is due to vocalic harmony; see §2:5. 9 The process of strong-assimilation described here applies to Yawelmani, Chawchila, and Wikchamni. In Chukchansi, Gashowu, and Choynimni strong-assimilation has attained the status of a more generalised phonetic process; see §2:20. 10 The brackets enclosing the length sign indicate that the organically long vowel of the ob­ lique stem is secondarily shortened, because of its appearance in a dosed syllable; for a discussion of the shortening process, see $2:17.

18

VIKING FUND PUBLICATIONS IN ANTHROPOLOGY: 2

been reinterpreted and leveled to the status of a protective, inorganic element wherever it occurred finally; furthermore, this status was fixed before the dialect divisions were established.11 §1:14. Phonologically, h is not in all respects parallel to \ for h never functions as a floating consonant of suffixes nor as a protective consonant, either medially or finally. But both h and ’ are configurated similarly as vowel-affecting consonants which, in medial position, permit the preceding vowel to become strong-assimilated; and both, in their status as organic consonants, are restricted to initial and medial position. DOUBLE CONSONANTS

§1 :15. When two homogeneous consonants appear in juxtaposition, they are pronounced as a single long consonant. In such a word as mekka, ‘‘swallow (it)!’' the glottalised palatal is not articulated twice; the stop occlusion is held for a mo­ ment before the simultaneous stop release and glottal release take effect. A purely phonetic orthography might indicate this articulation by mekka or mek-a; similarly, gewwiska, “meet each other!" and 'assen, “ (he) will bite," might be written gewiska and ’as-en. But such phonetic accuracy would blur the grammatical pic­ ture, for mekka (-ka, imperative, with stem of *me*ki, “ swallow") is morphologi­ cally parallel to gewka (-ka, with stem of *ge-wi, “meet"); gewwiska (-ka; -wis-, re­ ciprocal, with stem of *ge*wi) is parallel to mekwiska (-ka; -wis- with stem of *me*ki); and 'assen (-en, future, with stem of *’asas, “ bite") is parallel to ganwen (-en with stem of *ganaw, “ tangle"). In each case the phonetic entity articulated as a long consonant is the configurational equivalent of two phonemes; furthermore, no long consonant in Yokuts functions as a phonemic unit or as a single consonant in the structure of the syllable, and no lengthening process is applied to consonants. For phonemic and morphological clarity, such phonetically long consonants will be written as double consonants. RASPING TIMBRE

§1:16. The numerous glottal stops and globalized consonants in Yokuts words give the language a peculiar acoustic character. A t a conversational rate of speed all forms of glottalisation are indicated by a rasping quality of the voice, the result of an incomplete glottal closure. This is especially true of the glottal stop itself, which is rarely articulated as a sharp glottal catch. Such a phonetic combination as Yawelmani bu’us (subjective), “ dog," will generally be heard as bus, in which the vowel is long and rasped. In the objective case form, bu'sa, the vowel will normally be heard as half-long with a very slight glottal catch before the -s-, or even the catch itself may be entirely lacking in rapid speech, the rasping 11 In Gashowu and Cboynimni the protective glottal stop is preserved only in petrified forms revealing archaic processes. As a part of their modem productive system, these two dialects have generalized the protective glottal stop to the level of a more constant parasitic element, which, however, still remains inorganic; see §22:18.

NEWMAN: YOKUTS LANGUAGE OF CALIFORNIA

19

quality that accompanies the halflang vowel being the only overt indication of the glottal stop. §1:17. The consonants y\ w, Γ, m, n, g give the same rasping effect to adjacent vowels, especially to those that precede. As discussed above (§1:10), some of these consonants are themselves articulated with a rubbed or rasped qual­ ity. They can be heard as genuinely glottalized only when they appear after vowels and particularly before consonants. Even in slow speech these six globalized pho­ nemes were never distinguished initially in a word or medially following another consonant. Although the liberty has been taken of normalizing the various degrees of rasping in the various speeds of utterance to y , w, Γ, m\ ά, and g where such phenomic realities could be tested by slow articulation, it has been considered safer not to indicate these phonemes after consonants even when morphology dictated their presence, for their glottal character was not actualized even in slow pronunci­ ation. Thus, Yawelmani bu'us, “ dog,” tbyix, “ getting rusty,” etc. will be written consistently with the glottalized elements which appear in slow speech, even though under conditions of rapid speech the globalization may disappear into the rasped quality of the vowel, as bu*s, tbyix, the latter being acoustically close to but distinguishable from Yawelmani toyix, “applying medicine” ; but it will be neces­ sary to write Gashowu coynimni’, “a Choynimni” (tribal name), and its plural coyenmani as indicated—the normalized forms being obviously ibynimni' and CDyenmani—for the glottalized consonants appearing post-consonantally could not be heard as glottalized or individually rasped even in slow speech. §1:18. The glottalized stops are subject to less variation. These are always articulated with a slight glottal release, regardless of position or of speed of utter­ ance. But they also add to the general rasping stream of articulation, which is the most striking acoustic feature of Yokuts speech.2 2.

VOWELS

VOWEL PHONEMES

§2:1. W ith the exception of Wikchamni, the dialects of Yokuts have ten vowel phonemes. i e a D u r e* a* o* u· The vowel quality of r is close, as in English reed; the short i may also be close in quality, as in French rit, but with speed of utterance this vowel tends to be more open, as in English rear or even rid. Both e and e* are open vowels, with the quality of English met. The low vowels, a and a*, are like German Mann and English father. Like the front mid vowels e and e*, the back mid vowels d and o’ are always open, as in German voll and English law. Like i*, the long u* is close in quality, as in English boot; and like i, the short u may have a close quality or, in rapid pronuncia­ tion, an open quality, as in English poor or even put. Wikchamni has three additional vowel phonemes, which are slightly rounded;

20

VIKING FUND PUBLICATIONS IN ANTHROPOLOGY: 2

although they are not as fully rounded as German and French vowels, Wikchamni ï resembles the vowel of German stück, and Wikchamni ë and ë* are like the vowels in French neuf and heure. The vowels i, e, and e* in other dialects correspond in part to Wikchamni ï, ë, and ë*, and in part to Wikchamni i, e, and e \ Gash. mikiS, W ik. mïkïs, “throat” ; Gash, ’ilik, W ik. ’idik, “w ater” Gash, te’el, Wik. të ’ëd, “rattlesnake” ; Gash. ne'e§, Wik. ne*e§, “ younger brother” Gash, cessas, Wik. cë’sas, “dog” ; Gash. Vnas, W ik. *e-na$, “ grandfather, man’s grand' child” 12 BASIC VOWEL PATTERN

§2:2. Yokuts phonology is essentially concerned with processes applying to vowels, such as vocalic harmony and vocalic change. Outside of the impure vowels peculiar to Wikchamni, a pattern of eight vowels underlies the vocalic processes; r.i.-ese vowels occur in Yokuts bases, which are the fundamental roots of the lan' -wage (§2:3, fnt. 13). The eight basic vowels are morpho'phonemes; they do not correspond strictly > the phonemic vowel units of Yokuts. Of the ten pure vowel phonemes, only : :ven (i, c*}a, a·, o, o‘, and u) are found in bases; the remaining three phonemes (i·, e, and u ) occur only in forms derived from bases, such as words, stems, and the' matic roots. The utilization of seven vowel phonemes for eight basic morpho'pho' r : nes results from the splitting of the phoneme a* into two morpho-phonemic enti' ties. The eight basic morpho'phonemes are patterned in four vowel series, each containing a weak and a strong member, and in this pattern the d*phoneme plays tw< >distinct rôles: it is the strong member both in the d series and in the u series. In -rder to keep this distinction clear, this grammar will depart from a strictly phonemic orthography: the strong member of the d series will be written o\ but the strong member of the u series will be indicated by o*. The eight basic morpho'phonemes are patterned as follows: Vowel Series a o W eak members a d Strong members a* d*

i i e·

tt u o·

11According to A. L. Kroeber, The Yokuts Language of South Central California (University of California Publications, American Archaeology and Ethnology, voL 2, no. 5,1907, pp. 173 £ ), Wikchamni and Yaudanchi possessed a full set of ten rounded, or (in his terminology) impure, vow* els. Although I was able to record only three, it is entirely possible that a complete set of impure vowels paralleling the ten pure vowels occurred in Wikchamni at the time th at Kroeber collected his material: the three impure vowels found in Wikchamni at present are phonologically parallel to i, e, and e*, for the impure vowels undergo the same types of vocalic change as the three pure vowels and, with the latter, they correspond to i, e, and e’ in other dialects. Furthermore, the impure vowels are unstable and seem to be disappearing under the impact of Yawelmani, the lingua franca of the Tule River Reservation, where Wikchamni is spoken: although Kroeber’s vocabulary, collected in 190004, contains few enough instances of impure vowels, mine contains less; of my two Wikchamni informants, the older often employed impure vowels where my younger informant used pure vowels; and occasionally one of the informants would vary between pure and impure vowels in a given form.

NEWMAN: YOKUTS LANGUAGE OF CALIFORNIA

21

VOCALIC HARMONY

Base harmony. §2:3. All bases contain two vowels belonging to the same vowel series; the two base vowels may be a and a, a- and a, a and a·, or i and i, e· and i, i and e·, etc.18 §2:4. Through a complex of vocalic changes a stem11*4 or a theme15 may no longer present the acoustic picture of a uniform vowel series; the addition of suffixes complicates the vocalism of a word, for suffix harmony (§2:5) operates on wider principles of vocalic homogeneity than does base harmony. But a vocalically uniform root is always reached through the analysis of a word, stem, or theme to its primary unit, the base. For example, such a vocalically heterogeneous form as Yawelmani xu^andawsahin, “ (he) wrapped himself repeatedly," is to be analyzed as follows: 1) -hin, aorist, w ith xutandaw sa*', “find (it)!” but bok'§it'ka, “find (it) for (him)!” W ik. 'Si, 'su, aorist: duy'su, “(he) ate,” but duy-hacin^si, “(he) wanted to eat.” Gash, dc/, 'uc/, agentive: hoto-k'uc/, “one who is pulling out weeds,” but hutak' da^’ic/,*17 “one who is pulling out weeds repeatedly.” C hoy. 'if, 'su\ aorist: ’os'Su\ “(he) stole,” but ’osda'sf, “(he) caused (him) to steal.”

§2 :7. In citing suffixes throughout this grammar, the practice will be adopted of quoting only that vocalic form of the suffix employed with stems having a last vowel in three of the four vowel series; thus, if a suffix is described as 'xa (Yaw., Chuk.), precative, it is to be assumed that this suffix is paired with 'xo, each of these vocalic forms being distributed among stems in accordance with the table in §2:5. VOCALIC CHANGE

§2 :8. Each morphological process of Yokuts is accompanied by stem changes. In contrast to the root consonants, which are the inflexible, unchanging phonologi' cal units of Yokuts, the root vowels undergo a variety of changes in assuming their stem form. The extensive system of vocalic change can be conceived as operating on two planes: on the one hand, dynamic vowel processes effect ablaut changes which are not to be explained in terms of mechanical phonetic conditions; on the other hand, a number of phonetic processes introduce additional" vowel changes of a purely mechanical nature. In the formation of stems these two planes interact; a stem which has suffered dynamic changes may, in turn, be subjected to secondary phonetic changes. For example, the Yawelmani stem cumo·' ( < * co-mu, “ devour”), appearing without phonetic changes in cumcr'by, “ that which was devoured,” mony; their vowels are immutable. For inexplicable reasons the vowels of Gashowu -mut’/, habitual agentive (§20:29), and of Choynimni 'Us, aorist durative (§15:9), also do not change. 17 'iè/, 'u è / has the special form mc/, A ie/ when employed with themes in Chukchansi, Gashowu, and Choynimni ( §20:17).

NEWMAN: YOKUTS LANGUAGE OF CALIFORNIA

23

has its k st vowel shortened in cumo[*]-hnul, "pkce where one was devoured," and has its last vowel a-umlauted in cuma-’an, "(he) is devouring." Dynamic processes. §2:9. The table of dynamic vowel processes (§2:11) sum' marizes the various changes that vowels assume under similar dynamic conditions. The table is to be read vertically, the first horizontal line giving the fundamental vowels of the formal starting-point, either the basic or the thematic root; the particukr form taken by a vowel in a given stem is determined by the root character of that vowel. §2 :10. Stem changes may be expressed in terms of a vocalic formula operating upon the basic or thematic root. For example, to form the plurals of such nominal themes as Yawelmani nipe*y/, “ wife's brother," Gashowu dulul/, "mountain," and Chawchila bucon/, "son," the vowel formula S + A is impressed upon them; the plurals (subjective) are respectively ne-pay-i, do laW, and boéan-i, in which the first theme vowels become uniformly S (strong) in the plurals and the second vowels become A (A-induced). To take another example from the basic verbs, the zero stem employs the vocalic formula W + Z ; such bases as Yawelmani *meki, "swallow," *xutun> "wrap," *wowul, "stand up," and *§udok, "remove," have as their zero stems mik-, xutn-, wuwl-, and $udk-, the first vowels taking a W (weak) form and the second vowels becoming Z (zero), not to be confused with Z (zeroed) or z' (strong-zeroed) which are types of reduction. §2:11. Table of Dynamic Vowel Processes. Fundamental vowels F (full) B (broken) S (strong) W (weak) S’ (strong-glottal) W’ (weak-glottal) ’W (glottal-weak) L (long) Z (zero) I (I-induced) E* (Ewnduced) A (A-induced) Ά (A-induced)

a a — a* a a’ a* — a* 0 i ea ’a

aa* a'a a* a a' a’ ’a a0 i e’ a —

0 0 — O’ 0 o’ o' —

0* 0 i e* 0 'o

O’ 0* o’o 0* 0 o’ o' * 0 0' . 0 i e0 —

i i — ei e’ f — ί­ ο i e* a « a

e* e·*· 11 ei e’ Γ *1· V

0 i ea —

u u — ο­ υ o’ u’ — u* 0 u 0a a

0’ o* u’u1 O' u o’ u’ ’u U' 019 u oa —

18 The dash indicates that the dynamic vowel process does not apply to the fundamental vowel heading the column: e.g., broken vowels are formed only from the strong members of the fundamental vowel set (a*, e*, o*), not from the weak members. 18 The symbol 0 is used here descriptively to refer to a zero-grade vowel. Since there are several dynamic varieties of zero-grade, the symbols Z (zero), z (zeroed), and z! (strong-zeroed) will be employed throughout this grammar to avoid ambiguity.

VIKING FUND PUBLICATIONS IN ANTHROPOLOGY: 2

24 R

(reduced): Z (zeroed) d (dulled) r (retained) z' (strong'zeroed) d ' (strong'dulled)

0 i —

— —

— a* 0 i

0 i — — —

— — D* 0 i

0 i — — —

— — e* 0 i

0 u —

— —

— — O’ 0 u

§2:12. Some of the dynamic processes are amply illustrated by a number of morphological operations in all dialects; others are limited to a few dialects or to a single stem. Thus, the F (full) process applies to several stems common to all dialects, but the B (broken) process occurs in only one stem peculiar to Gashowu and Choynimni (§8:12). §2:13. A restriction is consistently observed, however, as to the vowel posl· tions which the dynamic processes may affect. Only root vowels of the first syl· lable undergo the F and the B processes, but the W and the S changes are applied to root vowels in any position; the remaining dynamic processes operate upon vowels outside of the first syllable. Reduction. §2:14. Although reduction is primarily a dynamic process, its operation is partly conditioned by the phonetic structure of roots and by the suffixes to be appended. A schematic presentation of bases with their reduced stems (vocalic formula F + R ) will clarify the details of the reduction process.20 Bases CVCW GVCW C CW CS CW CSC

(*xata,

“ eat")

(*bg3W, “ pulverize”) (*’ile \ “ fan”) (*§udo-k, “remove”)

Reduced Stems ( F + R ) preconsonantal prevocalic C V C z (xat') C V C z (xatO C V C d C (bgiwO C V C zC (bgW') C W C z' Oil·) C W C r Cile*') C W C rC (çudo-Jl·) C W C rC feudo[*]ll·)21

The dominant pattern of the reduction process may be described as follows: a weak vowel member in the final base syllable is zeroed, but a strong vowel is re' tained. This statement does not account for the CVCdC stem (