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Yahi dialect
View on Wikipedia | This article should specify the language of its non-English content using {{lang}} or {{langx}}, {{transliteration}} for transliterated languages, and {{IPA}} for phonetic transcriptions, with an appropriate ISO 639 code. Wikipedia's multilingual support templates may also be used - notably ynn for Yana. (January 2025) |
| Yahi | |
|---|---|
| Native to | USA |
| Region | California |
| Ethnicity | Yahi people, a subgroup of the Yana |
| Extinct | 1916, with the death of Ishi |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | yahi1243 |
 Distribution of Yahi and Nozi (Northern and Central Yana)[1] peoples | |
Yahi was a dialect of the extinct Yana language that was spoken in the upper Sacramento Valley area, roughly in the area between Mill Creek and Deer Creek. It is one of the southern dialects of Yana, which is a language isolate, though with possible connections to Hokan. Yana is known as having been the language of Ishi, the last surviving Yana Indian, who worked with anthropologists to make a record of the language and culture.
History
[edit]The last documented speaker of Yahi was a man called Ishi who caused a scientific stir when he made contact with the outside world in 1911, long after the Yahi had been assumed to be extinct. Together with the language, he died in 1916.[2]
Vocabulary
[edit]Yahi distinguishes male and female forms with male forms, frequently marked with the suffix -na, generally longer than female forms. Some examples are:[3]
| Male Form | Female Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| diwai-ja | diwai-tch | see me! |
| t'en'na | t'et | grizzly bear |
| yana | yah | person |
Examples
[edit]Some language samples from Kroeber, T[4]
| Yahi | English |
|---|---|
| ähä | yes |
| k'u'i | no |
| kuwi | shaman |
| mudjaúpa | chief |
| sake mahale | menstruating woman |
| saltu | white person |
| siwini | yellow pine |
| wataurisi | bastard |
Pronouns
[edit]| Yahi | English |
|---|---|
| ai'numa | you (formal) |
auna - fire
Numerals
[edit]Some numerals from Sapir et al.,[5]
| Numeral | Yahi |
|---|---|
| 1 | baigu |
| 2 | uxmic'igu |
| 3 | bulmic'igu |
| 4 | daumigu |
| 5 | xaaʒan |
| 6 | baiwawi |
| 7 | |
| 8 | |
| 9 | |
| 10 | xaaʒanwilsamc'gu |
| 20 | |
| 40 | |
| 60 | |
| 80 |
Samples
[edit]| Yahi | English |
|---|---|
| achi djeyauna? | what is his name? |
| ine me yahi? | are you an Indian? |
| wo-wi | my house |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Golla, Victor (2011). California Indian Languages. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-26667-4.
- ^ Parkvall, Mikael (2008). Limits of language: almost everything you didn't know you didn't know about language and languages. Wilsonville, Or: Battlebridge Publications. ISBN 978-1-59028-198-7.
- ^ Kroeber, Theodora; Gannett, Lewis (1961). Ishi in two worlds: a biography of the last wild Indian in North America. Berkeley Los Angeles: University of California press. ISBN 978-0-520-00675-1.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - ^ Kroeber, T. Ishi in two worlds Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984
- ^ Sapir, E., Swadesh. M., Haas, M. Yana Dictionary University of California Press, 1960
External links
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