Kiliwa language
Encyclopedia
Kiliwa is a Yuman language spoken in Baja California
, in the far northwest of Mexico
, by the Kiliwa
people. It may form part of the hypothetical Hokan
linguistic phylum. Kiliwa is the southernmost representative of the family, and the one that is most distinct from the remaining Yuman languages, which constitute Core Yuman. The Kiliwa's neighbors to the south, the Cochimí
, spoke a language or a family of languages that was probably closely related to but not within the Yuman family. Consequently, the Kiliwa lie at the historic "center of gravity" for the differentiation of Yuman from Cochimí and of the Yuman branches from each other.
The Kiliwa language was extensively studied by Mauricio J. Mixco, who published Kiliwa texts as well as a dictionary and studies of syntax.
Linguistic prehistorians are not in agreement as to whether the Kiliwa's linguistic ancestors are most likely to have migrated into the Baja California peninsula from the north separately from the ancestors of the Cochimí and the Core Yumans, or whether they became differentiated from those groups in place. The controversial technique of glottochronology
suggests that the separation of Kiliwa from Core Yuman may have occurred about 2,000-3,000 years ago.
As recently as the 1930s, it was reported that members of the native community universally spoke Kiliwa as their first language. At the start of the twenty-first century, Kiliwa is still spoken; a 2000 census reported 52 speakers. However, the language is considered to be in danger of extinction.
(v), s, (SS), x, xw, (hw)
m, n, ny
r, l
(rl)
w, y
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, in the far northwest of Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, by the Kiliwa
Kiliwa
The Kiliwa are an aboriginal people of northern Baja California, Mexico. They occupied a territory lying between the Cochimí on the south and the Paipai on the north, and extending from San Felipe on the Gulf of California to San Quintín on the Pacific coast...
people. It may form part of the hypothetical Hokan
Hokan languages
The Hokan language family is a hypothetical grouping of a dozen small language families spoken in California, Arizona and Mexico. In nearly a century since Edward Sapir first proposed the "Hokan" hypothesis, little additional evidence has been found that these families were related to each other...
linguistic phylum. Kiliwa is the southernmost representative of the family, and the one that is most distinct from the remaining Yuman languages, which constitute Core Yuman. The Kiliwa's neighbors to the south, the Cochimí
Cochimi
The Cochimí are the aboriginal inhabitants of the central part of the Baja California peninsula, from El Rosario in the north to San Javier in the south....
, spoke a language or a family of languages that was probably closely related to but not within the Yuman family. Consequently, the Kiliwa lie at the historic "center of gravity" for the differentiation of Yuman from Cochimí and of the Yuman branches from each other.
The Kiliwa language was extensively studied by Mauricio J. Mixco, who published Kiliwa texts as well as a dictionary and studies of syntax.
Linguistic prehistorians are not in agreement as to whether the Kiliwa's linguistic ancestors are most likely to have migrated into the Baja California peninsula from the north separately from the ancestors of the Cochimí and the Core Yumans, or whether they became differentiated from those groups in place. The controversial technique of glottochronology
Glottochronology
Glottochronology is that part of lexicostatistics dealing with the chronological relationship between languages....
suggests that the separation of Kiliwa from Core Yuman may have occurred about 2,000-3,000 years ago.
As recently as the 1930s, it was reported that members of the native community universally spoke Kiliwa as their first language. At the start of the twenty-first century, Kiliwa is still spoken; a 2000 census reported 52 speakers. However, the language is considered to be in danger of extinction.
Consonants
p, t, c, k, kw, q, ?(v), s, (SS), x, xw, (hw)
m, n, ny
r, l
(rl)
w, y
Morphology
The morphology in the Kiliwa language consists of many affixes and clitics. More of these are available on the verb rather than the noun. These affixes are usually untouched and added on to a modified root.Syntax
Kiliwa is a verb-final language that usually follows the order subject-object-verb. Dependent object clause should be found before the verb, where as relative or adjectival clauses appear to the right of the noun they modify.Sources
- Mixco, Mauricio J. 1976. "Kiliwa Texts". International Journal of American Linguistics Native American Text Series 1:92-101.
- Mixco, Mauricio J. 1983. Kiliwa Texts: "When I Have Donned My Crest of Stars" University of Utah Anthropological Papers No. 107. Salt Lake City. (Myths and legends narrated by Rufino Ochurte and Braulio Espinosa after 1966.)
External links
- Kiliwa Swadesh vocabulary list (from Wiktionary)
- AULEX Spanish-Kiliwa dictionary