MOHAWK LANGUAGE
Mohawk is a Native American language spoken in the United States and Canada. It is part of the Iroquoian family. Mohawk has two major dialects, Akwesasne and Kahnawake; the differences between them are largely phonological (e.g., Akwesasne has /l/ while Kahnawake has /r/).
Phonology
The phoneme inventory is as follows (using Bonvillain's Akwesasne orthography):
Consonants
An interesting feature of Mohawk phonology is that there are no bilabials, except in a few borrowings from French and English, where /m/ and /p/ appear (e.g., májis 'matches' and aplám 'Abraham'); /m/ and /p/ are both late additions to Mohawk phonology and did not occur in pre-Columbian times.
Consonant clusters in the Akwesasne dialect:
-tt, kt, -ʔt, st, -ht, tk, kk, -ʔk, sk, -hk, -ʔʤ, -hʤ, ts, ks, -ʔs, -ss, -hs, th, kh, sh, -nh, -lh, -wh, -ʔn, sn, -hn, -ʔl, sl, hl, -nl, -ʔj, ʤj, sj, -hj, nj, -lj, -ʔw, sw, -hw.
Those clusters preceded by a hyphen only occur word-medially; the others occur both initially and medially.
Vowels
i, e, a, and o are oral vowels, while ə and u (IPA /ə̃/ and /ũ/) are nasalized; oral versions of ə and u do not occur in the language.
Grammar
Mohawk expresses a large number of pronominal distinctions: person (1st, 2nd, 3rd), number (singular, dual, plural), gender (masculine, feminine, neuter, indefinite) and inclusivity/exclusivity on the first person dual and plural. Pronominal information is encoded in prefixes on the verbs, rather than given as separate pronoun words; there are two main paradigms of pronominal prefixes: intransitive and transitive.
Some phrases (Kahnawake dialect)
Naho:ten ken:ton'? - What does it mean?
Tiohrhen:sa sata:ti. - Say it in English, Speak in English.
Onkwehonwehneha sata:ti. - Say it in Indian. Speak in Indian.
Sa'nikonhraien:tas ken? - Do you understand?
Seni'nikonraien:tas ken? - Do you (d) understand?
Sewa'nikonhraien:tas ken? - Do you (p) understand?
Iah tewake'nikonhraien:ta's. - I don't understand.
Onhka thi? - Who's that?
Onhka ki? - Who's this?
Ontiaten:ro' ne thi. - That is my friend. (m to m)
Ontiaten:ro' ne ki. - This is my friend. (m)
Ontiatshi ne thi. - That is my friend. (f talking about f)
Ontiatshi ne ki. - This is my friend.(f)
Raterihwaienstha ken? - Is he a student?
Ionterihwaienstha ken? - Is she a student?
Saterihwaienstha ken? - Are you a student?
Ronterihwaienstha ken? - Are they (p,m) student?
Hen. - Yes
To:ka - I don't know.
Iah tewakaterien:tare'. - I don't know. (polite form)
Tanon' onhka ne: nakaonha? - And who is she?
Tanon' onhka ne: ne raonha? - And who is he?
Tanon' onhka ni:se'? - And who are you?
Tanon' onhka ne: ne rononha? - And who are they(p,m)?
Raterihwaienstha ni' ne'e. - He's a student, too.
Ionterihwaienstha ni ne'e. - She's a student, too.
Katerihwaienstha ni ne'e. - I'm a student, too.
Ronterihwaienstha ni ne'e - They (p,m) are students, too.
Ontiatshi ne'e. - She is my friend(f).
Ontiaten:ro' ne'e - He's my friend(m).
Ontiaten:ro' ne ki. - This is my friend(m).
Onkwaten:ro ne'e - They (p,m) are my friends
Hello/Goodbye
Khwe – hi Kwehkwe - hi there
O:nen - bye O:nen ki'wahi - goodbye Ohnen - bye now Vonkiaten:ron - bye my friend OnenO:nen - good bye or see you later Oh niiawenhatie? - what’s happening.... what’s going on?
Thank you/Your Welcome
Nia:wen - thank you Nia:wen Kowa - thank you very much Niawenh ki wahi - thanks a lot Tekwanonwera:tons - welcome Io - you're welcome
Friends
Atenro:sera- friendship Ontiaten:ro or yonkiaten:ron- he/she and I are friends (just dialect differences depending where the speakers from) Onkwatenro'shon:'a- they all and I are friends. Tiaten:ro- you and I are friends.
First/Second Person
I:se - you Akwa:wen - mine
Words/General
Akwe:kon - all Kha:wis - I am carrying Tyorahteken - fisher Iakohsatens – to ride
Tsiktsinenna:wen - butterfly Karonhiake - sky Ohontsa:ke - earth Otkon - spirit Atonhnhetshera - spirit Tsikenon'waristak - dragonfly Sken:nen - peace; serenity. Skennen'ko:wa - great peace Ka'shatsténhshera - power
Family
Ista – mother (pr. Isda) Isten:a – mom (pr. isden:a) Rake:ni - father Rake'niha - dad
Tiakení:teron – wife/husband (when speaking about him/her it works either way). Rakshótha - grandfather (when referring to him). Akshótha - grandmother (when referring to her). Akhso – grandmother (when talking to her). Tóta – can be used in reference to either grandmother/grandfather (slang)
Nature
Tree- O:kwire Birch - Watenake:tarons Cedar - Onen'takwenhten:sera Elm - A'ka:ratsi' Sugar Maple - Wahta Spruce - O'so:ra
Animals
Tsyoka'wehkowa - raven Ori:te' - dove Ori:te Nih wa'a - dove (small) Oskenón:ton - deer E:rhar - dog Atená:ti – elk Tsítsho - fox Akoshá:tens - horse Aióha - mink Tako'skó:wa - mountain lion Otsinò:wen - mouse Tawí:ne - otter Anén:taks - porcupine Tehahonhtané:ken - rabbit Atí:ron - raccoon Otsinowenhkó:wa - rat Aní:tas - skunk - Onón:kote - weasel
Sentences
Skennen ko:wa kenh ontiatenro'shon:a - how are you my friends? Konnoronhkwa - I love you (I show you I care)
-Tree- "The best chief is not the one who persuades people to his point of view. It is instead the one in whose presence most people find it easiest to arrive at the truth". –Mohawk-
Onkwehonwehneha – (the) native way
Names
Ko:r - for the name Paul Arisawe - for the name Elizabeth
- We don’t have a word for just I’m or I am... because it is already apart of the verb itself
- T’s are most of the time are pronounced as D’s
- K’s are most of the time are pronounced as G’s
External links
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