Iroquoian languages

Short description: Native American language family

Iroquoian

Ogwehoweh
Ethnicity| Iroquoian peoples
Geographic
distribution| Eastern North America
Linguistic classification| One of the world's primary language families
Proto-language| Proto-Iroquoian
Subdivisions|

* Cherokee
* Northern Iroquoian

ISO 639-2 / 5| iro
Glottolog| iroq1247[1]

Labeled map showing pre-contact distribution of the Iroquoian languages

The Iroquoian languages (en, irr-ə-KWOY-ən), occasionally referred to as the Ogwehoweh languages,[2] are a family of indigenous languages of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking.[3]

As of 2020, almost all surviving Iroquoian languages are severely or critically endangered, with some languages having only a few elderly speakers remaining. The two languages with the most speakers, Mohawk (Kanienʼkéha) in New York and Canada, and Cherokee in Oklahoma and North Carolina, are spoken by less than 10% of the populations of their nations.[4][5]

## Contents

* 1 Family division
* 2 External relationships
* 3 Linguistics and language revitalization
* 4 See also
* 5 Notes
* 6 References
* 7 Further reading
* 7.1 Linguistics
* 7.2 General works

## Family division

* Iroquoian
* Northern Iroquoian
* (Lake Iroquoian)
* Iroquois Proper (Five Nations)
* Seneca (severely endangered)
* Cayuga (severely endangered)
* Onondaga (severely endangered)
* Susquehannock or Conestoga †
* Mohawk–Oneida
* Oneida (severely endangered)
* Mohawk (definitely endangered)
* Huronian
* Wendat/Wyandot (Huron) †
* Petun (Tobacco) †
* Tuscarora–Nottoway
* Tuscarora †
* Meherrin †
* Nottoway †
* Unclassified
* Wenrohronon or Wenro †
* Neutral †
* Erie †
* Laurentian †
* Scahentoarrhonon †
* Southern Iroquoian/Cherokee
* South Carolina-Georgia dialect (a.k.a. Lower dialect) †
* North Carolina dialect (a.k.a. Middle or Kituwah dialect) (severely endangered)
* Oklahoma dialect (a.k.a. Overhill or Western dialect) (definitely endangered)

† — language extinct/dormant

Evidence is emerging that what has been called the Laurentian language appears to be more than one dialect or language.[6] Ethnographic and linguistic field work with the Wyandot tribal elders (Barbeau 1960) yielded enough documentation for scholars to characterize and classify the Wyandot and Petun languages.

The languages of the tribes that constituted the tiny Wenrohronon,[lower-alpha 1] the powerful Conestoga Confederacy and the confederations of the Neutral Nation and the Erie Nation are very poorly documented in print. The Wyandot referred to the Neutral people as Atiwandaronk, meaning 'they who understand the language'. The Wenro and Neutral are historically grouped together, and geographically the Wenro's range on the eastern end of Lake Erie placed them between the larger confederations. To the east of the Wenro, beyond the Genesee Gorge, were the lands of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. To the southeast, beyond the headwaters of the Allegheny River, lay the Conestoga (Susquehannock).[7] The Conestoga Confederacy and Erie were militarily powerful and respected by neighboring tribes.[7] By 1660 all of these peoples but the Conestoga Confederacy and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy were defeated and scattered, migrating to form new tribes or adopted into others. The Iroquoian peoples had a practice of adopting valiant enemies into the tribe; they also adopted captive women and children to replace members who had died.[7]

The group known as the Meherrin were neighbors to the Tuscarora and the Nottoway (Binford 1967) in the American South. They are believed to have spoken an Iroquoian language but documentation is lacking.

## External relationships

Attempts to link the Iroquoian, Siouan, and Caddoan languages in a Macro-Siouan family are suggestive but remain unproven (Mithun 1999:305).

## Linguistics and language revitalization

As of 2012, a program in Iroquois linguistics at Syracuse University, the Certificate in Iroquois Linguistics for Language Learners, is designed for students and language teachers working in language revitalization.[8][9]

Six Nations Polytechnic in Ohsweken, Ontario offers Ogwehoweh language Diploma and Degree Programs in Mohawk or Cayuga.[10]

Starting in September 2017, the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario started offering a credit course in Mohawk; the classes are to be given at Renison University College in collaboration with the Waterloo Aboriginal Education Centre, St. Paul's University College.[11]

## See also

* Proto-Iroquoian language
* Dean R. Snow and William A. Starna – archeologists and historians who have conducted ground-breaking archeological research in the Mohawk Valley and other Iroquoian sites

## Notes

1. ↑ Historical examination of the Jesuits records suggest that, following the Seneca conquest of Oil Spring in 1638, the Wenro may have had no more than three villages sandwiched between Buffalo and Rochester (i.e., between the Niagara and Genesee rivers).[7]

## References

1. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds (2017). "Iroquoian". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/iroq1247.
2. ↑ "Ogwehoweh Languages". https://www.snpolytechnic.com/program/bachelor-arts-ogwehoweh-languages.
3. ↑ Mithun, Marianne. "Grammaticalization and Polysynthesis: Iroquoian". http://www.linguistik.fb05.uni-mainz.de/files/2015/01/Abstract_Mithun.pdf.
4. ↑ "UNESCO Interactive Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger". unesco.org. http://www.unesco.org/languages-atlas/index.php?hl=en&page=atlasmap&cc2=US.
5. ↑ "Iroquoian Languages". languagegeek.com. 22 February 2008. http://www.languagegeek.com/rotinonhsonni/iroquoian.html.
6. ↑ "Laurentian Language and the Laurentian Indian Tribe (Stadaconan, Kwedech, Hochelagan)". http://www.native-languages.org/laurentian.htm.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Alvin M. Josephy Jr., ed (1961). "The American Heritage Book of Indians". The American Heritage Book of Indians. American Heritage Publishing Co.. pp. 188–219.
8. ↑ "Certificate in Iroquois Linguistics for Language Learners". University College. http://uc.syr.edu/CIL/.
9. ↑ Gale Courey Toensing (September 2, 2012). "Iroquois Linguistics Certificate at Syracuse University Comes at Important Time for Native Languages". Indian Country Today Media Network. http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/09/02/iroquois-linguistics-certificate-at-syracuse-university-comes-at-important-time-for-native-languages-132152.
10. ↑ "University Program". https://www.snpolytechnic.com/programs-courses/university.
11. ↑ Bueckert, Kate (17 Aug 2017). "Mohawk language course to be offered for 1st time at UW". CBC News. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/mohawk-course-kanienkeha-renison-university-waterloo-1.4249770?cmp=rss.

## Further reading

### Linguistics

* Barbeau, C. Marius (1960), Huron-Wyandot Traditional Narratives in Translations and Native Texts, National Museum of Canada Bulletin 47; Anthropological Series 165, [Ottawa]: Canada Dept. of Northern Affairs and National Resources, OCLC 1990439 .
* Binford, Lewis R. (1967), "An Ethnohistory of the Nottoway, Meherrin and Weanock Indians of Southeastern Virginia", Ethnohistory (Ethnohistory, Vol. 14, No. 3/4) 14 (3/4): 103–218, doi:10.2307/480737 .
* Chilton, Elizabeth (2004), "Social Complexity in New England: AD 1000–1600", in Pauketat; Loren, Diana Dipaolo, North American Archaeology, Malden, MA: Blackwell Press, pp. 138–60, OCLC 55085697 .
* Goddard, Ives, ed. (1996), Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 17: Languages, Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, ISBN 0-16-048774-9, OCLC 43957746 .
* Lounsbury, Floyd G. (1978), "Iroquoian Languages", in Trigger, Bruce G., Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 15: Northeast, Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, pp. 334–43 [unified volume Bibliography, pp. 807–90], OCLC 58762737 .
* Martin, Scott W. J. (July 2008). "Languages Past and Present: Archaeological Approaches to the Appearance of Northern Iroquoian Speakers in the Lower Great Lakes Region of North America". American Antiquity (Cambridge University Press) 73 (3): 441–463. doi:10.1017/S0002731600046813.
* Mithun, Marianne (1984), "The Proto-Iroquoians: Cultural Reconstruction from Lexical Materials", in Foster, Michael K.; Campisi, Jack; Mithun, Marianne, Extending the Rafters: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Iroquoian Studies, Albany: State University of New York Press, pp. 259–82, ISBN 0-87395-781-4, OCLC 9646457, https://archive.org/details/extendingrafters00fost/page/259 .
* Mithun, Marianne (1985), "Untangling the Huron and the Iroquois", International Journal of American Linguistics (University of Chicago Press) 51 (4): 504–7, doi:10.1086/465950 .
* Mithun, Marianne (1999), The Languages of Native North America, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-23228-7, OCLC 40467402 .
* Rudes, Blair A. (1993), "Iroquoian Vowels", Anthropological Linguistics 37 (1): 16–69 .

### General works

* Driver, Harold E. 1969. Indians of North America. 2nd edition. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-16467-0
* Ruttenber, Edward Manning. 1992 [1872]. History of the Indian tribes of Hudson's River. Hope Farm Press.
* Snow, Dean R. 1994. The Iroquois. Blackwell Publishers. Peoples of America. ISBN 978-1-55786-225-9
* Snow, Dean R.; Gehring, Charles T; Starna, William A. 1996. In Mohawk country: early narratives about a native people. Syracuse University Press. An anthology of primary sources from 1634 to 1810.

Template:Iroquoian languages Template:Iroquois Confederacy

* v
* t
* e

Primary language families

Africa|

* Afroasiatic
* Austronesian
* Khoe–Kwadi
* Kx'a
* Niger–Congo
* Nilo-Saharan?
* Tuu
* Mande?
* Songhay?
* Ijaw?
* Ubangian?
* Kadu?

| Isolates|

* Bangime
* Hadza
* Jalaa
* Sandawe
* Laal?
* Shabo?

|

Europe
and Asia|

* Afroasiatic
* Ainu
* Austroasiatic
* Austronesian
* Chukotko-Kamchatkan
* Dravidian
* Eskimo–Aleut
* Great Andamanese
* Hmong–Mien
* Hurro-Urartian
* Indo-European
* Japonic
* Kartvelian
* Koreanic
* Kra–Dai
* Mongolic
* Nivkh
* Northeast Caucasian
* Northwest Caucasian
* Ongan
* Sino-Tibetan
* Tungusic
* Turkic
* Tyrsenian
* Uralic
* Yeniseian
* Yukaghir
* Digaro?
* Hrusish?
* Kho-Bwa?
* Miju?
* Siangic?

| Isolates|

* Basque
* Burushaski
* Elamite
* Hattic
* Kusunda
* Nihali
* Sumerian

|

New Guinea
and the Pacific|

* Arai–Samaia
* Austronesian
* Binanderean–Goilalan
* Border
* Bulaka River
* Central Solomons
* Chimbu–Wahgi
* Doso–Turumsa
* East Geelvink Bay
* East New Britain
* East Strickland
* Eleman
* Engan
* Fas
* Kaure–Kosare
* Kiwaian
* Kutubuan
* Kwomtari
* Lakes Plain
* Lower Mamberamo
* Lower Sepik
* Madang
* Mairasi
* North Bougainville
* Pauwasi
* Ramu
* Senagi
* Sentani
* Sepik
* Skou
* South Bougainville
* Teberan
* Tor–Kwerba–Nimboran
* Torricelli
* Trans-Fly
* Trans–New Guinea
* Turama–Kikorian
* Upper Yuat
* West Papuan
* Yam
* Yawa
* Yuat
* Northwest Papuan?
* Papuan Gulf?

| Isolates|

* Abinomn
* Abun
* Anêm?
* Ata?
* Kol
* Kuot
* Maybrat
* Mpur
* Porome
* Taiap?
* Pawaia
* Porome
* Sulka?
* Tambora
* Wiru

|

Australia|

* Arnhem/Macro-Gunwinyguan?
* Bunuban
* Darwin Region?
* Eastern Daly
* Eastern Tasmanian
* Garawan
* Iwaidjan
* Jarrakan
* Marrku–Wurrugu?
* Mirndi
* Northern Tasmanian
* Northeastern Tasmanian
* Nyulnyulan
* Pama–Nyungan
* Southern Daly?
* Tangkic
* Wagaydyic
* Western Daly
* Western Tasmanian
* Worrorran
* Yangmanic (incl. Wagiman)?

| Isolates|

* Giimbiyu
* Malak-Malak (Northern Daly?)
* Tiwi

|

North
America|

* Algic
* Alsea
* Caddoan
* Chimakuan
* Chinookan
* Chumashan
* Comecrudan
* Coosan
* Eskimo–Aleut
* Iroquoian
* Kalapuyan
* Keresan
* Maiduan
* Muskogean
* Na-Dene
* Palaihnihan
* Plateau Penutian
* Pomoan
* Salishan
* Shastan
* Siouan
* Tanoan
* Tsimshianic
* Utian
* Uto-Aztecan
* Wakashan
* Wintuan
* Yukian
* Yuman–Cochimí

| Isolates|

* Chimariko
* Esselen
* Haida
* Karuk
* Kutenai
* Seri
* Siuslaw
* Takelma
* Timucua
* Waikuri
* Washo
* Yana
* Yokuts
* Yuchi
* Zuni

|

Mesoamerica|

* Chibchan
* Jicaquean
* Lencan
* Mayan
* Misumalpan
* Mixe–Zoque
* Oto-Manguean
* Tequistlatecan
* Totonacan
* Uto-Aztecan
* Xincan

| Isolates|

* Cuitlatec
* Huave
* Tarascan/Purépecha

|

South
America|

* Andoque–Urequena
* Arauan
* Araucanian
* Arawakan
* Arutani–Sape
* Aymaran
* Barbacoan
* Boran
* Cahuapanan
* Cariban
* Catacaoan
* Chapacuran
* Charruan
* Chibchan
* Choco
* Chonan
* Guaicuruan
* Guajiboan
* Harákmbut–Katukinan
* Jirajaran
* Jivaroan
* Katembri–Taruma
* Mascoian
* Matacoan
* Nadahup
* Nambikwaran
* Otomákoan
* Pano-Tacanan
* Peba–Yaguan
* Quechuan
* Piaroa–Saliban
* Ticuna–Yuri
* Timotean
* Tiniguan
* Tucanoan
* Tupian
* Uru–Chipaya
* Witotoan
* Yanomaman
* Zamucoan
* Zaparoan
* Bora–Witoto languages?
* Chimuan?
* Esmeralda–Yaruro?
* Hibito–Cholón?
* Lule–Vilela?
* Macro-Jê?
* Tequiraca–Canichana?

| Isolates
(extant in 2000)|

* Aikanã?
* Alacalufan
* Camsá
* Candoshi
* Chimane
* Chiquitano
* Cofán?
* Fulniô
* Guató
* Hodï/Joti
* Irantxe?
* Itonama
* Kunza
* Leco
* Maku-Auari of Roraima
* Movima
* Mura-Pirahã
* Nukak?
* Puinave
* Huaorani/Waorani
* Trumai
* Urarina
* Warao
* Yamana
* Yuracaré

|

Sign languages|

* Arab
* BANZSL
* Chinese
* Francosign
* Germanosign
* Indo-Pakistani
* Japanese
* Original Thai
* Swedish
* Tanzanian?

| Isolates|

* See list of sign languages

|

See also|

* Language isolates
* Unclassified languages
* Creoles
* Pidgins
* Mixed languages
* Artificial languages

* Families in italics have no living members.
* Families with more than 30 languages are in bold.

* v
* t
* e

Pre-Columbian North America

Periods
Lithic
Archaic
Formative
Classic
Post-Classic

Archaeological
cultures|

* Adena
* Alachua
* Ancient Beringian
* Ancestral Pueblo (Anasazi)
* Baytown
* Belle Glade
* Buttermilk Creek Complex
* Caborn-Welborn
* Calf Creek
* Caloosahatchee
* Clovis
* Coles Creek
* Comondú
* Deptford
* Folsom
* Fort Ancient
* Fort Walton
* Fremont
* Glacial Kame
* Glades
* Hohokam
* Hopewell
* List of Hopewell sites
* La Jolla
* Las Palmas
* Leon-Jefferson
* Maritime Archaic
* Mississippian
* List of Mississippian sites
* Mogollon
* Monongahela
* Old Cordilleran
* Oneota
* Paleo-Arctic
* Paleo-Indians
* Patayan
* Plano
* Plaquemine
* Poverty Point
* Red Ocher
* Safety Harbor Culture
* Santa Rosa-Swift Creek
* St. Johns
* Steed-Kisker
* Tchefuncte
* Troyville
* Weeden Island

Archaeological
sites|

* Angel Mounds
* Anzick Clovis burial
* Bandelier National Monument
* Bastian
* Benson
* Blue Spring Shelter
* The Bluff Point Stoneworks
* Brewster
* Cahokia
* Candelaria Cave
* Casa Grande
* Chaco Canyon
* Coso Rock Art District
* Crystal River Archaeological State Park
* Cuarenta Casas
* Cueva de la Olla
* Eaker
* El Fin del Mundo
* El Vallecito
* Effigy Mounds National Monument
* Etowah Indian Mounds
* Eva
* Folsom Site
* Fort Ancient
* Fort Center
* Fort Juelson
* Four Mounds
* Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
* Glenwood
* Grimes Point
* Holly Bluff Site
* Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
* Horr's Island
* Huápoca
* Key Marco
* Kimball Village
* Kincaid Mounds
* Kolomoki Mounds
* Lake Jackson Mounds
* L'Anse aux Meadows
* Marksville
* Marmes Rockshelter
* Meadowcroft Rockshelter
* Mesa Verde
* Moaning Cavern
* Moorehead Circle
* Morrison Mounds
* Moundville
* Mummy Cave
* Nodena Site
* Ocmulgee National Monument
* Old Stone Fort
* Orwell Site
* Paquime
* Parkin Park
* Pinson Mounds
* Portsmouth Earthworks
* Poverty Point
* Pueblo Bonito
* Recapture Canyon
* Rock Eagle
* Rock Hawk
* Rosenstock Village Site
* Russell Cave National Monument
* Salmon Ruins
* Serpent Mound
* Sierra de San Francisco
* Spiro Mounds
* SunWatch
* Taos Pueblo
* Toltec Mounds
* Town Creek Indian Mound
* Turkey River Mounds
* Upward Sun River site
* Velda Mound
* West Oak Forest Earthlodge
* Windover
* Winterville
* Wupatki National Monument

Human
remains|

* Anzick-1
* Arlington Springs Man
* Buhl Woman
* Kennewick Man
* La Brea Woman
* Leanderthal Lady
* Melbourne Man
* Minnesota Woman
* Peñon woman
* Spirit Cave mummy
* Vero man

Miscellaneous|

* Aridoamerica
* Black drink
* Ceremonial pipe
* Chunkey
* Clovis point
* Container Revolution
* Eastern Agricultural Complex
* Eden point
* Effigy mound
* Falcon dancer
* Folsom point
* Green Corn Ceremony
* Horned Serpent
* Kiva
* Medicine wheel
* Metallurgy
* Mi'kmaq hieroglyphic writing
* Mound Builders
* N.A.G.P.R.A.
* Norse colonization of North America
* Oasisamerica
* Piasa
* Southeastern Ceremonial Complex
* Stickball
* Three Sisters agriculture
* Thunderbird
* Underwater panther
* Water glyphs

Related
Genetic history
Pre-Columbian era

* v
* t
* e

Indigenous language families and isolates of North America

Language families
and isolates|

* Eskimo–Aleut
* Haida
* Yuki–Wappo
* Chumashan
* Adai
* Beothuk
* Cayuse
* Kutenai
* Timucua
* Waikuri
* Pericú

| Na-Dene|

* Tlingit
* Eyak
* Athabaskan

|

Algic|

* Wiyot
* Yurok
* Algonquian

Mosan ?|

* Salishan
* Wakashan
* Chimakuan

Macro-Siouan ?|

* Siouan
* Caddoan
* Iroquoian
* Yuchi

Penutian ?|

* Chinookan
* Wintuan
* Maiduan
* Yok-Utian
* Yokuts
* Utian
* Tsimshianic

| Plateau ?|

* Klamath
* Molala
* Sahaptian

|

Coast Oregon ?|

* Alsean
* Coosan
* Siuslaw

Takelma–Kalapuyan ?|

* Takelma
* Kalapuyan

Hokan ?|

* Shastan
* Palaihnihan
* Pomoan
* Yuman
* Tequistlatecan
* Chimariko
* Esselen
* Jicaquean
* Karuk
* Salinan
* Seri
* Washo
* Yana

Pueblo
linguistic area|

* Tanoan
* Keres
* Zuni

Coahuiltecan
linguistic area|

* Aranama
* Karankawa
* Maratino
* Naolan
* Quinigua
* Solano
* Tonkawa

| Pakawan ?|

* Coahuilteco
* Cotoname
* Comecrudo
* Garza
* Mamulique

|

Gulf ?|

* Muskogean
* Natchez
* Tunica
* Atakapa
* Chitimacha

Mesoamerican
linguistic area|

* Chibchan
* Jicaquean
* Lencan
* Mayan
* Misumalpan
* Oto-Manguean
* Tequistlatecan
* Totozoquean
* Totonacan
* Mixe–Zoque
* Uto-Aztecan
* Xincan
* Cuitlatec
* Huave
* Purépecha
* Alagüilac ?

Caribbean
linguistic area|

* Arawakan
* Cariban

| Pre-Arawakan|

* Guanahatabey
* Macorix
* Ciguayo

|

Proposed groupings|

* Amerind
* Algonquian–Wakashan
* Aztec–Tanoan
* Macro-Mayan
* Macro-Chibchan
* Tolatecan
* Waroid

Lists|

* Classification
* Extinct languages
* Unclassified languages
* Linguistic areas

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