Nez Perce language

Short description: Sahaptian language of Northwestern USA

Nimipuutímt

niimiipuutímt
Native to| United States
Region| Idaho
Ethnicity| 610 Nez Perce people (2000 census)[1]

Native speakers

| 20 (2007)[2]

Language family

Penutian?

* Plateau Penutian
* Sahaptian
* Nimipuutímt

Dialects|

* Upriver
* Downriver

Language codes
ISO 639-3| `nez`
Glottolog| `nezp1238`[3]
Pre-contact distribution of Plateau Penutian languages

Nez Perce, also spelled Nez Percé or called nimipuutímt (alternatively spelled nimiipuutímt, niimiipuutímt, or niimi'ipuutímt), is a Sahaptian language related to the several dialects of Sahaptin (note the spellings -ian vs. -in). Nez Perce comes from the French phrase nez percé, "pierced nose"; however, Nez Perce, who call themselves nimíipuu, meaning "the people", did not pierce their noses.[4] This misnomer may have occurred as a result of confusion on the part of the French, as it was surrounding tribes who did so.[4]

The Sahaptian sub-family is one of the branches of the Plateau Penutian family (which, in turn, may be related to a larger Penutian grouping). It is spoken by the Nez Perce people of the Northwestern United States.

Nez Perce is a highly endangered language. While sources differ on the exact number of fluent speakers, it is almost definitely under 100. The Nez Perce tribe is endeavoring to reintroduce the language into native usage through a language revitalization program, but (as of 2015) the future of the Nez Perce language is far from assured.[5]

## Contents

* 1 Phonology
* 1.1 Consonants
* 1.2 Vowels
* 1.2.1 Diphthongs
* 1.2.2 Vowel harmony
* 1.2.3 Syllable structure
* 2 Writing system
* 3 Grammar
* 3.1 Documentation History
* 3.2 Case
* 3.3 Verbal morphology
* 3.4 Word order
* 4 In media
* 5 References
* 5.1 Bibliography
* 5.1.1 Vowel harmony
* 6 Language learning materials
* 6.1 Dictionaries and vocabulary
* 6.2 Grammar
* 6.3 Texts and courses
* 7 External links

## Phonology

The phonology of Nez Perce includes vowel harmony (which was mentioned in Noam Chomsky & Morris Halle's The Sound Pattern of English), as well as a complex stress system described by Crook (1999).[6]

### Consonants

Consonant phonemes of Nez Perce[7] | Bilabial  | Alveolar  | Palatal  | Velar  | Uvular  | Glottal

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central | sibilant | lateral | plain | lab. | plain | lab.
Plosive/
Affricate  | plain | p | t | ts |  |  | k | (kʷ)  | q | (qʷ)  | ʔ
ejective | pʼ | tʼ | tsʼ | tɬʼ |  | kʼ | (kʼʷ)  | qʼ | (qʼʷ)  |
Fricative  |  |  | s | ɬ | ( ʃ )  | x |  | χ |  | h
Sonorant  | plain | m | n |  | l | j |  | w |  |  |
glottalized | mʼ | nʼ |  | lʼ | jʼ |  | wʼ |  |  |

The sounds /kʷ kʼʷ qʷ qʼʷ/ and /ʃ/ only occur in the Downriver dialect.[7]

### Vowels

Nez Perce has an average-sized inventory of five vowels, each marked for length. Unusually for a five-vowel system, however, it lacks a mid front vowel /e/, with low front /æ/ in its place. Such an asymmetrical configuration is found in less than five percent of the languages that distinguish exactly five vowels, and among those that do display an asymmetry, the "missing" vowel is overwhelmingly more likely to be a back vowel /u/ or /o/ than front /e/. Indeed, Nez Perce's lack of a mid front vowel within a five-vowel system appears unique, and contrary to basic tendencies toward triangularity in the allocation of vowel space. A potential reason for this peculiarity is discussed in the section on vowel harmony below.

Vowel phonemes of Nez Perce[7] | Front  | Central  | Back

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High  | i iː |  | u uː
Mid  |  |  | o oː
Low  | æ æː ⟨e ee⟩ | a aː |

Stress is marked with an acute accent ⟨á, é, í, ó, ú⟩.

#### Diphthongs

Nez Perce distinguishes seven diphthongs, all with phonemic length:

| Front  | Central  | Back

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|
|

High (level)  | iu̯ iːu̯ |  | ui̯ uːi̯
Mid (rising)  |  |  | oi̯ oːi̯
Low (rising)  | æu̯ æːu̯ æi̯ æːi̯ | au̯ aːu̯ ai̯ aːi̯ |

#### Vowel harmony

Nez Perce displays an extensive system of vowel harmony. Vowel qualities are divided into two opposing sets, "dominant" /i a o/ and "recessive" /i æ u/. The presence of a dominant vowel causes all recessive vowels within the same phonological word to assimilate to their dominant counterpart; hence with the addition of the dominant-marked suffix /-ʔajn/:

Script error: No such module "Interlinear".

With very few exceptions, therefore, phonological words may contain only vowels of the dominant or recessive set. Despite occurring in both sets, /i/ is not neutral; instead, it is either dominant or recessive depending on the morpheme in which it occurs.

This system presents a challenge to common concepts of vowel harmony, since it does not appear to be based on obvious considerations of backness, height, or tongue root position. To account for this, Katherine Nelson (2013)[8] proposes that the two sets be considered as distinct "triangles" of vowel space, each by themselves maximally dispersed, where the dominant set is somewhat retracted (further back) in comparison to the recessive:

Recessive → dominant  | Front  | Central  | Back

|
|
|

High  | i (→ i)  |  | u → o
Low  | æ → a

This dual system would simultaneously explain two apparent phonological aberrances: the absence of a mid front vowel /e/, and the fact that phonemic /i/ can be marked either as dominant or recessive. Since the three vowels of a given set are placed with regard to the other vowels of the same set, the low height of the front vowel /æ/ appears natural (that is, maximally dispersed) against its high counterparts /i u/, as in a three-vowel system such as those of Arabic and Quechua. The high front vowel /i/ meanwhile, is retracted much less in the transition from recessive to dominant - little enough that the distinction does not surface phonemically - and therefore can be placed near to the crux around which the triangle of vowel space is "tilted" by retraction.[8]

#### Syllable structure

The Nez Perce syllable canon is CV(ː)(C)(C)(C)(C). That is, all syllables begin with a single consonant in the onset, followed by a vowel, which may be short or long. Coda sequences may comprise up to four consonants.

There are restrictions to the types of consonants that occur in the coda, both as single segments or in sequences. As a rule, ejective consonants never occur in the coda, and the longer the sequence, the bigger the restriction. The longest coda sequences tend to comprise morphemes. These are summarized in the following table, where ‹C'› represents any ejective consonant.

Conset  | V(ː)  | C1  | C2  | C3  | C4  | Example  | English

|
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|
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|

any consonant | any vowel | all but /k q h Cʼ/  | \-  | téhes

/ˈtæhæs/

| “ice”
all but /ɬ Cʼ/  | all but /k q h Cʼ/  | \-  | tax̣c /taχt͡s/  | “now”
all but /p t k q Cʼ/  | /p t ts q x j/  | /t ts s x/  | \-  | wal̓ac̓áskt /walˀaˈt͡sʼaskt/  | “pony tail”
/p ʔ h x/  | /t ts n j w s/  | /p k s x q/  | /t ts s/  | t̓uxsks /tʼuxsks/  | “I smashed with hand”

## Writing system

Nez Perce alphabet (Colville Confederated Tribes)[9] a | a· | c | c’ | e  | é· | h | i | í· | k  | k’ | l | l’ | ł | ƛ  | m | m’ | n | n’ | o

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ó· | p | p’ | q | q’  | s | t | t’ | u | ú·  | w | w’ | x | x̂ | y  | y’ | ʔ

## Grammar

Nez Perce chiefs

As in many other indigenous languages of the Americas, a Nez Perce verb can have the meaning of an entire sentence in English. This manner of providing a great deal of information in one word is called polysynthesis. Verbal affixes provide information about the person and number of the subject and object, as well as tense and aspect (e.g. whether or not an action has been completed).

Script error: No such module "Interlinear".

Script error: No such module "Interlinear".

### Documentation History

Asa Bowen Smith developed the Nez Perce grammar by adapting the missionary alphabet used in Hawaiian missions, and adding the consonants s and t.[10] In 1840, Asa Bowen Smith wrote the manuscript for the book Grammar of the Language of the Nez Perces Indians Formerly of Oregon, U.S..[11] The grammar of Nez Perce has been described in a grammar (Aoki 1973) and a dictionary (Aoki 1994) with two dissertations.[12][6]

### Case

Nez Perce nouns are marked for grammatical case. Nez Perce employs a three-way case-marking strategy: a transitive subject, a transitive object, and an intransitive subject are each marked differently. It is thus an example of the very rare type of tripartite languages (see morphosyntactic alignment).

Nouns in Nez Perce are marked based on how they relate to the transitivity of the verb. Subjects in a sentence with a transitive verb take the ergative suffix -nim, objects in a sentence with a transitive verb take the accusative suffix -ne, and subjects in sentences with an intransitive verb do not take a suffix.

Ergative  | Accusative  | Intransitive subject

|
|

suffix -nim  | suffix -ne
(here subject to vowel harmony, resulting in surface form -na)  |
Script error: No such module "Interlinear". | Script error: No such module "Interlinear". | Script error: No such module "Interlinear".

### Verbal morphology

The Nez perce verb encodes number (and to a lesser extent person) for one or two arguments, and also has a very rich system suffixal system encoding tense, aspect, polarity and associated motion. In addition, it has a series of hundreds of preverbs encoding instrument, posture and various unusual categories.

In particular, it has one of the richest system of periodic tense among the world's languages, including matutinal, diurnal, vesperal, nocturnal and hivernal,[13] as illustrated in the following examples (examples from Aoki 1994: 751–752, interlinear glosses from Jacques 2023:2-3).

Script error: No such module "Interlinear".

Script error: No such module "Interlinear".

Script error: No such module "Interlinear".

Script error: No such module "Interlinear".

Script error: No such module "Interlinear".

The Nez perce verb has three different ways of expressing simulative 'pretend': a suffix -tay, the combination of the reflexive indexation prefix with the 'by mouth' instrumental preverb, and the simulative -né·wi suffix.[14]

Script error: No such module "Interlinear".

Script error: No such module "Interlinear".

Script error: No such module "Interlinear".

### Word order

The word order in Nez Perce is quite flexible and serves to introduce information on the topic and focus of a sentence.

Verb–subject–object word order Script error: No such module "Interlinear".

Subject–verb–object word order Script error: No such module "Interlinear".

Subject–object–verb word order Script error: No such module "Interlinear".

## In media

The 2010 film Meek's Cutoff features a Cayuse man (played by Rod Rondeaux) who speaks the Downriver dialect of Nez Perce.[15]

## References

1. ↑ Nez Perce language at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
2. ↑ "UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in danger" (in en). http://www.unesco.org/culture/languages-atlas/en/atlasmap/language-id-824.html.
3. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds (2017). "Nez Perce". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/nezp1238.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Facts for Kids: Nez Perce Indians (Nez Perces)". http://www.bigorrin.org/nez_kids.htm.
5. ↑ "Nimi'ipuu Language Teaching and Family Learning". NILI Projects. http://pages.uoregon.edu/nwili/projects.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Crook 1999.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Aoki 1994.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Nelson 2013.
9. ↑ "Phonetic Alphabet". https://www.cct-lan.com/phonetic-alphabet/.
10. ↑ "Nez Perce National Historical Park". https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/nepe/people.html.
11. ↑ Smith & Tingley 1840.
12. ↑ Rude 1985.
13. ↑ Jacques, Guillaume (2023). "Periodic tense markers in the world's languages and their sources.". Folia Linguistica 57 (3): 539–562. doi:10.1515/flin-2023-2013. https://shs.hal.science/halshs-04239547.
14. ↑ Jacques, Guillaume (2023). "Simulative derivations in cross-linguistic perspective and their diachronic sources.". Studies in Language 47 (4): 957–988. doi:10.1075/sl.22054.jac. https://hal.science/hal-04217961.
15. ↑ Rastogi, Nina Shen (April 18, 2011). "What's the Native American Man Saying in "Meek's Cutoff"?". https://slate.com/culture/2011/04/what-s-the-native-american-man-saying-in-meek-s-cutoff.html.

### Bibliography

* Aoki, Haruo (1994). [[[:Template:Google books URL]] Nez Perce Dictionary]. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-09763-6. Template:Google books URL.
* Aoki, Haruo (1973). [[[:Template:Google books URL]] Nez Perce Grammar]. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-02524-0. Template:Google books URL.
* Aoki, Haruo (1979). Nez Perce Texts. University of California publications in linguistics. 90. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-09593-6. https://archive.org/details/rosettaproject_nez_vertxt-1. 2, 3
* Aoki, Haruo; & Whitman, Carmen. (1989). Titwáatit: (Nez Perce Stories). Anchorage: National Bilingual Materials Development Center, University of Alaska. ISBN 0-520-09593-6. (Material originally published in Aoki 1979).
* Aoki, Haruo; & Walker, Deward E. Jr. (1989). Nez Perce oral narratives. University of California publications in linguistics (Vol. 104). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-09593-6.
* Cash Cash, Phillip (2004). "Nez Perce verb morphology". Unpublished Manuscript (Tucson: University of Arizona). http://www.u.arizona.edu/~cashcash/Nez Perce Verb Morphology.pdf.
* Crook, Harold D. (1999). The phonology and morphology of Nez Perce stress (Doctoral dissertation). University of California, Los Angeles.
* The languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1999. ISBN 0-521-23228-7.
* Rude, Noel E. (1985). Studies in Nez Perce grammar and discourse (Doctoral dissertation). University of Oregon.
* Rude, Noel E. (1992). "Word Order and Topicality in Nez Perce". Pragmatics of Word Order Flexibility. Typological Studies in Language. 22. John Benjamins Publishing. pp. 193–208. doi:10.1075/tsl.22.08rud. ISBN 978-90-272-2905-2.
* Nelson, Katherine (June 2013). "The Nez Perce vowel system: A phonetic analysis". Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics 19. doi:10.1121/1.4800241.
* Smith, Asa Bowen; Tingley, Sylvanus (1840). Grammar of the Language of the Nez Perces Indians Formerly of Oregon, U.S.: From the manuscript of Rev. A.B. Smith dated Sept. 28, 1840. Now in archives of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Boston, Mass. Volume 138.. OCLC 39088111.

#### Vowel harmony

* Aoki, Haruo (December 1966). "Nez Perce Vowel Harmony and Proto-Sahaptian Vowels". Language 42 (4): 759–767. doi:10.2307/411831.
* Aoki, Haruo (1968). "Toward a typology of vowel harmony". International Journal of American Linguistics 34 (2): 142–145. doi:10.1086/465006.
* Chomsky, Noam; & Halle, Morris. (1968). Sound pattern of English (pp. 377–378). Studies in language. New York: Harper & Row.
* Hall, Beatrice L.; & Hall, R. M. R. (1980). Nez Perce vowel harmony: An Africanist explanation and some theoretical consequences. In R. M. Vago (Ed.), Issues in vowel harmony (pp. 201–236). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
* Jacobsen, William (1968). "On the prehistory of Nez Perce vowel harmony". Language 44 (4): 819–829. doi:10.2307/411901.
* Kim, Chin (1978). 'Diagonal' vowel harmony?: Some implications for historical phonology. In J. Fisiak (Ed.), Recent developments in historical phonology (pp. 221–236). The Hague: Mouton.
* Lightner, Theodore (1965). "On the description of vowel and consonant harmony". Word 21 (2): 244–250. doi:10.1080/00437956.1965.11435427.
* Rigsby, Bruce (1965). "Continuity and change in Sahaptian vowel systems". International Journal of American Linguistics 31 (4): 306–311. doi:10.1086/464860.
* Rigsby, Bruce (1969). "Nez Perce vowels and proto-Sahaptian vowel harmony". Language 45 (1): 45–59. doi:10.2307/411752.
* Zimmer, Karl (1967). "A note on vowel harmony". International Journal of American Linguistics 33 (2): 166–171. doi:10.1086/464954.
* "More on Nez Perce: On alternative analyses". International Journal of American Linguistics 37 (2): 122–126. 1971. doi:10.1086/465146.

## Language learning materials

### Dictionaries and vocabulary

* Aoki, Haruo. (1994). Nez Perce dictionary. University of California publications in linguistics (Vol. 112). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-09763-7.
* "Nez Perce Literature and vocabulary". Indigenous Peoples' Literature. http://www.indigenouspeople.net/nezperce.htm.
* McBeth, Sue. "Nez Perce-English Dictionary samples". http://www.lib.uidaho.edu/mcbeth/dictionary.htm.
* "Nez Perce-English Vocabulary". Nez Perce National Historical Park. http://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/nepe/NezPerceLanguage.pdf.
* Morvillo, Anthony (1895). A Dictionary of the Numípu Or Nez Perce Language. St. Ignatius' Mission Print, Montana. https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnumi00morv. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
* "Nez Perce Language and the Nez Perce Indian Tribe (Nimipu, Nee-me-poo, Chopunnish, Sahaptin)". native-languages.org. http://www.native-languages.org/nez.htm.

### Grammar

* Aoki, Haruo. (1965). Nez Perce grammar. University of California, Berkeley.
* Aoki, Haruo. (1970). Nez Perce grammar. University of California publications in linguistics (Vol. 62). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-09259-7. (Reprinted 1973, California Library Reprint series).
* Missionary in the Society of Jesus in the Rocky Mountains (1891). A Numipu or Nez-Perce grammar. Desmet, Idaho: Indian Boys' Press. ISBN 9780665175299. https://archive.org/details/cihm_17529. Retrieved 2013-09-21.

### Texts and courses

* "Nimipuutimt Calendar and Nez Perce Tribe Language Program". http://www.nezperce.org/Official/languageprogram.htm.
* Aoki, Haruo. (1979). Nez Perce texts. University of California publications in linguistics (Vol. 90). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-09593-6., 2, 3
* Aoki, Haruo; & Whitman, Carmen. (1989). Titwáatit: (Nez Perce Stories). Anchorage: National Bilingual Materials Development Center, University of Alaska. ISBN 0-520-09593-6. (Material originally published in Aoki 1979).
* "Nez Perce Language Courses" (Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and American Indian Studies Program, University of Idaho). http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~rfrey/NPLang.htm.
* Rockliff, J. A. (1915). "The Life of Jesus Christ from the Four Gospels in the Nez Perce Language". https://archive.org/details/rosettaproject_nez_gen-1.
* "Nez Perce language - Audio Bible stories and lessons". Global Recordings Network. http://globalrecordings.net/en/language/229.
* "Nez Perce Language Courses" (Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and American Indian Studies Program, University of Idaho). http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~rfrey/NPLang.htm.
* "Nez Perce Literature and vocabulary". Indigenous Peoples' Literature. http://www.indigenouspeople.net/nezperce.htm.
* Watters, Mari. (1990). Nez Perce tapes and texts. [5 audio cassettes & 1 booklet]. Moscow, Idaho: Mari Watters Productions, Upward Bound, College of Education, University of Idaho.

## External links

* "Haruo Aoki Papers on the Nez Perce Language". California Language Archive. http://cla.berkeley.edu/collection/4.
* Nez Perce language videos, YouTube
* Phillip Cash Cash website (Nez Perce researcher)
* Nez Perce sounds
* Fox narrative animation (.swf)
* Nez Perce Verb Morphology (.pdf)
* wéeyekweʔnipse 'to sing one's spirit song': Performance and metaphor in Nez Perce spirit-singing (.pdf)
* Tɨmnákni Tímat (Writing from the Heart): Sahaptin Discourse and Text in the Speaker Writing of X̣ílux̣in (.pdf)
* A map of American languages (TITUS project)
* Nez Percé at the Rosetta Project
* OLAC resources in and about the Nez Perce language

Template:Penutian languages

* 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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