Mono language (California)
| Mono | |
|---|---|
| Native to | United States |
| Region | California |
| Ethnicity | Mono and Owens Valley Paiute |
Native speakers | (37 cited 1994)[1] |
Uto-Aztecan
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mnr |
| Glottolog | mono1275 |
| ELP | Mono (United States) |
 | |
 Mono is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Mono (Sierra Nevada, the Mono Basin, and the Owens Valley of central-eastern California. Mono is most closely related to Northern Paiute; these two are classified as the Western group of the Numic branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family.[2][4]
Western Mono
The number of Native speakers in 1994 ranged from 37 to 41. The majority of speakers are from the
Owens Valley Paiute
In the mid-1990s, an estimated 50 people spoke the Owens Valley Paiute language, also known as Eastern Mono.[1] Informal language classes exist and singers keep native language songs alive.[5] Linguist Sydney Lamb studied this language in the 1950s and proposed the name Paviotso, but that was not widely adopted.[10] [11]
Phonemes
Vowels
| front | central | back | |
|---|---|---|---|
High
|
i | ɨ[a] | u |
| Non-High | e | a | o |
- Vowel length is also evenly distributed among the dialects.
Consonants
Below is given the consonant phoneme inventory of Northfork Western Mono and Owens Valley Paiute as presented by Lamb (1958) and Liljeblad & Fowler (1986).
| Bilabial | Coronal | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | lab. | plain | lab. | |||||
| Nasal | m | n |
||||||
| Plosive | p | t |
k | kʷ | q[a] | qʷ | ʔ | |
| Affricate | ts | |||||||
| Fricative | s | x | h | |||||
| Semivowel | j | w | ||||||
- ^ /k/ and /q/ are in semi-complementary distribution: /k/ occurs before /i/ and /e/, /q/ occurs before /o/ and /u/. They contrast only before /a/.
| Bilabial | Coronal | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | lab. | |||||
| Nasal | m | n |
ŋ | ŋʷ | ||
| Plosive | p | t |
k | kʷ | ʔ | |
| Affricate | ts | tʃ | ||||
| Fricative | s | h | ||||
| Semivowel | j | w | ||||
- Geminated sounds of plosives, nasals and fricatives are also evenly distributed.
Suprasegmental
Lamb (1958) also described four
suprasegmental
features that he ascribed phonemic status.
Morphology
Mono is an
agglutinative language, in which words use suffix complexes for a variety of purposes with several morphemes
strung together.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Hinton 1994, p. 30.
- ^ a b "Mono." Survey of California and Other Indian Languages, University of California, Berkeley. 2009-2010 (retrieved 6 May 2010)
- ^ "UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in danger".
- ^ Klein 1959.
- ^ a b Hinton 1994, p. 31.
- ^ Miller 1986, p. 101.
- ^ Kroskrity & Reinhardt 1985.
- ^ Loether 1998.
- ^ Loether 1993.
- ^ Miller 1986, p. 98.
- ^ The Handbook of Indians of California, by A. L. Kroeber (1919) says that the Owens Valley Paiutes Are Northern Paiute or Mono/Bannock.
- ^ Lamb 1958.
- ^ Liljeblad & Fowler 1986, pp. 412–434.
Sources
- ISBN 0-930588-62-2.
- ISBN 978-0-16-004581-3.
- Liljeblad, Sven; Fowler, Catherine (1986). "Owens Valley Paiute". In W. L. d'Azevedo (ed.). Great Basin. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. pp. 412–434.
- Lamb, Sydney M (1958). A Grammar of Mono (PDF) (PhD dissertation). University of California, Berkeley. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 2, 2012.
- Kroskrity, Paul V.; Reinhardt, Gregory A. (Apr 1985). "On Spanish Loans in Western Mono". International Journal of American Linguistics. 51 (2): 231–237. doi:10.1086/465868.
- Loether, Christopher (1998). "Yokuts and Miwok Loan Words in Western Mono". In Hill, Jane H.; Mistry, P. J.; Campbell, Lyle (eds.). The Life of Language: Papers in Linguistics in Honor of William Bright. Walter de Gruyter. .
- Loether, Christopher (1993). "Nɨ-ɨ-mɨna Ahubiya: Western Mono Song Genres". Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology. 15 (1): 48–57. JSTOR 27825506.
- Klein, Sheldon (Oct 1959). "Comparative Mono-Kawaiisu". International Journal of American Linguistics. 25 (4): 233–238. doi:10.1086/464537.
Further reading
- Bethel, Rosalie; Kroskrity, Paul V.; Loether, Christopher; Reinhardt, Gregory A. (1993). A Dictionary of Western Mono. Los Angeles: American Indian Studies Center, University of California.
- Lamb, Sydney M. Monachi dictionary (PDF). Ms., Survey of California and Other Indian Languages. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
- Norris, Evan J. (1986). A Grammar Sketch and Comparative Study of Eastern Mono (PhD dissertation). University of California, San Diego.
Language revitalization
- Onishi, Norimitsu (17 June 2012). "With Casino Revenues, Tribes Push to Preserve Languages, and Cultures". The New York Times. p. 14.
- McCarthy, Charles (2007-10-14). "Learning an almost lost language; The few Mono Indians remaining who speak their tongue are passing it down to children to preserve culture". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
- May, James (2003-07-11). "Defying the Silence, Part 2: A Race Against Time". Indian Country Today. Archived from the original on 2013-12-20. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
External links
- "Mono Language and the Mono Indian Tribe (Monache, Monachi)". Retrieved 2012-07-09.
- Mono language overview at the Survey of California and Other Indian Languages
- Nuumu Yadoha Language Program: Lessons 1 thru 8 CD, Quick Pronunciation Guide: Lessons 9-16 CD, April 2002, retrieved 2012-07-09
- OLAC resources in and about the Mono language
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