Iroquoian Language Family

Introduction

Iroquoian

It is believed that the Iroquoian languages descended from a common ancestor called Proto-Iroquoian. In 1534, Jacques Cartier, a French explorer, encountered Iroquoian-speaking people at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. The name Canada comes from the Iroquois word kana:ta', "settlement."

Status
Today, the Iroquoian languages cling to life. The only language with a viable population is Cherokee. Except for Cherokee, speakers of the other Iroquoian languages are mostly older adults. A number of the languages have already become extinct. Among them are Erie, Huron, Meherrin, Nottoway, Susquehannock, and Wyandot. The surviving languages are listed below.

Cayuga	50-70	Ontario
Cherokee (Tsalagi)	15,000-22,500	North Carolina, Oklahoma
Mohawk	3,350	Quebec, Ontario, New York
Oneida	250	Ontario, Wisconsin
Onondaga	65-115	Ontario, New York
Seneca	175	New York, Canada
Tuscarora	11-13	New York
Total	26,473

Click here to find out about the teaching and preservation of indigenous languages in the U.S.

Structure

Sound System

The sound systems of the Iroquoian languages have several features in common:

They tend to lack bilabial and labio-dental consonants /p/, /b/, /f/, /v/.
They have nasal vowels.
They have a complex system of pitch and stress.

Click here to listen to a recording of Cayuga.
Click here to listen to a recording of Seneca.

Grammar

Grammar

Noun phrase
Nouns in most Iroquoian languages usually begin with a prefix indicating gender and number (if animate). For instance, in Mohawk, in the word o'ta:ra', "clay" the prefix o- indicates neuter; in raksa:'a, "boy" the prefix ra- indicates masculine singular; in e-ksa:'a, "girl" the prefix e- indicates feminine singular.

Pronouns
The pronominal system of Iroquoian languages has some interesting features. For instance, in Mohawk, there are two pronouns corresponding to the English we. The inclusive pronoun includes the listener, meaning "you and I", whereas the exclusive pronoun excludes the listener, meaning "they and I." Pronouns have a dual form when referring to two persons, and a plural form when referring to three or more persons.

There are two sets of possessive pronouns. One set is used with inalienable possessions (those that cannot be acquired, given away, or lost), such as body parts. The other set is used with alienable possessions such as objects that can be acquired, given away, or lost.

Verb phrase
Words in Iroquoian languages can be very long because they consist of many meaningful parts. These words correspond to whole sentences in a language such as English. Because all verbs contain pronominal prefixes (ra-, "he"; io-, "it"; honwati-, "she/them"), they may stand alone as full sentences. Since they may contain many meaningful elements, verbs can express complex ideas that in English would take a whole sentence to express. For instance, the Mohawk word entsakwanenhstaron:ko' is a verb. It means "We will take the corn back off the cob." In this word, the pronoun akwa "exclusive plural we," the noun stem nenhst "corn" and verb stem ron "put" are strung together along with grammatical prefixes and suffixes indicating tense and aspect. The noun nenhst "corn" which would have been a direct object in English is incorporated into the verb phrase.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary

Take a look at some basic words in five Iroquoian languages.

Do you see any similarities between and among them?
Which language appears to differ most from the others?
Which languages appear to be closest to each other?

	1	2	3	4	5	man	woman	sun	moon	water
Cherokee	saquui	ta?li	tso:i	nu:gi	hi:sgi	Asgaya	Agehya	Nvda	Nvda	Ama
Seneca	Ska:t	Tekhni:h	Sëh	Ke:ih	Wis	Hökwe	Yakökwe	Kä:hkwa:'	E:ni'ta:'	O:ne:ka'
Cayuga	Sga:t	Dekni:	Ahsenh	Gei:	Hwihs	Ho:nhgweh	Ago:nhgweh	Ga:gwa:'	Enhni'da:'	Ohneganohs
Mohawk	Enhskat	Tekeni	Ahsen	Kayeri	Wisk	Ronkwe	Yakonkwe	Karahkwa	Ehnita	Ohneka
Oneida	óskah	tékni	áhse	kayé	wisk	Lukwé	Yakukwé	--	Ohni:ta'	Ohne:kánus

Writing

Writing systems
Cherokee is the only Iroquoian language with a writing system developed especially for it. All other Iroquoian languages are written with adapted versions of the Roman alphabet developed by missionaries. Learn more about it from the Cherokee page on this website.

Cherokee Text

Resources

Iroquoian Resources
Encyclopedia of North American Indians - Iroquoian Languages
Wikipedia - Iroquoian Languages
Yamada Language Center guide for Iroquois
Native Languages of the Americas: Iroquoian Language Family
Open Directory Project - Iroquoian Languages
Reference.com - Iroquoian Languages
Iroquoian (Rotinonhson:ni) Languages

Click here to learn about Cherokee on this website.