Kiliwa language

Kiliwa, alternate Names: Kiliwi, Ko’lew or Quiligua (in Kiliwa: Koléew Ñaja') is a Yuman language spoken in Baja California, in the far northwest of Mexico, by the Kiliwa people.

Kiliwa
Koléew Ñaja, K'olew
Native toMexico
RegionBaja California
EthnicityKiliwa
Native speakers
4 (2018)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3klb
Glottologkili1268[2]

History

The Kiliwa language was extensively studied by Mauricio J. Mixco, who published Kiliwa texts as well as a dictionary and studies of syntax.

As recently as the mid-1900s, Mixco reported that members of the native community universally spoke Kiliwa as their first language, with many Kiliwas also bilingual in Paipai. At the start of the twenty-first century, Kiliwa is still spoken; a 2000 census reported 52 speakers. However, the language is considered to be in danger of extinction.

Kiliwa is a language of the Yuman Family Language Summit, held annually since 2001.[3]

Classification

Kiliwa is the southernmost representative of the Yuman family, and the one that is most distinct from the remaining languages, which constitute Core Yuman. The Kiliwa's neighbors to the south, the Cochimí, spoke a language or a family of languages that was probably closely related to but not within the Yuman family. Consequently, the Kiliwa lie at the historic "center of gravity" for the differentiation of Yuman from Cochimí and of the Yuman branches from each other.

Linguistic prehistorians are not in agreement as to whether the Kiliwa's linguistic ancestors are most likely to have migrated into the Baja California peninsula from the north separately from the ancestors of the Cochimí and the Core Yumans, or whether they became differentiated from those groups in place. The controversial technique of glottochronology suggests that the separation of Kiliwa from Core Yuman may have occurred about 2,000-3,000 years ago.

Phonology

Consonants

Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
plain lab. plain lab.
Nasal m n ɲ
Stop p t k q ʔ
Affricate
Fricative s x h
Rhotic r
Approximant l j w

Intervocalic allophones of /p, t, k, kʷ/ can occur as [β, ð, ɣ, ɣʷ]. An approximant sound such as a /j/ sound after a glottal /h/ can become devoiced as [j̊], as with a devoiced [ʍ] sound being an allophone of /hʷ/.

Vowels

There are three vowel quantities; /i, u, a/, that can also be distinguished with vowel length /iː, uː, aː/. Close vowel sounds /i, u/ can range to mid vowel sounds as [e, o], and with vowel length as [eː, oː]. An epenthetic schwa sound [ə] can occur within root-initial consonant clusters.

Pitch Accents

(1) High level, (2) High-falling level, (3) Low level.[4]

Orthography

Alphabet

The Kiliwa language is written using a modified Roman alphabet, as the language's culture has historically been unwritten and entirely oral. It consists of 15 consonants: / b /, / ch /, / g /, / h/, / j /, / k /, / l /, / m /, / n /, / ñ /, / p /, / s /, / t /, / w /, and / y /. [5]

Alphabet [5]
Letter Phoneme Kiliwa Examples English Translation
b /β/ A bobuín


Ábel

Which?


Where?

ch * /t͡ʃ/ Chiin


Jcheet

Laugh


Steal

g /ɣ/ Mugau


Msig

Flour


One

h ** /h/ Ha’


haa

Mouth


Yes

j /x/ Ja


Nmooj

Water


Short

k /k/ Jak


Kujat

Bone


Blood

l /l/ Lepée


Msiglpaayp

Liver


Six

m /m/ Meyaal


Smak

Tortilla


Leaf

n /n/ Nay


Mpáan

Boy


Sister

ñ /ɲ/ Ñieeg

J ñieel

Black


Lariat

p /p/ Pa


Gap

Stomach


Pain

s /s/ Smaa


‘Kiis

Sleep


Large

t /t/ Tmaa


Mat

Eat


No

w*** /w/ Kuwaa


Sit

y /j/ Yiit


Tay

Seed


Big

' /ʔ/ 'maay


Msí'

Very


Star

* The digraph ⟨ch⟩ represents the affricate /tʃ/.

** The use of letter / h / is only used in certain words such as mouth (boca) – ha’ and yes (si) – ’haa.

***The phoneme / w / is similarly pronounced as “gu."

There are also 5 short and 5 long vowels: / a /, / a: /, / e /, / e: /, / i /, / i: /, / o /, / o: / , / u /, and / u: /. These are represented in the chart below.

Vowels [5]
Vowels Kiliwa Examples English Translation


a


/a/

Ábel


Tay

Where


Big


aa


/a:/

Jaa

Maau


Yaaywaa

To go


Grandma


scorpion


e


/e/

Eñoop


Pelwat


Miy pí jsé

Fight


To return


Quill


ee


/e:/

Eel


Teey


Juwee

Sore


Night


To give


i


/i/

Ipáa


Kaichmaa


Kemelootí

People


Money/metal/iron


ii


/i:/

Yiit


Chíin


Tiinkíil

Seed


Laughter


mockingbird


o


/o/

Kotí p


J silo

Heart


Hole


oo


/o:/

oop


Kekoo

Fight/ To struggle


Woman


u


/u/

Ujaa


Tkuey

Look after/look out for


Goat


uu


/u:/

Uusmaat


Piyauup


Kuu

Sleep


To carry/load


Grandpa (maternal)

Other digraphs used in the Kiliwa language include: gu, hu, ju, ku, and xu. They are shown in the chart below.

Digraphs Phoneme Kiliwa Examples English Translation


gu


/ ɡʷ/ or /ɣʷ/

gu

J kuígu

Rabbit


Hunt


hu


/hʷ/

Phuk’ ii


’Mphuh-mi

Thud


This box/bag

ju


/xʷ/

Juwaa u


Ju sawi

Seat


Clean

ku


/kʷ/

Kujat


Tukuipaay

Blood


Animal

xu


/xʷ/

m-xumay


čxu’paa

Your son


To hurdle

The inclusion of / , / is used as a brief pause, such as that in Spanish.  

Numbers

Numbers in Kiliwa can be expressed up to several thousands without the use of Spanish loanwords. Counting is done using both fingers and toes. There is a resemblance of the Kiliwa word ‘sal’ which is the root for ‘finger/hand’. [6]

Number Kiliwa [5][6][7] English translation
1 Msíg One
2 Juwak Two
3 Jmi’k Three
4 Mnak Four
5 Salchipam Five
6 Msígl paayp Six
7 Juwakl paayp Seven
8 Jmi kl paayp Eight
9 Msíg tkmat Nine
10 Chipam msíg Ten

The following numbers are formed by using the form for the ten's place 'chipam' followed by its multiplier digit (the digits of those listed above from 1-9).

Number Kiliwa [7] English translation
10 chipam msig Ten
20 chipam juwak Twenty
30 chipam jmi’k Thirty
40 chipam mnak Forty
50 chipam salchipam Fifty
60 chipam msigl paayp Sixty
70 chipam juwakl paayb Seventy
80 chipam jmi’kl paayp Eighty
90 chipam msigl tmat Ninety

The hundreds are formed by using the expression ‘chipam msig u’ kun yuu chipam’ followed by the multiplier digits found in that of numbers 1-9.[7]

Number Kiliwa [7] English translation
100 chipam msig u’ kun yuu chipam msig One hundred
200 chipam msig u’ kun yuu chipam juwak Two hundred
300 chipam msig u’ kun yuu chipam jmi’k Three hundred
400 chipam msig u’ kun yuu chipam mnak Four hundred
500 chipam msig u’ kun yuu chipam Salchipam Five hundred
600 chipam msig u’ kun yuu chipam msígl paayp Six hundred
700 chipam msig u’ kun yuu chipam juwakl paayp Seven hundred
800 chipam msig u’ kun yuu chipam jmi kl paayp Eight hundred
900 chipam msig u’ kun yuu chipam msíg tkmat Nine hundred

Lastly, the thousands are formed by using the expression ‘chipam msig u’ kuetet’ before using the multiplier digits once again.[7]

Number Kiliwa [7] English Translation
1,000 chipam msig u’ kuetet msig One thousand
2,000 chipam msíg u’ kuetet juwak Two thousand
3,000 chipam msig u’ kuetet jmi’k Three thousand
4,000 chipam msig u’ kuetet mnak Four thousand
5,000 chipam msig u’ kuetet salchipam Five thousand
6,000 chipam msig u’ kuetet msígl paayp Six thousand
7,000 chipam msig u’ kuetet juwakl paayp Seven thousand
8,000 chipam msig u’ kuetet jmi kl paayp Eight thousand
9,000 chipam msig u’ kuetet msíg tkmat Nine thousand
10,000 chipam msig u’ kuetet chipam msig Ten thousand

Morphology

The morphology in the Kiliwa language consists of many affixes and clitics. More of these are available on the verb rather than the noun. These affixes are usually untouched and added on to a modified root.

Singular and Plurals

In Kiliwa there are multiple ways of pluralizing words. There are several to differentiate it from the singular form. The most common affixes are t, cháu,m, u y si’waa.[5]

Singular Plural Language
This

These

Mít

1.English

2.Kiliwa

Sit

Kuwaa

All of you sit

Kuwaat

1.English

2.Kiliwa

Come!

Kiyee

All of you come

Kitiyee

1.English

2.Kiliwa

Want

Uñieey

We want

Uñieey cháu

1.English

2.Kiliwa

Owl

Ojóo

Owls

Ojóos cháu

1.English

2.Kiliwa

Hill

Weey

Hills

Uweey

1.English

2.Kiliwa

Coyote

Mlti’

Coyotes

Mlti’ si’waa

1.English

2.Kiliwa

Eye

Yuu

Eyes

Yuum

1.English

2.Kiliwa

There are also some instances in which the plural form changes the vowels, for example: Kill! (kiñii); Kill them! (keñoot); Grab! (kiyuu); Grab them! (kiyeewi);  Stand! (ku’um); All of you stand! (ke’ewi).[5]

Adverbs

Used in adjectives or nouns to denote a superlative degree of meaning.[5]

Examples:

Good/better Mgayy ‘maay
Dwarf Nmooj ‘maay
Heavy Mechaa ‘maay
Injured Tgap ‘maay
Horrible J’chool ‘maay

Other adverbs include: Mgaay(better), Mák(here), Paak(there), Psap mí(today), J’choom(yesterday), Kiis i’bem(later), Mat pi’im kún(never) [5]

Examples:

Is better Mgaay gap
She is the best Paa mgaay gap etó
He is better than me Paa mgaay gap ñal ím mat
There is no one here Mák ‘ma’ali umá
Get out of here Mák kpáam
Come here Mák kiyée
There it is Paak kuwáa
The car passed by there Owa’ kose’jin e’ míl pajkaay tómat
Stand right there Paa ku’u’ kiyúu
I can’t today Psáp mí ajáa mat semióo
My mom will come today Psáp mí ñab ñ’oo pujaa
The part is today Eñiaay yiima’ u’ eñiaay mí
It rained alot yesterday J’choom ju’jak ‘maay
My dad left yesterday Ñab s’oot j’choom kupáa tómat
I went to the beach yesterday J’choom ‘ja’ táyel ajaa
I’ll see you later Kiis i’bm maat ‘psáawi
I’ll never visit you Mat pi’im kún mil wáal ajaa mat
Why don’t you ever come? Piyím mat pi’im miyee mat mí o’
Why don’t you ever visit me? Mat pi’im kun piñee mí mat i’

Adjective

-Tay: something of a big/great size for animals and objects or someone obtains a higher power/status due to profession.[5]

Examples:

Someone with a large head ‘iy tay
Someone with a large nose pi’ tay
Big/large  dog ‘tat tay
Attorney Ha’ Kumaag tay
Architect Uwa’ kosay tay
Painter Tukujaay tay

Suffix P is used to signify something of a smaller degree for several adjectives.[5]

Examples:

Wet ‘ja’al
Somewhat wet ‘ja’alp
Dark Teey
Somewhat dark Teeyp
Black Ñieeg
Somewhat black Ñieegp
Skinny Jo’on
Somewhat skinny Jo’onp
Dry S’aay
Somewhat dry S’aayp

Conjunctions

Conjunctions are connect two or more ideas into a single sentence.There are also disjunctive conjunctions to separate two or more mutually exclusive options presented in a sentence.[5]

Examples: /and/ translates to in Kiliwa to é.

Juan and Pedro Juan é Pedro é
Water and salt ‘ja é ‘kuiiy é
Dog and cat ‘tat é nmi’ é
You and I Ma’ap é ñaap
Chair and table Juwáa u’ é ymaa tay u’

Verbs

  • Verbs are more complicated than nouns in Kiliwa language
  • There is more verb prefixes present, and less within suffixes and infixes
  • The prefixes demonstrate more structure within the grammar

Conjugation of the verbs

The conjugation allows us to tell what the action is doing and taking place in the verb [6]

  • Example in Kiliwa: Conjugation of Verb Tmaa (eat)

Past & Present

Example: "I" presented [5]

I eat Ñaap tmaa
You eat Ma p tmamaa
He eats Ñipaa tmaa
We eat Páñaap tmaa
They eat Ñipaat tmaat

Past [6]

I ate Ñaap kuiil tmaa
You ate Ma p kuiil tmamaa
He ate Ñipaa kuiil tmaa
We ate Páñaap kuiil tmaat cháu
They ate Ñipaat kuiil tmaat cháu

Future [5]

I will eat


Ñaap tmaa seti uma

You will eat Ma p tmamaa seti uma
He will eat Ñipaa tmaa seti uma
We will eat Páñaap tmaat cháut seti uma
They will eat Ñipaat tmaat cháut seti uma

Nouns

In the Kiliwa language they are marked by the definite and indefinite [6]


Definite Indefinite
-hi (singular) -si(singular)

Determiner NP

The Kiliwa has 3 degree of distance that appear in the third person pronoun [6]

Examples:

-mi “This” (near speaker)
-paa “That” (near hearer)
-ñaa “That” (far from both)
The demonstrative NP

Kiliwa language is also measured in the independent third-person pronoun in the demonstrative Np [6]

Examples:

Mi-čaw → ‘these;they’ → (near speaker)

paa-čaw → ‘those;they → (near hearer)

ñaa-čaw → “those;they → (far from both)

mi-t čam ‘This/(s)he leaves (it)’

mi-čaw-t čaam-u → ‘These/they leave (it)’

m ʔ-saaw   ‘I see this one/him/her’

mi-čaw=m=xwaq-m ʔ-čam → ‘I leave with these/them’

mi-čaw-l ʔ-saaw    ‘I looked into these one/them’

Gender Markers

When referring to a male human or animal one adds Kumeey [5]

When referring to a female human or animal one adds Kekoo [5]

Axis

Example: kumeey is male and kekoo is female

Dog tat
(Female) dog tat kekoo
(Male) dog Tat kumeey
Cow Jak
(Female) cow Jak Kekoo
Bull Jak Kumeey

Syntax

Kiliwa is a verb-final language that usually follows the order subject-object-verb. Dependent object clause should be found before the verb, whereas relative or adjectival clauses appear following the noun they modify. While behavioral context, negations, auxillaries, etc. can alter the placement of certain aspects, the Object-Verb form remains true in most sentences.

Example of transitive sentence in which the structure is simply object-verb: [6]

This one/he/she eats/ate coyotes.
Kiliwa Subject Object Verb
mit mltiʔčawm pahmaa this one - mit coyotes - mltiʔčawm eats/ate - pahmaa

Sentences with a negation typically contain the object-verb format, however, basic structure would be subject - pre-verb negative - object - verb - final negative. Example: [6]

This man did not shoot that dog
Kiliwa Subject Pre-verb Neg. Object-Verb Final Neg.
kʷumiiymit kʷat ʔthatpaam hqhaa mat This man - kʷumiiymit did not - kʷat shoot (that) dog - ʔthatpaam (that dog) hqhaa (shoot) mat

Toponyms

The following Kiliwa toponyms are from the map given in Mixco (2000:70).

Settlements
  • xaʔ kwpan - Agua Caliente
  • xpiʔ kwnaan - San Isidro
  • mxwaa - Los Coches
  • pnyil - Santo Domingo
  • kwʔiy yuwuʔ - San Quintin
  • xwiym xaʔ - San Felipe
  • ʔipaʔ cʔaa - Tijuana
  • xwa nymat - Mexicali
  • xaʔtay hwatuʔ - Ensenada
  • yuwl ʔmat - Santa Catarina
Natural features
  • kwʔiy yaquʔ - Salinas
  • xyil - Cañón de la Esperanza
  • xyaaw - San Matías Pass
  • kwmsalp - Colnett Point
Mountains
  • ʔmuw wiiy - Cerro Borrego
  • nyaay wiiy - peak just to the south of Cerro Borrego
  • muw waʔ wiiy - Cerro Salvatierra
  • ʔqhaay spkwin - peak just to the south of Cerro Salvatierra
  • mt waay walu wiiy - Picacho de Diablo
  • ʔxaal haq - Sierra de San Pedro Martir
  • kwnyiil wiiy - Cerro Colorado
Bodies of water
  • xaʔ tay - Pacific Ocean
  • cwilu tay - Arroyo Grande
  • ʔmat pcux - San José Creek
  • mswan - San Telmo Creek
  • xmir - San Rafael River
  • xaʔ hyil - Colorado River

References

  1. "Kiliwa language in danger of extinction in Baja California". Veraz Informa (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-05-11.
  2. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Kiliwa". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  3. "Yuman Language Family Summit Home Page". Retrieved 2012-09-22.
  4. Mixco, Mauricio J. (2013). Introduction to the Kiliwa Language. Department of Linguistics, University of Utah.
  5. Estrada Ramírez, Arnulfo. (2007). Diccionario Práctico de la Lengua Kiliwa. ISBN 978-970-54-0026-1. OCLC 615605767.
  6. Mixco, Mauricio J. (2013). Introduction to the Kiliwa Language. Department of Linguistics, University of Utah.
  7. Ulrich, Alexis. "Kiliwa numbers". Of Languages and Numbers. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  • Mixco, Mauricio J.. 1971. Kiliwa Grammar. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Linguistics, University of California, Berkeley.
  • Mixco, Mauricio J.. 1976. "Kiliwa Texts". International Journal of American Linguistics Native American Text Series 1:92-101.
  • Mixco, Mauricio J.. 1977. "The Linguistic Affiliation of the Ñakipa and Yakakwal of Lower California". International Journal of American Linguistics 43:189-200.
  • Mixco, Mauricio J.. 1983. Kiliwa Texts: "When I Have Donned My Crest of Stars" University of Utah Anthropological Papers No. 107. (Myths and legends narrated by Rufino Ochurte and Braulio Espinosa after 1966.). Salt Lake City.
  • Mixco, Mauricio J.. 1985. Kiliwa Dictionary. University of Utah Anthropological Papers No. 109. Salt Lake City.
  • Mixco, Mauricio J.. 1996. Kiliwa de Arroyo León, Baja California. Archivo de Lenguas Indígenas de México No. 18. Mexico City: Colegio de México.
  • Mixco, Mauricio J.. 2000. Kiliwa. Munich, Germany: Lincom.
  • Mixco, Mauricio J.. 2006. "The Indigenous Languages". In The Prehistory of Baja California: Advances in the Archaeology of the Forgotten Peninsula, edited by Don Laylander and Jerry D. Moore, pp. 24–41. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.
  • Moore, Jerry D.. 2006. "The San Quintín-El Rosario Region". In The Prehistory of Baja California: Advances in the Archaeology of the Forgotten Peninsula, edited by Don Laylander and Jerry D. Moore, pp. 179–195. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.
  • Ochoa Zazueta, Jesús Ángel. 1978. Los kiliwa y el mundo se hizo así. Mexico City: Instituto Nacional Indigenista,
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