Mohawk language

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Mohawk is a Native American language spoken in the United States and Canada. It is part of the Iroquoian family. Mohawk has two major dialects, Akwesasne and Kahnawake; the differences between them are largely phonological (e.g., Akwesasne has /l/ while Kahnawake has /r/).

Contents

1 Phonology

1.1 Consonants
1.2 Vowels

2 Grammar
3 Some phrases (Kahnawake dialect)
4 External links

Phonology

The phoneme inventory is as follows (using Bonvillain's Akwesasne orthography):

Consonants

An interesting feature of Mohawk phonology is that there are no bilabials, except in a few borrowings from French and English, where /m/ and /p/ appear (e.g., májis 'matches' and aplám 'Abraham'); /m/ and /p/ are both late additions to Mohawk phonology and did not occur in pre-Columbian times.

Dental Palatal Velar Glottal
Stop
Affricate
Fricative
Nasal
Liquid/Semivowel w

Consonant clusters in the Akwesasne dialect:

-tt, kt, -ʔt, st, -ht, tk, kk, -ʔk, sk, -hk, -ʔʤ, -hʤ, ts, ks, -ʔs, -ss, -hs, th, kh, sh, -nh, -lh, -wh, -ʔn, sn, -hn, -ʔl, sl, hl, -nl, -ʔj, ʤj, sj, -hj, nj, -lj, -ʔw, sw, -hw.

Those clusters preceded by a hyphen only occur word-medially; the others occur both initially and medially.

Vowels

Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e ə o
Low a

	Front	Central	Back
High	i		u
Mid	e	ə	o
Low		a

i, e, a, and o are oral vowels, while ə and u (IPA /ə̃/ and /ũ/) are nasalized; oral versions of ə and u do not occur in the language.

Grammar

Mohawk expresses a large number of pronominal distinctions: person (1st, 2nd, 3rd), number (singular, dual, plural), gender (masculine, feminine, neuter, indefinite) and inclusivity/exclusivity on the first person dual and plural. Pronominal information is encoded in prefixes on the verbs, rather than given as separate pronoun words; there are two main paradigms of pronominal prefixes: intransitive and transitive.

Some phrases (Kahnawake dialect)

Naho:ten ken:ton'? - What does it mean?
Tiohrhen:sa sata:ti. - Say it in English, Speak in English.
Onkwehonwehneha sata:ti. - Say it in Indian. Speak in Indian.
Sa'nikonhraien:tas ken? - Do you understand?
Seni'nikonraien:tas ken? - Do you (d) understand?
Sewa'nikonhraien:tas ken? - Do you (p) understand?
Iah tewake'nikonhraien:ta's. - I don't understand.
Onhka thi? - Who's that?
Onhka ki? - Who's this?
Ontiaten:ro' ne thi. - That is my friend. (m to m)
Ontiaten:ro' ne ki. - This is my friend. (m)
Ontiatshi ne thi. - That is my friend. (f talking about f)
Ontiatshi ne ki. - This is my friend.(f)
Raterihwaienstha ken? - Is he a student?
Ionterihwaienstha ken? - Is she a student?
Saterihwaienstha ken? - Are you a student?
Ronterihwaienstha ken? - Are they (p,m) student?
Hen. - Yes
To:ka - I don't know.
Iah tewakaterien:tare'. - I don't know. (polite form)
Tanon' onhka ne: nakaonha? - And who is she?
Tanon' onhka ne: ne raonha? - And who is he?
Tanon' onhka ni:se'? - And who are you?
Tanon' onhka ne: ne rononha? - And who are they(p,m)?
Raterihwaienstha ni' ne'e. - He's a student, too.
Ionterihwaienstha ni ne'e. - She's a student, too.
Katerihwaienstha ni ne'e. - I'm a student, too.
Ronterihwaienstha ni ne'e - They (p,m) are students, too.
Ontiatshi ne'e. - She is my friend(f).
Ontiaten:ro' ne'e - He's my friend(m).
Ontiaten:ro' ne ki. - This is my friend(m).
Onkwaten:ro ne'e - They (p,m) are my friends

Hello/Goodbye

Khwe – hi Kwehkwe - hi there

O:nen - bye O:nen ki'wahi - goodbye Ohnen - bye now Vonkiaten:ron - bye my friend OnenO:nen - good bye or see you later Oh niiawenhatie? - what’s happening.... what’s going on?

Thank you/Your Welcome

Nia:wen - thank you Nia:wen Kowa - thank you very much Niawenh ki wahi - thanks a lot Tekwanonwera:tons - welcome Io - you're welcome

Friends

Atenro:sera- friendship Ontiaten:ro or yonkiaten:ron- he/she and I are friends (just dialect differences depending where the speakers from) Onkwatenro'shon:'a- they all and I are friends. Tiaten:ro- you and I are friends.

First/Second Person

I:se - you Akwa:wen - mine

Words/General

Akwe:kon - all Kha:wis - I am carrying Tyorahteken - fisher Iakohsatens – to ride

Tsiktsinenna:wen - butterfly Karonhiake - sky Ohontsa:ke - earth Otkon - spirit Atonhnhetshera - spirit Tsikenon'waristak - dragonfly Sken:nen - peace; serenity. Skennen'ko:wa - great peace Ka'shatsténhshera - power

Family

Ista – mother (pr. Isda) Isten:a – mom (pr. isden:a) Rake:ni - father Rake'niha - dad

Tiakení:teron – wife/husband (when speaking about him/her it works either way). Rakshótha - grandfather (when referring to him). Akshótha - grandmother (when referring to her). Akhso – grandmother (when talking to her). Tóta – can be used in reference to either grandmother/grandfather (slang)

Nature

Tree- O:kwire Birch - Watenake:tarons Cedar - Onen'takwenhten:sera Elm - A'ka:ratsi' Sugar Maple - Wahta Spruce - O'so:ra

Animals

Tsyoka'wehkowa - raven Ori:te' - dove Ori:te Nih wa'a - dove (small) Oskenón:ton - deer E:rhar - dog Atená:ti – elk Tsítsho - fox Akoshá:tens - horse Aióha - mink Tako'skó:wa - mountain lion Otsinò:wen - mouse Tawí:ne - otter Anén:taks - porcupine Tehahonhtané:ken - rabbit Atí:ron - raccoon Otsinowenhkó:wa - rat Aní:tas - skunk - Onón:kote - weasel

Sentences

Skennen ko:wa kenh ontiatenro'shon:a - how are you my friends? Konnoronhkwa - I love you (I show you I care)

-Tree- "The best chief is not the one who persuades people to his point of view. It is instead the one in whose presence most people find it easiest to arrive at the truth". –Mohawk-

Onkwehonwehneha – (the) native way

Names

Ko:r - for the name Paul Arisawe - for the name Elizabeth

We don’t have a word for just I’m or I am... because it is already apart of the verb itself
T’s are most of the time are pronounced as D’s
K’s are most of the time are pronounced as G’s

External links

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