Kirikirʔis
Wichita
Caddoan (Northern Caddoan)
Wichita is a Northern Caddoan language of Oklahoma famous for lacking a bilabial stop /p/ entirely — a typologically extreme rarity worldwide. Its polysynthetic verbs can express whole sentences in a single word, and a glottal stop ʔ and long vowels are phonemically contrastive.
Where it is spoken
87 core words in Wichita
Sources
- Rood, David S. (1976) Wichita Grammar. New York: Garland.
- Rood, David S. (1975) The Implications of Wichita Phonology. Language 51(2):315-337.
- Glottolog: Wichita
Words compared
Compared with languages in the same classification: Caddoan (Northern Caddoan)
| Meaning | Wichita | Proto-Mayan | Proto-Uto-Aztecan | Rumai De'ang | Nuxalk | Proto-Austroasiatic | Proto-Vietic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | kicʔa /kitsʔa/ | *haʔ /haʔ/ | *paʔ /paʔ/ | Ɂəm /ʔəm/ | qla /qla/ | *ɗaːk /ɗaːk/ | *ɗaːk /ɗaːk/ |
| Fire | heːcʔa /heːtsʔa/ | *qʼaaqʼ /qʼaaqʼ/ | *na- /na/ | ŋaiɁ /ŋaiʔ/ | niiχʷ /niːχʷ/ | *ʔuːs /ʔuːs/ | *-laːs /-laːs/ |
| Sun | saːkhirʔa /saːkʰiɾʔa/ | *qʼiinh /qʼiinh/ | *ta /ta/ | saŋaj /saŋaj/ | snχ /snχ/ | *tŋiːʔ /tŋiːʔ/ | — /—/ |
| Moon | waːh /waːh/ | *uːh /uːh/ | *mɨca /mɨca/ | pakjəː /pakjəː/ | ƛ̓ukʼ /tɬʼukʼ/ | *khe(ː)ʔ /kheːʔ/ | *b-laŋ /b-laŋ/ |
| Star | hiːkwirikʔa /hiːkʷiɾikʔa/ | *eʼq /eʼq/ | — /—/ | laːw /laːw/ | mixmikʼł /mixmikʼɬ/ | *smʔaɲ /smʔaɲ/ | *k-raːw /k-raːw/ |
| Night | ckhaːrʔa /tskʰaːɾʔa/ | *aqʼabʼ /aqʼaɓ/ | *tuku /tuku/ | kasəm /kasəm/ | ʔnƛ̓ /ʔntɬʼ/ | *cəːm /cəːm/ | *teːm /teːm/ |
| Snow | hiraːʔa /hiɾaːʔa/ | — | — | — | pqʼʷ /pqʷʼ/ | — | — |
| Wind | niweʔeːrʔa /niweʔeːɾʔa/ | *ʔiʔqʼ /ʔiʔqʼ/ | *hɨka /hɨka/ | khuː /kʰuː/ | — | *kjɔʔ /kjɔʔ/ | — |
| Mother | eciyeːh /etsijeːh/ | *naʔ /naʔ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | stan /stan/ | *maʔ /maʔ/ | *meːʔ /meːʔ/ |
| Father | taːtah /taːtah/ | *taat /taat/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | man /man/ | *ɓa(ː)ʔ /ɓaːʔ/ | *bɔːʔ /bɔːʔ/ |
| I | nacʔih /natsʔih/ | *in /in/ | *nɨ /nɨ/ | Ɂaw /ʔaw/ | ʔnc /ʔnts/ | *ʔaɲ /ʔaɲ/ | *soː /soː/ |
| You | nasʔih /nasʔih/ | *ʔat /ʔat/ | *ʔɨ /ʔɨ/ | maj /maj/ | ʔinu /ʔinu/ | *miːʔ /miːʔ/ | *miː /miː/ |
| We | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | łmił /ɬmiɬ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Name | hissaːrʔa /hissaːɾʔa/ | *bʼih /bʼih/ | *tewa /tewa/ | ʨɨː /tɕɨː/ | skʷacta /skʷatsta/ | *ɟmuh /ɟmuh/ | — /—/ |
| Person | ihaas /ihaas/ | *winaq /winaq/ | — | taɁiː /taʔiː/ | ƛ̓msta /tɬʼmsta/ | *m-raʔ /mraʔ/ | *ŋaːj /ŋaːj/ |
| Eye | kirikʔa /kiɾikʔa/ | *Haty /hatʲ/ | *pusi /pusi/ | ŋaːj /ŋaːj/ | qluqʼs /qluqʼs/ | *mat /mat/ | *mat /mat/ |
| Tooth | aːkʔa /aːkʔa/ | *ʔeeh /ʔeːh/ | *tama /tama/ | xaːŋ /xaːŋ/ | ʔica /ʔitsa/ | *lmVɲ /lməɲ/ | *k-saŋ /k-saŋ/ |
| Tongue | hacʼa /hatsʔa/ | *aaqʼ /aːqʼ/ | *nene /nene/ | sataɁ /sataʔ/ | tica /titsa/ | *lntaːk /lntaːk/ | *laːs /laːs/ |
| Hand | iskʔa /iskʔa/ | *qʼabʼ /qʼabʼ/ | *maʔ /maʔ/ | taiɁ /taiʔ/ | suxa /suxa/ | *tiːʔ /tiːʔ/ | *siː /siː/ |
| Foot | asʔa /asʔa/ | *ʔooq /ʔoːq/ | *tala /tala/ | ʥɔːn /dʑɔːn/ | ʼixa /ʔixa/ | *ɟəːŋ /ɟəːŋ/ | *ciɲ /ciɲ/ |
| Heart | sikicʔa /sikitsʔa/ | — /—/ | *sula /sula/ | poŋkanɔh /poŋkanɔh/ | skcułk /sktsuɬk/ | *nuːɕ /nuːɕ/ | — /—/ |
| Bone | kiːsʔa /kiːsʔa/ | *bʼaaq /ɓaːq/ | *ohomï-ta /ohomɨta/ | kaɁaːŋ /kaʔaːŋ/ | cap /tsap/ | *cʔaːŋ /cʔaːŋ/ | *ɟaːŋ /ɟaːŋ/ |
| Blood | waːckicʔa /waːtskitsʔa/ | *kikʼ /kikʼ/ | *ɨtwa /ɨtwa/ | n̥aːm /n̥aːm/ | six /six/ | *mham /mham/ | *t-muːʔ /t-muːʔ/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | tiyaːhkw /tijaːhkʷ/ | *teʔ /teʔ/ | *kut /kut/ | taŋhɔj /taŋhɔj/ | stn /stn/ | *ɟɕɨːʔ /ɟɕɨːʔ/ | *gəl /gəl/ |
| Dog | kiciyeːh /kitsijeːh/ | *tzʼiʔ /tzʼiʔ/ | — /—/ | sow /sow/ | wacʼ /watsʼ/ | *cɔː /cɔː/ | *ʔa-cɔːʔ /ʔa-cɔːʔ/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Fish | kaːcʔa /kaːtsʔa/ | *kar /kar/ | *paki /paki/ | kaː /kaː/ | smłk /smɬk/ | *kaʔ /kaʔ/ | *ʔa-kaːʔ /ʔa-kaːʔ/ |
| Bird | ichir /itsʰiɾ/ | *tzʼikin /tzʼikin/ | — | siːm /siːm/ | ciccipii /tsitstsipiː/ | *ciːm /ciːm/ | *ciːm /ciːm/ |
| Egg | nikwiːkʔa /nikʷiːkʔa/ | — | — | bəːn /bəːn/ | qpʼa /qpʼa/ | *ktam /ktam/ | *k-ləːŋʔ /k-ləːŋʔ/ |
| House | akhaːrʔa /akʰaːɾʔa/ | *nah /nah/ | *ki /ki/ | — /—/ | suł /suɬ/ | *ɲaːʔ /ɲaːʔ/ | *ɲaː /ɲaː/ |
| Eat | kaʔac /kaʔats/ | *waʔ /waʔ/ | *kwaʔa /kwaʔa/ | hoːm /hoːm/ | ʔałps /ʔaɬps/ | *ɟaː /ɟaː/ | *ʔan /ʔan/ |
| Drink | kikʔa /kikʔa/ | *ʔukʼ /ʔukʼ/ | *hiʔpa /hiʔpa/ | ʨoŋ /tɕoŋ/ | qaaχla /qaːχla/ | *ɲuʔ /ɲuʔ/ | *ʔɔːŋʔ /ʔɔːŋʔ/ |
| One | chiʔass /tsʰiʔass/ | *jun /jun/ | *sɨmɨ /sɨmɨ/ | Ɂuː /ʔuː/ | maw /maw/ | *muːj /muːj/ | *moːc /moːc/ |
| Two | wic /wits/ | *kaʼ /kaʼ/ | *wo /wo/ | Ɂaː /ʔaː/ | łnuus /ɬnuːs/ | *ɓaːr /ɓaːr/ | *haːr /haːr/ |
| Three | taw /taw/ | *ʼoxibʼ /ʔoʃiɓ/ | *pahi /pahi/ | Ɂoj /ʔoj/ | ʔasmuus /ʔasmuːs/ | *peʔ /peʔ/ | *paː /paː/ |
| Four | taːkwic /taːkʷits/ | *kaŋibʼ /kaŋiɓ/ | — | phon /pʰon/ | muus /muːs/ | *punʔ /punʔ/ | *poːnʔ /poːnʔ/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | acs /atss/ | *utz /utz/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | ya /ja/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Red | kwhaːc /kʷʰaːts/ | *kaq /kaq/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | mukʷ /mukʷ/ | *roːŋ /roːŋ/ | *tɔh /tɔh/ |
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