Tewa Language
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| Language Information | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in | United States |
| Region | New Mexico, Arizona |
| Native Speakers | 1300 |
| Language Family |
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| Language Codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | tew |
The Tewa language is spoken in seven Pueblos in the Southwest United States. There are six Tewa speaking Pueblos in the Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico consisting of Nambe, Ohkay Owingeh, Pojoaque, Santa Clara, San Ildefonso and Tesuque. The Hopi Pueblo of Hano in Arizona also speak a dialect of Tewa that is nearly mutually intelligible. Collectively, there are an estimated 1300 Tewa speakers remaining.
Contents |
Geographic Distribution of Tewa Speaking Pueblos
Language Status
Population of Tewa Speaking Pueblos
| Pueblo | Total Population | Number of Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| Nambe | 558 | 50 |
| Pojoaque | 209 | 25 |
| San Ildefonso | 539 | 349 |
| Ohkay Owingeh | 1438 | 495 |
| Santa Clara | 1057 | 207 |
| Tesuque | 511 | 172 |
Language Decline
There are a number of reasons for the decline of the Tewa language in recent years. Since the acquisition of New Mexico in the mid-nineteenth century, the presence of American settlers created a society where learning English was more beneficial to tribes than it was in the past. Nearly all the Tewa speakers today are bilingual and use English for many social, economic, and governmental situations.[1] The constant use of English in everyday life has put less importance on speaking Tewa to communicate. As a result, many parents are not speaking the language in their home, preventing children from learning Tewa at a young age.
Tewa does not have a universally accepted written form, an issue in preserving the language. This lack of a written form reduces the ways in which the language can be taught, limiting the methods of teaching to lessons which can be listened to. Many Pueblo elders believe that the language should be preserved without a written form, but others believe that a written form increases accessibility to children learning the language
History
The name Tewa is a derivation of “Teguas” the name that the Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate assigned to the indigenous people he encountered in his 1598 exploration into territory north of Mexico. Oñate set up his capital of New Mexico just outside the Tewa pueblo of the Ohkay Owingeh. From this proximity, he and the other Spanish colonists subjected the Tewa people to an extraordinarily harsh rule.[2]
The Pueblo tribes were forced to sign a treaty which allowed Spanish authorities to occupy the Pueblos and claim them as part of the Spanish Empire. Pueblo tribes living under the rule of the Spanish authorities were prohibited from practicing their traditional religion, forced to pay tithes to the Spanish, and required to labor on the colonist’s land estates.[2]
Tewa is more distantly related to Towa (of Jemez) and Tiwa (of Taos, Picuris, Sandia, and Isleta); the three are usually grouped together under the term Tanoan. Tanoan languages are believed to have stemmed from the Uto-Aztekan language.[3]. Today the Tewa speaking Pueblos are all found in Modern day New Mexico and Arizona.
In the past, each Tewa Villiage was divided into two sections, the Winter people, called "Kwädi" and the Summer people, called "Khayêh", each with their own respective tribal government.[4] As the year progressed, the Pueblo would change leadership based upon the seasons. The Summer chief would serve from the vernal equinox to the autumnal, and the Winter chief would serve from the autumnal to the vernal equinox. [5]
Many Tewa speaking pueblos have been deserted or destroyed over the years. the following is a list of Pueblos known to have Pueblo speaker inhabitants: Abechiu, Agawano, Analco,Axol, Camitria, Chipiinuinge, Chipiwi, Chupadero, Cuyamunque, Fejiu, Fesere, Homayo, Houiri, Ihamba, Jacona, Junetre, Kaayu, Keguayo, Kuapooge, Kwengyauinge, Luceros (partially), Navahu, Navawi, Otowi, Perage, Pininicangwi, Pojiuuingge, Pojoagne, Ponyinumba, Ponyipakuen, Poseuingge, Potzuye, Pueblito, Pueblo Quemado, Puye, Sajiuwingge, Sakeyu, Santa Cruz, Sepawi, Shufinne, Teeuinggee, Tejeuingge Ouiping, Tobhipangge, Triapi, Triaque, Troomaxiaquino, Tsankawi, Tsawarii, Tseweige, Tshirege, Yugeningge[5]
Dialects
Each of the six New Mexico Tewa speaking pueblos have a dialect distinct to that Pueblo. The differences are slight and conversing between pueblos in Tewa is not a difficult task.[1]
The Arizona Tewa pueblo of Hano were originally from the Rio Grade Valley in New Mexico, but were pushed westward by The Pueblo Revolt of 1680. Because of this separation from other Tewa speakers, and their new proximity to the Hopi tribes of Arizona, The Hano pueblo developed a dialect built upon Tewa but also influenced by the Hopi langugae. The Arizona Tewa dialect is still very similar to that of New Mexico Pueblos.[6]
Orthography and Pronunciation
Alphabet
The written Tewa language is based upon an English version of the Roman alphabet. Historically, the Tewa language did not have a written form, it was only recently that English characters were applied to Tewa.
Phonology
Tewa speech is excessively nasal and much broken by the glottal stop. Like Chinese, it makes use of "tones." There are 45 distinct "individual sounds"; twelve of these sounds are vowels and may be long or short.[1]
Vowels
Short Vowels
| Letter | Tewa Word | English Translation | Phonene | Similar to [4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | nava | ‘field’ | /a/ | a in father |
| E | the | ‘wagon’ | /e/ | e in mesa |
| I | sí | ‘six’ | /i/ | I in machine |
| O | to | ‘shirt’ | /o/ | o in obey |
| U | sú | ‘arrow’ | /u/ | u in rule |
| Ä | puvä | ‘worm’ | /ae/ | a in cat |
Long Vowels
| Letter | Tewa Word | English Translation | Phonene | Similar to [4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aa | paa | ‘fish’ | /a’/ | aa in aardvark |
| Ay | tay | ‘tree’ | /e’/ | ay in say |
| Ee | dee | ‘chicken’ | /I’/ | ee in see |
| Oe | poe | ‘pumpkin’ | /o’/ | oe in toe |
| Uu | puu | ‘rabbit’ | /u’/ | like u, but longer |
| Ää | dää | ‘taste’ | /ae’/ | like ä, but longer |
Consonants
| Letter | Tewa Word | English Translation | Phonene | Similar to [4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ? | ba?áa | ‘belt’ | /?/ | catch in throat in ‘oh, oh!’ |
| b | bay | ‘apple’ | /b/ | b in boy |
| d | dee | ‘chicken’ | /d/ | d in dog |
| d | head | ‘and’ | /r/ | dd in Eddy |
| G | gimän | ‘we’re going | /g/ | g in go |
| H | hän | ‘tongue’ | /h/ | h in hat |
| K | kay | ‘bear’ | /k/ | k in key |
| M | múu | ‘sack’ | /m/ | m in mouse |
| N | nan | ‘ground’ | /n/ | n in no; also ng in song |
| P | poe | ‘pumpkin’ | /p/ | p in spoke |
| S | sóe | ‘mouth’ | /s/ | s in so |
| T | tay | ‘tree’ | /t/ | t in stay |
| V | nava | ‘field’ | /v/ | v in never |
| W | wáa | ‘egg’ | /w/ | w in water |
| Y | yán | ‘willow’ | **/y/ | y in yes |
| Ch | chä? | ‘money’ | /c/ | ch in change |
| Kh | khóe | ‘arm’ | /x/ | a rough ‘h’ |
| Ph | pho | ‘hole’ | /ø/ | ph in photo |
| Sh | shaa | ‘find’ | /s/ | sh in show |
| Th | thaa | ‘day’ | /Ø/ | th in thing |
| Wh | whän | ‘tail’ | /xw/ | wh in which |
| Ts | tsay | ‘eagle’ | /c/ | ts in cats |
| Kw | kwee | ‘woman’ | /kw/ | qu in queen |
| P´ | p´oe | ‘water’ | /p’/ | p said with a popping |
| T´ | t´o | ‘pinon’ | /t’/ | t said with a popping |
| K´ | k´uu | ‘rock’ | /k’/ | k said with a popping |
| Ch´ | ch´áa | ‘spill’ | /c˘’/ | ch said with popping |
| Ts´ | ts´ay | ‘face’ | /c’/ | ts said with a popping |
| Kw´ | kw´á?aa | ‘beads’ | /k’w/ | kw said with a popping |
| ´ | p´óe | ‘moon’ | /´/ | high tone |
| ˆ | p´ôe | ‘road’ | /ˆ/ | (high to low) |
| ´ | p´oe | ‘water’ | /`/ | low tone (unmarked) |
| , | kaa | ‘lard’ | /,/ | nasalization |
Grammar
Nouns
There are six classes of Tewa words that can be considered nouns.
- The first class of nouns are known as Age-sex nouns. these words are used to refer to people of a certain age group or gender. for example "sen'nn means "a man in his prime" while "'enuke" means a young boy. there is also a method of adding appositive pronouns to designate the number of certain age-sex noun.[1]
- Another class of nouns used to describe animals and animal personalties. Unlike "age-sex" nouns, there are no appositive pronouns to designate numbers. for example, "ke'" means "bear"[1]
- A large class is used to describe vegetal personalities,man-made objects, body-parts, and some mineral objects. [1]
- Another class of nouns is used to denote most mineral objects. For example k'u' means stone [1]
- Adjectival nouns. This class of nouns is made by the coupling of adjectives and nouns.[1]
- Numeral Nouns. This designation of nouns denote number. These nouns are usually used in conjunction with other. for example: [1]
Numerals
| Maapaa (Tewa Numbers)[4] | Numbers (English Translation) |
|---|---|
| Wî? | One |
| Wíyeh | Two |
| Poeyeh | Three |
| Yôenu | Four |
| P´áanú | Five |
| Sí | Six |
| Tséh | Seven |
| Khâaveh | Eight |
| Whäänu | Nine |
| Tä | Ten |
| Tä?diwî? | Eleven |
| Tä?diwíyeh | Twelve |
| Wétä | Twenty |
| Powintä | Thirty |
| Yónäntä | Forty |
| P´ánäntä | Fifty |
| Sígíntä | Sixty |
| Tségíntä | Seventy |
| Khávéntä | Eighty |
| Whägintä | Ninety |
| Tägintä | One hundred |
| Wêe maapaasôn | One thousand |
| Khávén tägintädá Sígíntädi yôenu | Eight hundred sixty-four |
Preservation Efforts
In recent years, the Indigenous Language Institute (ILI) has been working to help preserve languages like Tewa. Founded in 1992, the ILI has been working to help prevent the Tewa language from going extinct through the use of technology and spreading awareness of the dangers of language loss.[7] The ILI has sought to “provide vital language related services to Native communities so that their individual identities, traditional wisdom and values are passed on to future generations in their original languages.” The ILI provides tools and educational workshops to help local Tewa tribes create textbooks, teaching aids, films, digital stories, flyers, brochures, posters, toys, signage, and other materials that can be used by the locals to preserve their language and educate others. Participants in their workshops are also taught to create recordings of the spoken language using state-of-the-art recording stations.[7] These recordings are then paired with the written documents to create audiobooks that will be useful in teaching the sound and pronunciation of the language to the youth.[7]
In 2012, A group of Worcester Polytechnic Institute Students from Worcester, Massachusetts started creating a mobile application that would aid in the preservation and rejuvenation of the Tewa language. Working closely with Indigenous Language Institute and The Pojoaque Pueblo, these students created an application, called TewaTalk. TewaTalk can be used to record native language and store it on a server so others can access these recordings and learn Tewa. TewaTalk is available for download with permission from the web administrator on their team website. You can read more about their project and results in their final report located here
See Also
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Harrington, John P. "A Brief Description of the Tewa Language." American Anthropologist 12.4 (1910): 497-504. JSTOR. Web. 4 Mar. 2012.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jacobs, Sue-Ellen. "Tewa Pueblos." Encyclopedia of World Cultures. 1 Vol. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 1996. 347-350. North America Gale World History In Context; Gale.
- ↑ Hoijer, Harry, and Edward P. Dozier. "The Phonemes of Tewa, Santa Clara Dialect." International Journal of American Linguistics 15.3 (1949): 139-44. Print.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Martinez, Esther. SAN JUAN PUEBLO TÉWA DICTIONARY. Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo: San Juan Pueblo Bilingual Program, 1982. DOC.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Tewa Indian History
- ↑ Harrington, John P. "Tewa Relationship Terms." American Anthropologist, 14.3 (1912): 472-98.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 | Indigenous Language Institute Website
