Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Alsean languages
The Alsean (also Yakonan) language family consists of two closely related languages that were spoken along the central Oregon coast.
Both of these languages are now extinct.
Many consider Alsea and Yaquina to be dialects of one language. Others consider them to be two different languages (that are related). There may be a distant relationship between the Alsean languages, Siuslaw, and the Coosan languages. They may also be related the Wintuan languages. Linguistic research is being carried out to determine if any of these relationships are valid—this research also is a part of a larger Penutian super-family hypothesis.
Alsea was last recorded in 1942 from the last speaker, John Albert, by J. P. Harrington.
Yaquina was last recorded in 1884 by James Owen Dorsey.
Sounds
Alsean languages have both oral and nasal vowels.
The 34 consonants of the Alsean languages:
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | ||||||
| central | lateral | plain | labial | plain | labial | plain | labial | ||||
| Stop | plain | t | k | kʷ | q | qʷ | |||||
| ejective | p’ | t’ | k’ | k’ʷ | q’ | q’ʷ | ʔ | ||||
| Affricate | plain | ʦ | |||||||||
| ejective | ʦ’ | tɬ’ | |||||||||
| Nasal | plain | m | n | ||||||||
| glottalized | m’ | n’ | |||||||||
| Fricative | s | ɬ | ç | x | xʷ | χ | χʷ | h | (hʷ) | ||
| Approximant | plain | l | j | w | |||||||
| glottalized | l’ | j’ | w’ | ||||||||
- The status of /hʷ/ is uncertain.
- /s/ is actually between alveolar and post-alveolar.
Bibliography
- Mithun, Marianne. (1999). The languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23228-7 (hbk); ISBN 0-521-29875-X.
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