Konkow (language)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Konkow

Spoken in

USA ( California )
speaker 3 (1994)
Linguistic
classification

Maiduan (Pujunan)

  • Konkow
Language codes
ISO 639 -1

-

ISO 639 -2

-

ISO 639-3

mjd

Konkow (also Concow-Maidu or Northwestern Maidu ; in its own language Koyoom k'awi ) is a language of the Maiduan languages within the Penuti languages . It is or was spoken by the Maidu in Northern California. It is considered seriously endangered because it is only spoken by three elders who learned it as their mother tongue; one of them is deaf. As part of an effort to regain recognition as a federally recognized tribe, an initiative by the descendants of the original tribe and their close families has been launched.

Surname

The word koyoo means "meadow"; the added 'm' creates the adjectival form of the word: Koyoom k'awim Ma'a therefore means something like " meadow-dwelling tribes".

The name "Konkow" was spelled Concow and Konkau on various occasions . The language is also known as Maidu ( Meidoo ), Holólupai, Michopdo, Nákum, Secumne (Sekumne), Tsamak, Yuba and the pejorative "Digger".

Dialects

One source supports the claim that Konkow had at least nine dialects , which are now named after the areas in which they were spoken. These would be Otaki ; Mechupda ; Cherokee ; Eskeni ; Pulga ; Nemsu ; Feather Falls ; Challenge and Bidwell Bar . The remaining dictionaries are, however, of limited size. Also, many family variants could have existed in each dialect group; therefore there never was one Konkow, but with Konkow a phonologically different accent of the language usually defined as Maidu or Mountain Maidu is designated, especially in relation to the accentuation scheme. The few historical data indicate that only four of these dialects were spoken at the end of the 19th century.

Modern Konkow

Since 2002, a dialect perhaps referred to as "Modern Konkow", based on what was commonly referred to as the Cherokee dialect of Konkow, came into limited use by some of the Indigenous Americans of California who had cultural and family ties to the ancient Konkow tribe. This dialect is primarily based on the dialect spoken by Mary Jones, one of the last speakers of Old Konkow. This in turn learned the dialect in the area of Cherokee (California) . Modern Konkow is promoted through a DVD-based course called Twenty-two Lessons in the Koyoongk'awi Language .

Since 2010, Mechupda dialect learning materials have been available in .mp3 format, based on old recordings by Emma Cooper made during the 1940s as part of the war effort . A "Konkow Toddler" app for iPhone , iPad and other iOS devices was also created in July 2012, based on Emma Cooper's recordings .

Study materials for the Konkow language including the 22-lesson course mentioned above have been published on the Konkow Maidu Cultural Preservation Association website.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Tribal History . In: Feather Falls Casino . Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  2. ↑ Northwestern Maidu . Ethnologue (18th ed.). 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  3. ↑ Meridith J. Cooper: Preserving Mechoopda tradition - A young tribe member creates a learning program using old recordings of the native language . In: Chico News & Review , September 30, 2010. Retrieved July 19, 2012. 
  4. ↑ TinkR 'Labs launches Konkow Toddler for iOS devices . In: MacMegasite . July 30, 2012. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved on September 10, 2012.
  5. ^ Konkow Maidu Cultural Preservation Association . Retrieved September 4, 2012.

Web links