Muskogean languages


Muskogean is a language family spoken in the Southeastern United States. Members of the family are Indigenous languages of the Americas. Typologically, Muskogean languages are highly synthetic and agglutinative. One documented language, Apalachee, is no longer spoken, and the remaining languages are critically endangered.

Genetic relationships

Family division

The Muskogean family consists of Alabama, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee, Koasati, Apalachee, and Hitchiti-Mikasuki. Hitchiti is generally considered a dialect of Mikasuki. "Seminole" is sometimes used for a dialect of Muscogee spoken in Oklahoma.
The major subdivisions of the family have long been controversial, but the following lower-level groups are universally accepted: Choctaw–Chickasaw, Alabama–Koasati, Hitchiti–Mikasuki, and Muscogee. Apalachee is no longer spoken; its precise relationship to the other languages is uncertain, but Mary Haas and Pamela Munro both classify it with the Alabama–Koasati group.

Haas's classification

For connections among these groupings, one influential classification is that of Mary Haas and Karen Booker, in which "Western Muskogean" is seen as one major branch, and "Eastern Muskogean" as another. Within Eastern Muskogean, Alabama-Koasati and Hitchiti-Mikasuki are generally thought to be more closely related to each other than to Muscogee. That classification is reflected in the list below:
  • Muskogean
  • * Western Muskogean
  • ** Chickasaw
  • ** Choctaw
  • * Eastern Muskogean
  • ** Muscogee
  • ** Hitchiti-Mikasuki
  • ** Apalachee–Alabama–Koasati
  • *** Apalachee
  • *** Alabama
  • *** '''Koasati'''

    Munro's classification

A different classification has been proposed by Pamela Munro. In her classification, the languages are divided into a "Southern Muskogean" branch and a "Northern Muskogean" one. Southern Muskogean is then subdivided into Hitchiti-Mikasuki and a "Southwestern Muskogean" branch containing Alabama-Koasati and "Western Muskogean". The classification is reflected in the list below:
  • Muskogean
  • * Northern Muskogean
  • ** Muscogee
  • * Southern Muskogean
  • ** Hitchiti-Mikasuki
  • ** Southwestern Muskogean
  • *** Apalachee
  • *** Alabama–Koasati
  • **** Alabama
  • **** Koasati
  • *** Western Muskogean
  • **** Chickasaw
  • **** '''Choctaw'''

    Broader relationships

Possible Muskogean languages

Several sparsely attested languages have been claimed to be Muskogean languages. George Broadwell suggested that the languages of the Yamasee and Guale were Muskogean. However, William Sturtevant argued that the "Yamasee" and "Guale" data were Muscogee and that the language spoken by the Yamasee and Guale people remain unknown. It is possible that the Yamasee were an amalgamation of several different ethnic groups and did not speak a single language. Chester B. DePratter describes the Yamasee as consisting mainly of speakers of Hitchiti and Guale. The historian Steven Oatis also describes the Yamasee as an ethnically mixed group that included people from Muskogean-speaking regions, such as the early colonial-era native towns of Hitchiti, Coweta, and Cussita.
The Amacano, Chacato, Chine, Pacara, and Pensacola people, who lived along the Gulf Coast of Florida from the Big Bend Coast to Pensacola Bay, are reported to have spoken the same Muskogean language, which may have been closely related to Choctaw.
Sparse evidence indicates that a Muskogean language was spoken by at least some of the people of the paramount chiefdom of Cofitachequi in northeastern South Carolina. If so, that would be the most eastern outpost of Muskogean. The people of Cofitichequi were probably absorbed by nearby Siouan and Iroquoian speakers in the late 17th century.
A vocabulary of the Houma may be another underdocumented Western Muskogean language or a version of Mobilian Jargon, a pidgin based on Western Muskogean.

Gulf

The best-known connection proposed between Muskogean and other languages is Mary Haas' Gulf hypothesis, in which she conceived of a macrofamily comprising Muskogean and a number of language isolates of the southeastern US: Atakapa, Chitimacha, Tunica, and Natchez. While well-known, the Gulf grouping is now generally rejected by historical linguists. Some Muskogean scholars continue to assert that Muskogean is related to Natchez.

Features

Nouns

Nouns in Muskogean languages may take prefixes indicating the person and number of a possessor. Noun phrases may be marked for grammatical case, with a distinction between subjects and nonsubjects. Some Muskogean languages have affixes indicating plural nouns or groups.

Verbs

Muskogean verbs are highly synthetic, with affixes for tense, aspect, person, number, direction, and mood. While case marking is nominative–accusative, person marking is active–stative, with separate series of agent, patient, and indirect object person markers.
Verbs have a complex system of ablaut indicating aspect. In Muskogean linguistics, the different forms are known as "grades" or "themes".
All the languages make use of suppletive verbs indicating the number of the subject in an intransitive verb or the number of the direct object in a transitive verb.
Innately-numbered verbal stems, Mikasuki:

Vocabulary

Below is a list of basic vocabulary in five Muskogean languages from Broadwell :
glossChickasawChoctawAlabamaMikasukiMuscogee
allmõmamõmaóyhamaamos-omalka
asheshottokhitokchobihistotolhambiiisso
bellyittakoba'iffokaikfilampinalhki
bigishtochitocobacoob-lhakkii
birdfoshi'hoshifoosifoosifoswa
bitekisilikopoolikachalhlhikabalikciakkita
blacklosalosalocaloocilasti
bloodissishissishlhakhanipicikcicaati
bonefoni'fonicokfoni-fooniiffoni
breastip shikip shikpisiowaacihokpi
burnlowalowahlibatliyill-noklhita
clawiyyakchoshiyyakchoshiyyaksiiiyakoosiilinkososwa
cloudhoshontihoshõtionoolicihosotiaholocii
coldkapassakapassakasatkakapaalikasappi
comemintim tiilaont-atita
dieilliilliilliil-ilita
dogofi'ofiifaiifiifa
drinkishkoishkoiskoisk-iskita
dryshilashilasolotkasokook-kalhpii
earhaksibishaksobishhakcohacoobihakco
earthyakni'yakniihaaniyakniiikana
eatimpapaipaimp-hompita
eggakankoshi'akãkoshiakaakocóòsionaasicostaki
eyeishkinnishkinittilhiititolhwa
fat nihabilanitokciniihinihaa
firelowaklowaktikbaiititootka
fishnani'nanilhalholhaalhilhalho
fly, towakaahikawakaykayakaal-tamkita
footiyyi'iyyiiyyiiyiili
fullkayyakayyakayyalabaknifackita
giveimaimainkaiik-imita
goodchokmaachokmakanohiilhih lhi
greenokchamaliokchamaaliokcakkohonotbitalakcilaani
hairpãshi'/hishi'pãshi/hishihissitokisiissi
handilbakibbakilbiilbiinki
headishkobo'noshkoboisbakkoyoosiika
hearhánglohaklohaalohakl-pohita
heartchõkashchõkashconoskaconosbifiiki
hornlapishlapishlapihcilap-iyapi
Iano'anoanaaaniani
killabiabiibiill ciliicita
kneeiyyinto'lhka'iyyi kalaahaittôlhpatolhpitolhkowa
knowithánaikhanasobayliataalhkilhlhita
lie down, totí'watalaayabaláàlitalaalwakkita
liversalakhasalakhaillopilopilopi
longfalaafalaayabaskibackicapki
louseissapissapichahicahciicka
manhattak nakni'hattak nakninaaninaknihonanwa
manylawalawalawaaconkisolkii
meat nipi'nipinipoakniapiswa
mountainonchabahabikbokkoscaahaiikanhalwii
mouthitiitialbiicokhalbiicicokwa
nameholhchifohohchifoholcifahocilkihocifka
necknokhistapikkõlanokbinokbinokwa
newhimittahimmonahahpahimacimocasi
nightoklhili'ninaktankaniilhakinilhii
noseibichchala'ibishakniibisaaniibiyopoo
notki'yokiiyománkomaatimonks
onechaffaachaffacaffaakalhaaminhamkin
person hattakhattakaatiyaatiisti
rainombaõbaoybaokoob-oskita
redhommahommahommakitiscicaati
road hina'hinahinihininini
roothaksishhakshishassikciaskiyalomka
roundlhiboktakalaahabonotkapolockipolooki
sayaachiaachimankakaacmaakita
sandshinokshinoksancosamoocioktaaha
seep sap sahichahicahicita
seednihi'nihihilhikciyiilhinilhka
sitbínni'libiniilicokóòlicokool-leykita
skinhakshophakshopaffakcihalbihalhpi
sleepnosinosinocinooc-nocita
smalliskanno'siosicinoofawink-cotki
smokeshobohlishobohlisobotliockociikkoci
standhíkki'yahikiiyalokóòlilokookahoylhita
starfoshikfichikhociilhiowaacikikocacampa
stonetali'talitalitalicato
sunhashi'hashihasihaasihasi
swimyopiokshiniilioohapkaopahk-omeyyita
tailhasimbishhas bishacihaacihaci
thatyammamaakkimama
thisyappapayayaya
thouishno'chishnoisnacihn-ciimi
tongueisõlashittõlasicoolaksicokolaasitolaaswa
toothnoti'notiinnati-nootinoti
treeitti'ittiittoahiito
twotoklotoklotôklotoklanhokkoolin
walknõwanowaciyahlicayahlyakapita
warm lashpalashpaikbahãyyihayyita
wateroka'okaokiookioywa
weposhno'pishnoposnapohnipoomi
whatnantanatahnáàsinaakinaaki
whitetohbitohbihatkahatkihatki
whokatakatahnáksinoolh-isteyma
womanihooohooyotayyitaykihoktii
yellowlaknalaknalaanalaknilaanii