Mutsun language
Mutsun is a Utian language spoken in Northern California. It was the primary language of a division of the Ohlone people living in the Mission San Juan Bautista area. It initially went extinct in 1930 when the last speaker died, Ascencion Solórzano de Cervantes. The Tamien Nation and band is currently working to restore the use of the language, using a modern alphabet.
Studies of the language
Maria Ascención Solórsano de Garcia y de Cervantes, the last known fluent speaker of Mutsun, amassed large amounts of language and cultural data specific to the Mutsun. The Spanish Franciscan missionary and linguist Felipe Arroyo de la Cuesta wrote extensively about the language's grammar, and linguist John Peabody Harrington made very extensive notes on the language from Solórsano. Harrington's field notes formed the basis of the grammar of Mutsun written by Marc Okrand as a University of California dissertation in 1977 which to this day remains the only grammar ever written of any Costanoan language. Scholars from the U.S., Germany, and the Netherlands have discussed methods that could facilitate the revitalization of Mutsun.Phonology
Vowel and consonant phonemes are represented here with the descriptions and orthography of the English–Mutsun dictionary, with additions from an earlier paper by Warner, Butler, and Luna-Costillas.Vowels
- is open-mid, whereas is close-mid.
- Vowels and consonants are doubled to indicate longer pronunciation
Consonants
Alphabet
Unlike many Latin-script alphabets, Mutsun uses capital letters as separate sounds. The following alphabet is based on the alphabetization of the Mutsun-English dictionary and includes an example word.| Letter | Example word | Gloss |
| a | aacic | pipe |
| c | caahi | barn owl |
| d | diyos | God |
| e | eccer | iron |
| h | haahe | run away |
| i | icci | bite |
| k | kaa | daughter |
| l | laake | rise |
| L | Luohu | yearling calf |
| m | maahi | close, cover |
| n | naaru | turnip |
| N | Notko | be short |
| o | oce | send |
| p | paaka | shell |
| r | raakat | name |
| s | saake | gather pinenuts |
| S | Saanay | near, nearby |
| t | taacin | river rat, kangaroo rat |
| T | Taakampi | bring, carry to |
| ts | tsayla | lie face up |
| tY | tYottYoni | holly berry |
| u | ucirmin | small needle |
| w | waaha | scratch, sing slowly |
| y | yaase | eat |
| - | unknown meaning |