Pueblo linguistic area

The Pueblo linguistic area (or Pueblo Sprachbund, Pueblo convergence area) is a Sprachbund (group of languages with similarities due to language contact) consisting of the language spoken in and near North American Pueblo locations.

Language membership

The languages of the linguistic area are the following:

* Hopi language
* Keresan family
* Tanoan family
* Navajo language
* Zuni language

The languages belong to five different families: Hopi to Uto-Aztecan, Tanoan to Kiowa-Tanoan, Navajo to Nadene. Keresan and Zuni are isolate families. Navajo is only a marginal member of the Sprachbund as it does not share all linguistic features of the Sprachbund. [Additionally, the ancestors of the Navajo originated (along with other Apachean languages) from Canada and Alaska and were relatively recent newcomers to the southwest.]

Tanoan consists of Taos, Picurís, Tewa, and Jemez. Keresan consists of Eastern Keres and Western Keres. [Keresan (or Keres) has variously been considered as a small family of two languages or a single language of dialect chaining.]

hared linguistic traits

The following are the shared linguistic traits of the Pueblo Sprachbund:

* ejective consonants
* aspirated consonants
* vowel systems
* final devoicing of vowels & sonorants
* dual number
* ceremonial vocabulary
* labialized velar stops IPA|/kʷ, kʷ’/

Most languages have ejectives. Zuni may have developed ejectives due to contact with Tanoan and Keresan which both have complete series of ejectives: Zuni has IPA|/ts’, tʃ’, k’, kʷ’/ but lacks the ejectives IPA|/p’, t’/ found in the other languages. Taos and Picurís (both Tanoan) have IPA|/p’, t’, tʃ’, k’, kʷ’/; Tewa (Tanoan) has IPA|/p’, t’, ts’, k’, kʷ’/; Jemez (Tanoan) has IPA|/p’, t’, k’/ [In Jemez, Proto-Kiowa-Tanoan unicode|*c’ has merged with unicode|*t’ and unicode|*kʷ’ has merged with unicode|*kʷ explaining the lack of IPA|/ts’, kʷ’/ in Jemez that are found in other Tanoan languages.] ; Keresan has IPA|/p’, t’, ts’, ʈʂ’, tʃ’, k’, s’, ʂ’, ʃ’/ (as well as glottalized sonorants IPA|/m’, n’, r’, w’, j’/). Navajo has IPA|/t’, ts’, tɬ’, tʃ’, k’, kʷ’/ [The lack of IPA|/p’/ in Navajo is an inheritance from Proto-Athabascan.] . Hopi, however, lacks ejectives completely.

All languages have aspirated consonants. Again these may have spread to Zuni via contact with Tanoan and Keresan.

Zuni has a five vowel system consisting of "i-e-a-o-u". Some Tanoan languages also have "i-e-a-o-u" systems probably due to influence from Zuni.

Notes

Bibliography

* Campbell, Lyle. (1997). "American Indian languages: The historical linguistics of Native America". New York: Oxford University Press.
* Hale, Kenneth L. (1967). Toward a reconstruction of Kiowa-Tanoan phonology. "International Journal of American Linguistics", "33" (2), 112-120.
* Hoijer, Harry. (1945). "Navaho phonology". University of New Mexico publications in anthropology, (No. 1).
* Mithun, Marianne. (1999). "The languages of Native North America". Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
* Newman, Stanley. (1965). "Zuni grammar". University of New Mexico publications in anthropology (No. 14). Albuquerque: University of New Mexico.
* Newman, Stanley. (1967). Zuni grammar: Alternative solutions versus weaknesses. "International Journal of American Linguistics", "33", 187-192.
* Trager, Felicia. (1971). The phonology of Picuris. "International Journal of American Linguistics", "37", 29-33.
* Trager, George L. (1942). The historical phonology of the Tiwa languages. "Studies in Linguistics", "1" (5), 1-10.
* Trager, George L. (1946). An outline of Taos grammar. In C. Osgood (Ed.), "Linguistic structures in North America" (pp. 184-221). New York: Wenner-Green Foundation for Anthropological Research.