Tsuut’ina language

Tsuut’ina (also Sarcee, Sarsi, Tsuu T’ina, Tsu T’ina) is a language spoken by Native Americans. It belongs to the Athabaskan language family, which also include the Navajo and Chiricahua of the south, and the Dene Suline and Tłįchǫ of the north.

The name "Tsuu T'ina" comes from the Tsuu T’ina self designation "Tsúùt’ínà" which is translated variously as 'many people', 'nation tribe', or 'people among the beavers'. However, all of these derivations are unlikely. The origin of the term "Sarcee" is unknown.

Phonology

Consonants

The consonants of Tsuut'ina in the standard orthography are listed below (with IPA notation in brackets):

* disputed as phonemes

Vowels

There are four distinct vowels in Tsuut'ina - i, a, o, and u. While a and o are fairly constant, i and u can vary considerably. :*i varies between IPA| [i] and IPA| [e] :* a IPA| [a] :*o IPA| [ɒ] - The vowel o does not correspond to the sound {IPA| [o] }.:*u varies between IPA| [u] and IPA| [o]

:* long vowels are marked with an asterisk, e.g., a* IPA| [aː] :* high tone is marked with an acute accent, e.g., á:* low tone is marked with a grave accent, e.g., à:* medial tone is marked with a macron, e.g., ā

Nouns

Nouns in Tsuut'ina are not declined, and most plural nouns are not distinguished from singular nouns. However, kinship terms are distinguished between singular and plural form by adding the suffix -ká (or -kúwá) to the end of the noun, or by using the word "yìná".

List of nouns

People

*Husband - "kòlà"
*Man, human - "dìná"
*Wife - "ts'òyá"

Nature

*Buffalo, cow - "xāní"
*Cloud - "nàk'ús"
*Dog - "tLí(tc'á)"
*Fire - "kù"
*Mud, dirt - "gútL'ìs"
*Snow - "zòs"
*Water - "tú"

Noun possession

Nouns can exist in free form or possessed form. When in possessed form, the prefixes listed below can be attached to nouns to show possession. For example, "más", "knife", can be affixed with the 1st person prefix to become "sìmázà’", or "my knife". Note that "-mázà’" is the possessed form of the noun.

Some nouns, like "más", as shown above, can alternate between free form and possessed form. A few nouns, like "zòs", "snow", are never possessed and exist only in free form. Other nouns, such as "-tsì’", "head", have no free form and must always be possessed.

Typical possession prefixes

*1st person - si-
*2nd person - ni-
*3rd person - mi-
*4th person (Athabascan) - ɣi-

Bibliography

* Cook, Eung-Do. (1984). "A Sarcee grammar ". Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. ISBN 0-7748-0200-6.

ee also

* Tsuu T'ina Nation

External links

* [http://www.vjf.cnrs.fr/celia/FichExt/Am/A_03_04.htm The Verb «Be» in Sarcee]