Tlingit noun

Like nouns in many Native American languages, the Tlingit noun is easily conceptualized but difficult to formally define. It can be simple or compound, and can be derived from verb forms as well as other nouns. It is marked for case, but not normally for number. Noun possession divides all nouns into two open classes of possessable and unpossessable nouns, and the possessable nouns are further divided based on their alienability.

What is a noun?

The concept of a noun is fairly well defined for Indo-European languages, as well as many other language families. However, it is not so clear for many Native American language families, particularly the Na-Dené family. Beck (2001) proposes that nouns should not be restricted to single words and compounds, at least for Native American languages, instead that any conventionalized expression that meets certain semantic and syntactic criteria of “nouniness” should be admitted to the class of nouns. These criteria for nominal entries in the lexicon are, per Beck (p. 19ff.),

* semantic
** must have a conventionalized meaning expressing a semantic KIND
** must be conceptually autonomous
* syntactic
** must be unmarked as a syntactic actant
** must be syntactically closed, i.e. must have a core syntactic valency of zero

Tlingit has a large number of noun-like constructions which appear on the surface to be phrases, but which are fixed in both meaning and morphology.

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A common use of the ergative in oratory and storytelling among other situations is the phrase "ách áwé" “because of that; following that; that's why”. This is also an example of the use of a demonstrative construction as a sort of copula.

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In the above example the main clause is relativized. Its argument, optional in this case, is "lingít" “people”.

It is probable that the adverb "yáxh" which indicates similarity of the subject with the object is originally derived from "yá" “face”. Thus "yá" + "-xh" > "yáxh" “like, similar”. This construction is used as follows:

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The locative has allomorphs under the following conditions:
* "-:" lengthened vowel after CÓ
* "-0" null phoneme after long vowels CO: or CÓ:
* "-i" after all consonants

Note that the locative suffix in the form "-x' " is phonetically indistinguishable from the plural suffix "-x' ". This collision is less problematic than it might seem on the surface because the plural suffix is rarely used, and furthermore the two have different ordering with respect to the possessed suffix "-ÿi".

Adessive

The adessive postposition is "-ghaa". Leer calls this "vicinitative" in his dissertation, but the typical term is adessive as used in e.g. Finnish and Hungarian.

Its primary meaning indicates physical adjacency to place or object, such as “around {a place or object}”, “by {a place or object}”. By extension of this concept it may indicate physical succession, “(go) after something” or “(follow) something”, as well as the temporal associations of “(waiting) for something” and ”about (a time)”, “around (a time)”.

Ablative

The ablative postposition is "-dáxh" with an allomorph "-dxh" after open (vowel-final) syllables.

It marks the physical origin of an action, translated as “from (a place)” or “out of (a place)”. By temporal extension it means “since (a time)” or “from (a time)”.

Prolative

The prolative postposition is "-náxh". Leer calls this "perlative" in his dissertation, and the same grammatical case is sometimes termed "prosecutive".

It marks a course of physical translation by some action, translated as “along (a way)” or “via (a path)”. Temporal extension indicates the translation of an action along a duration of time, or the inclusion of a period of time, thus “during (some period)”, “including (some time)”.

A frequent use is in describing speech or language. The noun phrase for language is generally "(du) yoo xh'átángi", but when speaking of a thing said in a particular language, the term is "(du) xh'éináxh".

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Patientive "-adi"

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Borrowing

Borrowing from other languages into Tlingit is largely restricted to nouns, likely because the complex morphology of the Tlingit verb prevents the easy adaptation of foreign verbs. As a counterexample, there is at least the verb "du-ÿa-spelled", as seen in the spelling book "Aan Aduspelled X'úx' ".

Prehistoric borrowing is essentially unstudied. It seems likely that Tlingit did borrow to some extent from neighboring languages such as Haida and Tsimshian, but to what extent is unknown.

Historically, Tlingit has borrowed from Russian, Chinook Jargon, and English. Borrowings from other languages have been mediated through these particular languages. The earliest borrowings were taken from Russian, for example "chayu" “tea” from чай ("chai") and "káaxwei" “coffee” from кофе ("kofe").

* "cháyu" “tea” < Rus. чаю IPA| [tʃaju] “tea-DAT”, from чай IPA| [tʃaɪ] in dative case used as a partitive, e.g. in the phrase давай попём чаю “let’s drink some tea”.
* "káaxwei" “coffee” < Rus. кофе IPA| [ˈkofʲe] “coffee”
* "sawáak" “guard dog, big dog” < Rus. собака IPA| [səˈbakə] “dog”
* "Anóoshee" “Russian” IPA| [(iz) aˈlʲuʃi:] “from Aleutia”

Chinook Jargon

Chinook Jargon was a lingua franca widely used on the Northwest Coast by American traders (“Boston men”), immigrant laborers, miners, fishermen, loggers, and many Indian tribes. Borrowings into Tlingit from English and Chinook Jargon occurred contemporaneously until the early 20th century. Native English speakers would have some command of Chinook Jargon when immigrating from other places in the Northwest, and as a consequence would tend towards using it rather than English with monolingual Tlingit speakers. Oral history confirms that many Tlingit speakers in the late 19th and early 20th century were also fluent in Chinook Jargon, some even with native proficiency.

Because the two languages coexisted, it is often difficult to tell whether a particular borrowing is taken directly from English into Tlingit, or instead whether it was imported through the intermediary of Chinook Jargon. Chinook Jargon phonology is much closer to Tlingit phonology than is English, and as such a direct borrowing from English into Tlingit is likely to closely resemble a borrowing from English into Chinook Jargon. Thus, a number of Tlingit nouns which are commonly assumed to be of English origin are more likely indirect imports through Chinook Jargon. A prime example is "dáana" “money, dollar, silver”, which superficially is similar to its English counterpart, but in fact has a semantic range that resonates with the Chinook Jargon "dala" “money, dollar, silver coin”. This relationship can be clearly seen in the Tlingit compound "wakhdáana" “eye glasses” (lit. “eye silver”) which is cognate with the Chinook Jargon "dala siyawes" “eye glasses” (lit. “silver eye”). Other examples such as "Sándi" “week, Sunday” conform more closely to Chinook Jargon phonology than to English phonology; compare Tlingit IPA| [sʌ́ndɪ] with CJ IPA| [ˈsandi] and American English IPA| [ˈsʌndej] – if borrowed directly from English the Tlingit form would approximate it more closely with *IPA| [sʌ́nde:] or *IPA| [sʌ́ndɛ] .

Many derivations from Chinook Jargon account for what current Tlingit speakers consider to be opaque words that describe foreign concepts but which lack a clear English or Russian heritage. The opacity of these terms is because few speakers today have any familiarity with Chinook Jargon. The difficulty of reconciling Tlingit and Chinook Jargon phonology also contributes to the peculiarities of CJ derivations, considering that Tlingit merges CJ IPA| [l] with IPA| [n] , IPA| [m] with IPA| [w] , IPA| [p] with IPA| [k] or IPA| [kʷ] , IPA| [pʰ] with various phonemes such as IPA| [t] and IPA| [x’ʷ] , and IPA| [o] with IPA| [u] or IPA| [ʊ] .

Some derivations from Chinook Jargon are given below. Note that they mostly pertain to foreign animals and people, and foodstuffs which could be obtained through trade with Europeans.

* "doosh" “cat” < CJ "pushpush" IPA| [ˈpʰuʃpʰəʃ] (northern var. of CJ "puspus" IPA| [ˈpʰuspʰʊs] )
* "wasóos" “cow” < CJ "moosmoos" “cow, buffalo” IPA| [musˈmus]
* "gishóo" “pig” < CJ "gosho" IPA| [kəˈʃo] < Fr. "le cochon"
* "wanadóo" “sheep” < CJ "lemoto" IPA| [lemoˈto] < Fr. "le mouton"
* "gawdáan" “horse” < CJ "kiwutan" IPA| [kɪwəˈtan]
* "dáanaa" “dollar, money, silver” < CJ "dala" IPA| [ˈtala] < Eng. "dollar"
* "gút" “dime, ten cents” < CJ "bit" IPA| [pət] < Eng. "bit" “ten cents, one eighth of a Spanish dollar” (see bit (money))
* "kwáadaa" “quarter” < CJ "kwata" IPA| [ˈkʰwata] < Eng. "quarter"
* "gwáta" “butter” < CJ "bata" IPA| [ˈpata] < Eng. "butter"
* "sakwnéin" “bread, flour” < CJ "saplil" IPA| [səpˈlil] < Chinook "tsapelil"
* "shóogaa" “sugar” < CJ "shuga" IPA| [ˈʃuka] < Eng. "sugar"
* "naaw" “alcohol” < CJ "lam" IPA| [lam] < Eng. "rum"
* "s'ísaa" “cloth” IPA| [ləswa]
* "nahéin" “lahal” < CJ "lahal" IPA| [ləhal] (a NW coast game played with small sticks and sleight of hand, often called “the stick game” in English)
* "Wáashdan" “American” < CJ "Bashtan" IPA|ˈpaʃtən < Eng. "Boston"
* "Kínjichwaan" “Canadian, English” < CJ "Kinchuch" IPA| [ˈkʰɪntʃʊtʃʰ] “Canadian, English” + "man" IPA| [man] “man” < Eng. "King George" + "man"
* "Cháanwaan" “Chinese” < CJ "Chanman" “Chinese” IPA| [ˈtʃʰanman] < Eng. "Chinaman"
* "Jawanée" “Japanese” < CJ "Japanee" “Japanese” IPA| [ˌtʃapəˈni] < Eng. "Japanee"
* "Dáchwaan" “German” < CJ "Duchman" “German, misc. European” IPA| [ˈtʌtʃʰman] < Eng. "Dutch" “German”
* "Gwasyóoks" “French” < CJ "Pasiuks" “French” IPA| [pʰəsiˈukʰs] < Chinook "pasi" “French” (< Fr. "Français") + "-uks" “animate plural”
* "Kanaka" “Hawaiian” < CJ "kanaka" “Hawaiian” IPA| [kʰəˈnakʰə] < Hawaiian "kanaka" “person”
* "X'wátlaan" “Portland” IPA| [ˈpʰatɬan] < Eng. "Portland"

A few Tlingit nouns that are derived from Chinook Jargon have an ambiguous pronunciation in Tlingit despite the fact that the pronunciations involve distinct Tlingit phonemes. Examples are "sgóon"/"shgóon" “school” and "sdóox"/"shtoox" “stove”. These ambiguities can be explained by noting that in Southeast Alaska there was no single predominant variety of Chinook Jargon spoken, and as such a single Chinook Jargon word might be borrowed from speakers of different Chinook Jargon dialects with differing pronunciations.

There are a few nouns in Tlingit which are essentially Tlingit compounds of existing nouns, but whose structure is probably influenced by cognates in Chinook Jargon. The previously mentioned "wakhdáana" “eyeglasses” is one example. Another is "dikée aankháawu" “God”, literally “high up aristocrat”. This word is a creation of Christian missionaries, probably coined as a direct translation of the Chinook Jargon "sagali tayee" “God”, literally “high up chief”. Unlike the Chinook Jargon "tayee", Tlingit lacks a noun that translates well to “chief”, but the term "aankháawu" “aristocrat” (lit. “person of the town”) is a close substitute. Some money terms were constructed from a mixture of Chinook Jargon and native Tlingit terms, for example "gút shuwú" “nickel” and "dáanaa shuwú" “fifty cents”.