Chiricahua (also known as Chiricahua Apache) is a Southern Athabaskan language spoken by the Chiricahua people in

Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places *Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mun ...

and

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 72 municipalities; the ...

México Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guat ...

and in Oklahoma and

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

. It is related to

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest fe ...

and

Western Apache The Western Apache live primarily in east central Arizona, in the United States. Most live within reservations. The Fort Apache Indian Reservation, San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Tonto Apache, and the Fort McDow ...

and has been described in great detail by the anthropological linguist Harry Hoijer (1904–1976), especially in Hoijer & Opler (1938) and Hoijer (1946). Hoijer & Opler's ''Chiricahua and Mescalero Apache Texts'', including a grammatical sketch and traditional religious and secular stories, has been converted into an online "book" available from the University of Virginia.

Virginia Klinekole Virginia Shanta Klinekole (June 13, 1924 – March 13, 2011), born Virginia Shanta, was a Mescalero Apache politician from New Mexico. She was elected as the first woman president of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, and served on the Tribal Council ...

, the first female president of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, was known for her efforts to preserve the language. There is at least one language-immersion school for children in Mescalero.

Phonology

Consonants

Chiricahua has 31

consonants In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are and pronounced with the lips; and pronounced with the front of the tongue; and pronounced w ...

Vowels

Chiricahua has 16

vowels A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (l ...

: Chiricahua has

phonemic In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme () is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language. For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-wes ...

oral,

nasal Nasal is an adjective referring to the nose, part of human or animal anatomy. It may also be shorthand for the following uses in combination: * With reference to the human nose: ** Nasal administration, a method of pharmaceutical drug delivery ** ...

, short, and long vowels.

References

Sources

* Hoijer, Harry. (n.d.). Chiricahua Apache stems. (Unpublished manuscript). * Hoijer, Harry. (1938). The southern Athapaskan languages. ''American Anthropologist'', ''40'' (1), 75-87. * Hoijer, Harry. (1939). Chiricahua loan-words from Spanish. ''Language'', ''15'' (2), 110-115. * Hoijer, Harry. (1945). Classificatory verb stems in the Apachean languages. ''International Journal of American Linguistics'', ''11'' (1), 13-23. * Hoijer, Harry. (1945). The Apachean verb, part I: Verb structure and pronominal prefixes. ''International Journal of American Linguistics'', ''11'' (4), 193-203. * Hoijer, Harry. (1946). The Apachean verb, part II: The prefixes for mode and tense. ''International Journal of American Linguistics'', ''12'' (1), 1-13. * Hoijer, Harry. (1946). The Apachean verb, part III: The classifiers. ''International Journal of American Linguistics'', ''12'' (2), 51-59. * Hoijer, Harry. (1946). Chiricahua Apache. In C. Osgood (Ed.), ''Linguistic structures in North America''. New York: Wenner-Green Foundation for Anthropological Research. * Hoijer, Harry; & Opler, Morris E. (1938). ''Chiricahua and Mescalero Apache texts''. The University of Chicago publications in anthropology; Linguistic series. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (Reprinted in 1964 by Chicago: University of Chicago Press; in 1970 by Chicago: University of Chicago Press; & in 1980 under H. Hoijer by New York: AMS Press, ). * Opler, Morris E., & Hoijer, Harry. (1940). The raid and war-path language of the Chiricahua Apache. ''American Anthropologist'', ''42'' (4), 617-634. * Pinnow, Jürgen. (1988). ''Die Sprache der Chiricahua-Apachen: Mit Seitenblicken auf das Mescalero he language of the Chiricahua Apache: With side glances at the Mescalero'. Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag. *Webster, Anthony K. (2006). On Speaking to Him (Coyote): The Discourse Functions of the ''yi-/bi-'' Alternation in Some Chiricahua Apache Narratives. ''Southwest Journal of Linguistics'', ''25(2)'', 143-160. * Young, Robert W. (1983). Apachean languages. In A. Ortiz, W. C. Sturtevant (Eds.), ''Handbook of North American Indians: Southwest'', (Vol. 10), (p. 393-400). Washington: Smithsonian Institution. .

External links

Chiricahua and Mescalero Apache Texts

OLAC resources in and about the Mescalero-Chiricahua Apache language
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chiricahua Language Southern Athabaskan languages Chiricahua Indigenous languages of Oklahoma Indigenous languages of Mexico Indigenous languages of New Mexico Native American language revitalization Endangered Athabaskan languages Mescalero Apache Languages of Mexico