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Chikasha Anompa - Chickasaw Language

Spoken by the Chickasaw Nation (Okloshi Chikasha)
Thanks to JoAnn Ellis of the Chickasaw Nation for helping me with this language


Chokma Okla Homma!

[ʧokˈma ˈokla ˈhomːa]          (choke-MA OKE-lah HOME-maǃ)

Note: "Chokma" means "well" or "good," as in "are you well?" "Okla Homma" means "red people" in Chickasaw and Choctaw.

 


 

 

Atvloa Lewi Vt ikbi tok. Chihowa hvt chukfvlhpoba chomihchit si vpesvchi yatuk o, nanah sv bvnna he keyushke.

Hvsshuk okchvmali ai impa yo sv bohli hoke; afoha oka ontvlaka svsht aya hoke.

Vmish shilombish a fvlvmmichit okchvli hoke; ilap hohchifo hatuk mak o ai vlhpiesa hiua putta ka svsht aya hoke.

Micha ai illi aiokhlileka okfah kia ak ayah mak osh, nanah ik achukmo i sv nukshopa he keyuh; chishno ak osh is svbafoiyukkakma, chim iti tvpa micha chi tvbi vt sv hopuhlvli hoka.

A tvnvp vhlehah itikba va nan vpa vtahlit ai impa ya sv tikba ish hilechi hoke; sv nushkobo ha bila isht ish vhvmmih chatuk oke; vm isht ishko vt vlota hoke.

Okchayvt ahatta lih ittatakla nittak moma ka, achukma micha i hullo bieka hosh siakkaya chi hoke, mikma Chihowa im vboha ahatta li nittak fvllaya hi oke.

(Atvloa 23)

A Psalm of David. Jehovah is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside still waters.

He restoreth my soul: He guideth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and lovingkindness shall follow me all the days of my life; And I shall dwell in the house of Jehovah for ever.

(23rd Psalm, ASV)


©2005 The Chickasaw Nation. All rights reserved, used with permission.

Source: "Twenty-third Psalm." Internet: <http://www.chickasaw.net/heritage/250_963.htm> January 17, 2006.

Chickasaw Alphabet

Consonants

b ch f h k l lh m n
[b] [ʧ] [f] [h] [k] [l] [ɬ] [m] [n]
nk p s sh t w y '
[ŋk]
[p]
[s]
[ʃ]
[t]
[w]
[j]
[ʔ]

Vowels

a e i o u ai
[a, ə] [i] [ɪ, i] [o] [ə, ʊ] [ai]
ia io oi ou oa oha
[ijə] [ijo] [owi] [au] [owa] [owha]

Notes

  • Double consonants indicate lengthening of that consonant
  • K is [ɡ] at the end of a word followed by a word beginning with Y, but is [k] elsewhere.
  • Nasalized vowels are sometimes indicated by underlining, though often this is not written.
  • Word-final A's are sometimes [a] and sometimes [ə].  Everywhere else, it is [a].
  • I is [i] at the end of a word, and [ɪ] elsewhere.
  • In some texts, the letter V is used in the place of A and U (see sample text).

 


Chickasaw phonemes

Note: Phonemes are shown in the International Phonetic Alphabet

Consonants

Labial Labiodental Alveolar Post-alveolar Velar Glottal
Stop p b t k ʔ
Affricate ʧ
Fricative f s ʃ h
Lateral l
Lateral fricative ɬ
Nasal m n
Approximant w j

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close oral i iː o oː
Close nasal ĩː õː
Open oral a aː
Open nasal ãː

Notes

  • The voiceless stops are heavily aspirated, especially at the beginning of a word.
  • Vowels contrast in length and in oral/nasality. Short vowels are centralized: short /i/ is phonetically [ɪ], short /o/ is phonetically [o̟], and short /a/ is phonetically [ɛ].

 


This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Chickasaw language".

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