Misplaced Pages

The Calusa–Tunica languages are a proposed small language family that comprises the Tunica language of Louisiana and the extinct Calusa language of Florida.

Proposal

Julian Granberry (1994) suggests that the Calusa language was related to the Tunica language of the lower Mississippi River Valley, with Calusa possibly being relatively a recent arrival from the lower Mississippi region. Another possibility was that similarities between the languages were derived from long-term mutual contact.

Comparison of morphemes

Granberry (1994: 510–512) compares the following Tunica and Calusa morphemes. The Tunica data is from Mary Haas, while the Proto-Tunica reconstructions are Granberry's own work. The Calusa data is primarily drawn from Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda's 16th-century writings.

gloss	Proto-Tunica	Tunica	Calusa B	Calusa A
fem. sg. noun	*-hki ~ *-hči	-hči	-(h)ki	*-hki
imperative verb	*-k...	-ki	-ka
over there, yonder	*-mi	mí-, -mí	-mi
very much	*-štʔɛ	-štʔɛ	*st(ʔ)a
this (noun designator)	*ka-	ká-	ka-
all around, about	*te-	té-	te-
watch (over, for), guard, wait	*hɛ́ra	hɛ́ra	śer(a)
fast, prayer (noun) (húma = berry)	*huma	húma-ra	homa
destroy, crush, mash	*kuč...	kúča	kuči
assemble, gather together	*kunpa ( > kuhpa ?)	kúhpa	kupe ~ kunpe	*kuhpe ~ *kuNpe
settle, camp dwell, sit (down), stay, remain	*ʔuki	ʔúk(i)	(ʔ)uk(i)
run	*lɔta	lɔ́ta	lɛte
tongue(d), language	*lu	-lu	-lo ~ -lu
make, build	*mašu	mášu	maś(u)
on the other side	*may...	máyi	mayai
come to rest, stop, lie down	*ña	ná	ño
war, warrior	*ñaka	náka	ñoka
look, find, see, watch	*po ~ *pe; *wo ~ *we	pó	we
firm, hard, strong	*ra	rá	r(a)
house, home, dwelling, building	*ri	r(í)	r(i)
tree, branch, wood	*šahka	-šáhka	*śa(h)ka	*śahka
examine, look at	*sɛha	sɛ́ha	śe(h)(a)
brave, bold	*ši	-š(í)	-ś(i)
stick, impale, harpoon	*šihpu	šíhpu	śi(h)pi	*śihpi
prairie	*tahta	táhta	ta(h)te	*tahte
join, connect	*tepi	-tépi	-tepe
cry, weep	*waha	wáha	wa(h)(a)
water, liquid	*wiši ~ *ʔ...ši	wíš(i)	(ʔ)eś(i)
bring, arrive	*yaka	yáka	yaka

References

1. ^ Granberry, Julian (1994). "Evidence for a Calusa-Tunica Relationship". Papers of the Mid-America Linguistics Conference (MALC). Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas. pp. 505–519. hdl:1808/22990.
2. Haas, Mary R. 1946. A Grammatical Sketch of Tunica. In Linguistic Structures of Native America, Viking Fund Publications in Anthropology No. 6, ed. by Harry Hoijer, et al., New York, pp. 337-366.
3. Haas, Mary R. 1953. Tunica Dictionary. University of California Publications in Linguistics, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 175-332, Berkeley.

• Proposed language families
• Indigenous languages of the North American Southeast