Lipan language - Misplaced Pages

Eastern Southern Athabaskan language

This article should specify the language of its non-English content, using {{lang}}, {{transliteration}} for transliterated languages, and {{IPA}} for phonetic transcriptions, with an appropriate ISO 639 code. Misplaced Pages's multilingual support templates may also be used - notably apl for Lipan Apache. See why. (October 2024)

Lipan
Ndé miizaa
Native to	Mexico, United States
Region	Chihuahua, Coahuila, New Mexico, Texas
Ethnicity	Lipan Apache people
Native speakers	110 (in Mexico)
Language family	Dené–Yeniseian? Na-Dene Athabaskan Southern Athabaskan Eastern Lipan
Writing system	Latin
Official status
Official language in	Mexico
Regulated by	Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas
Language codes
ISO 639-3	`apl`
Glottolog	`lipa1241`
ELP	Lipan
Lipan is classified as Extinct by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Lipan (Lipan Apache: ndé miizaa) is an Eastern Southern Athabaskan language spoken by the Lipan Apache in the states of Coahuila and Chihuahua in northern Mexico, some reservations of New Mexico and parts of southern Texas. Lipan belongs to the Na-Dene languages family and it is closely related to the Jicarilla language, which is also part of the Eastern Southern Athabaskan languages.

History

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2024)

In 1981, it was reported that in New Mexico there were only 2 or 3 elderly speakers still alive.

On March 22, 2023, a speech in Lipan was given in the tribune of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico.

On July 22, 2023, the Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas presented and validated an official alphabet for Lipan in the Assembly Hall of Casas Grandes, Chihuahua.

Distribution

In Mexico, Lipan is traditionally spoken in some native communities in the states of Coahuila and Chihuahua: In Coahuila it was mainly spoken in Los Lirios and San Antonio de Alanzas in Arteaga Municipality, El Remolino and Zaragoza in Zaragoza Municipality, Sierra de Santa Rosa de Lima and Múzquiz in Múzquiz Municipality and the cities of Sabinas and Saltillo. In Chihuahua it is mainly spoken in Ciudad Juarez, the city of Chihuahua and other native towns.

Lipan was spoken in New Mexico in the Mescalero Reservation and in Texas near the Mexico-U.S. border.

Phonology

Consonants

There are 30 consonants in Lipan Apache:

		Bilabial	Alveolar			Palatal	Velar	Glottal
		Bilabial	plain	sibilant	lateral	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		m ⟨m⟩	n ⟨n⟩
Stop	prenasal		ⁿd ⟨nd⟩
	voiceless	p ⟨b⟩	t ⟨d⟩	ts ⟨dz⟩	tɬ ⟨dl⟩	tʃ ⟨j⟩	k ⟨g⟩	ʔ ⟨'⟩
	aspirated		tʰ ⟨t⟩	tsʰ ⟨ts⟩	tɬʰ ⟨tł⟩	tʃʰ ⟨ch⟩	kʰ ⟨k⟩
	ejective		tʼ ⟨t'⟩	tsʼ ⟨ts'⟩	tɬʼ ⟨tł'⟩	tʃʼ ⟨ch'⟩	kʼ ⟨k'⟩
Fricative	voiceless			s ⟨s⟩	ɬ ⟨ł⟩	ʃ ⟨sh⟩	x ⟨x⟩	h ⟨h⟩
Fricative	voiced			z ⟨z⟩		ʒ ⟨zh⟩	ɣ ⟨gh⟩
Approximant					l ⟨l⟩	j ⟨y⟩

Vowels

There are 16 vowels in Lipan Apache:

		Front		Central		Back
		short	long	short	long	short	long
Close	oral	i ⟨i⟩	iː ⟨ii⟩
Close	nasal	ĩ ⟨į⟩	ĩː ⟨įį⟩
Mid	oral	e ⟨e⟩	eː ⟨ee⟩			o ⟨o⟩	oː ⟨oo⟩
Mid	nasal	ẽ ⟨ę⟩	ẽː ⟨ęę⟩			õ ⟨ǫ⟩	õː ⟨ǫǫ⟩
Open	oral			a ⟨a⟩	aː ⟨aa⟩
Open	nasal			ã ⟨ą⟩	ãː ⟨ąą⟩

Tone

Tones are represented as high , low , falling , and rising . Rising and falling tones only occur on long vowels.

Toponymy

The Lipan people preserve their own toponymic names to name important places within their history and culture that are part of the Ndé Bikéyaa ("Ndé land" in Lipan):


Mexico	Mehigu
Chihuahua City	Ją’éłąyá
Ciudad Juárez	Tsé Tahu’aya / Yaa tu enéé
Coahuila	Nacika

Bibliography

Breuninger, Evelyn; Hugar, Elbys; Lathan, Ellen Ann; & Rushforth, Scott. (1982). Mescalero Apache dictionary. Mescalero, NM: Mescalero Apache Tribe.
Gatschet, Albert S. . Lipan words, phrases, and sentences. (Unpublished manuscript No. 81, Bureau of American Ethnology Archives, Smithsonian Institution).
Gatschet, Albert S. . Lipan words, clans, and stories. (Unpublished manuscript No. 114, Bureau of American Ethnology Archives, Smithsonian Institution).
Goddard, Pliny E. . Lipan texts. (Unpublished manuscript in Archives of Traditional Music, Indiana University, Bloomington.)
Hoijer, Harry. (n.d.). Lipan texts. (Available from the American Philosophical Society, Chicago.) (Unpublished field notes, includes handwritten transcription and typed versions, 4 texts, one text published as Hoijer 1975).
Hoijer, Harry. (1938). The southern Athapaskan languages. American Anthropologist, 40 (1), 75–87.
Hoijer, Harry. (1942). Phonetic and phonemic change in the Athapaskan languages. Language, 18 (3), 218–220.
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. (1948). Linguistic and cultural change. Language, 24 (4), 335–345.
Hoijer, Harry. (1956). Athapaskan kinship systems. American Anthropologist, 58 (2), 309–333.
Hoijer, Harry. (1956). The chronology of the Athapaskan languages. International Journal of American Linguistics, 22 (4), 219–232.
Hoijer, Harry. (1975). The history and customs of the Lipan, as told by Augustina Zuazua. Linguistics: An international review, 161, 5-37.
Jung, Dagmar. (2000). "Word Order in Apache Narratives." In The Athabaskan Languages. (Eds. Fernald, Theodore and Platero, Paul). Oxford: Oxford UP. 92–100.
Opler, Morris E. (1936). The kinship systems of the southern Athabaskan-speaking tribes. American Anthropologist, 38, 620–633.
Opler, Morris E. (2001). Lipan Apache. In Raymond J. DeMallie (ed.), Plains, 941-952. Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution.
Webster, Anthony. (1999). "Lisandro Mendez’s ‘Coyote and Deer’: On narrative structures, reciprocity, and interactions." American Indian Quarterly. 23(1): 1-24.

References

Lengua N'dee/N'nee/Ndé
Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (Report) (3rd ed.). UNESCO. 2010. p. 11.
1981 R. W. Young
"Hablante de lengua nde' mizaa, pronuncia discurso en la tribuna de la Cámara de Diputados".
"Historia de la lengua y cultura n'dee/n'nee/ndé; Ndé miizaa".
"Toponimia en lengua Ndé".

Languages of Mexico

Official/
Indigenous

100,000+ speakers	Spanish Nahuatl Yucatec Maya Tzeltal Maya Tzotzil Maya Mixtec Zapotec Otomí Totonac Mazatec Chʼol Huastec Chinantec Mixe Mazahua Tlapanec Purépecha
10,000-100,000 speakers	Tarahumara Tojol-abʼal Chontal de Tabasco Amuzgo Huichol Chatino Sierra Popoluca Mayo Tepehuán Triqui Cora Popolocan Huave Cuicatec Mam Yaqui Pame Qʼanjobʼal Tepehua
Under 10,000 speakers	Chontal of Oaxaca Chuj Akatek Chiricahua Tacuate Chichimeca Jonaz Huarijío Chocholtec Pima Bajo Qʼeqchí Lacandón Western Apache Jakaltek Matlatzinca Seri Mezcalero Ixcatec Kʼicheʼ Lipan Kaqchikel Texistepec Paipai Kikapú (whistled speech) Teko Cucapá Qatoʼk Kumiai Pápago Ixil Olutec Cochimí Kiliwa Ayapanec Awakatek

Non-official

Sign

Note: The list of official languages is ordered by decreasing size of population.

Athabaskan languages

Northern

Southern Alaskan	Ahtna Denaʼina
Central Alaska–Yukon	Deg Hitʼan Gwichʼin Hän Holikachuk Koyukon Lower Tanana Northern Tutchone Southern Tutchone Tanacross Upper Kuskokwim Upper Tanana
Northwestern Canada	Dene Suline Dogrib Dunneza Kaska Sekani Slavey Tagish Tahltan
Central British Columbia	Babine–Witsuwitʼen Chilcotin Dakelh Southern Carrier
Other North Athabaskan	Kwalhioqua–Clatskanie Nicola Tsetsaut Tsuutʼina

Pacific Coast

California Athabaskan	Kato Hupa Mattole Wailaki
Oregon Athabaskan	Tolowa Lower Rogue River Upper Rogue River Upper Umpqua

Southern

Western Apachean	Chiricahua Mescalero Navajo Western Apache
Eastern Apachean	Jicarilla Lipan
Plains Apachean	Plains Apache

Proto-language

Proto-Athabaskan

Italics indicate extinct languages

Categories: