Comanche language facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Comanche
Nʉmʉ Tekwapʉ̲
Pronunciation	[ˈnɨmɨ ˈtekʷapɨ̥]
Native to	United States
Region	Oklahoma (formerly, Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma)
Ethnicity	Comanche
Native speakers	100  (2007)e18
Language family	Uto-Aztecan Numic Central Numic Comanche
Linguasphere	65-AAB-bh
Distribution of the Comanche language.
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The Comanche language (called Nʉmʉ Tekwapʉ̲ by its speakers) is a language from the Uto-Aztecan family. It is spoken by the Comanche people. The Comanche people separated from the Shoshone people around 1705, after they got horses. Because of this, the Comanche language and the Shoshoni language are quite similar. However, some sound changes in Comanche make it hard for speakers of one language to understand the other.

The name "Comanche" comes from a Ute word that means "enemy" or "stranger." The Comanche people call their language nʉmʉ tekwapʉ̲, which means "language of the people."

Using and Saving the Language

Most people who speak Comanche today are older. In the late 1800s, Comanche children were sent to special schools. There, they were not allowed to speak their native language and were even punished for it. Because of this, the next generation grew up speaking English. Many believed it was better for them not to know Comanche.

The Comanche language became important during World War II. A group of seventeen young men, known as the Comanche Code Talkers, used their language to send secret messages for the U.S. Army. This way, enemies could not understand the messages.

In 2013, there were only about 25 to 30 native speakers left. Today, people are working hard to keep the language alive. The Learn Comanche organization offers online classes. The Comanche Language and Cultural Preservation Committee provides dictionaries and other learning materials. The now-closed Comanche Nation College also offered Comanche language courses. They even recorded the language, as it is mostly spoken rather than written.

Sounds of Comanche

Vowels

Comanche has six main vowel sounds. It also has a common diphthong (a sound made by combining two vowels) like the "ai" in "rain." Vowels can be either long or short. Long vowels are never made voiceless. Short vowels can be made voiceless, especially when certain sounds like /s/ or /h/ come after them.

Here are the vowel sounds in Comanche:

Consonants

Comanche has a typical set of consonant sounds. Here are the consonant sounds in Comanche:

Stress

In most Comanche words, the stress (the part of the word you say with more emphasis) is on the first syllable. Sometimes, the stress is on a different syllable. These words are marked with a special accent mark, like in Waʔsáasiʔ (meaning 'Osage people') or aná (meaning 'ouch!').

How Comanche is Written

The Comanche Alphabet was created by Dr. Alice Anderton. The Comanche Nation officially adopted it in 1994.

Here is the alphabet:

• When vowels are long, they are written by doubling the letter, like aa, ee, ii, oo, uu, ʉʉ.
• Voiceless vowels (whispered sounds) are shown with an underline: a̱, e̱, i̱, o̱, u̱, ʉ̱.
• If the stress is not on the first syllable, it has an accent mark, like in kʉtséena (meaning 'coyote').
• The glottal stop (a sound like the break in "uh-oh") is sometimes written as ?.
• The sounds /ts/ and /kʷ/ are written as ts and kw.

How Words are Built

Like many languages in the Americas, Comanche is a polysynthetic language. This means words can be very long and carry a lot of meaning.

Nouns

Comanche nouns change their endings to show their role in a sentence (like subject or object) and how many there are (singular, dual, or plural). The language has a special "dual" form for two things.

Comanche also has personal pronouns for one, two, or many people, and for "I/we," "you," and "he/she/it/they." These pronouns change depending on if they are the subject, object, or show possession. Some "we" pronouns even have forms that include or exclude the listener.

Here's how noun endings change for number:

• The object and possessive forms are very similar.
• The two dual endings can be used in place of each other. However, Dual I is usually used for people.

Verbs

Many Comanche verbs change their basic form depending on if the subject or object is singular or plural. Verbs can also have different parts added to them, like nouns placed inside the verb before the main part. Most verb parts are added at the end, but some prefixes (parts added at the beginning) change the voice or show what tool was used.

This chart shows how different parts can be added to a Comanche verb.

Comanche verbs can also be combined with other verbs. Some verbs, called auxiliary verbs, are often combined with others. These auxiliary verbs include hani ('to do, make'), naha ('to be, become'), miʔa ('to go'), and katʉ / yʉkwi ('to sit'). For example, katʉ ('to sit') + miʔa ('to go') can combine to mean katʉmiʔa ('to ride and go').

Instrumental Prefixes

Comanche has many prefixes that show what tool or body part was used to do an action. Some verbs even need one of these prefixes to make sense. These prefixes can also change how a verb works.

Here are some examples of Comanche instrumental prefixes:

• kʉh- = 'with the teeth, chin, or mouth'
• kuh- = 'with heat or fire'
• ma- = 'with the hand' (also a general tool prefix)
• mu- / muh = 'with the nose, lips, or front'
• nih- = 'verbally' (using words)
• pih- = 'with the buttocks or rear'
• sʉ- = 'with cold'
• sʉh- = 'with the foot, or in a strong, violent motion'
• su- = 'with the mind, or mental activity'
• tah- = 'with the foot'
• toh- = 'with the hand, or for a strong or finished action'
• tsah- = 'with the hand (also for hand tools)'
• tsih- = 'with a sharp point, or with the finger'
• tsoh- = 'with the head'
• wʉh- = a general-purpose tool prefix

Sentence Structure

Comanche sentences usually follow a subject–object–verb order. This means the person or thing doing the action comes first, then the thing the action is done to, and finally the action itself. For example, "I man hit."

However, this order can change. The most important part of a sentence (the topic) is often placed at the beginning. If the subject is also the topic, the sentence stays in SOV order. But if the object is the topic, it might come first, making the order OSV. This helps to emphasize the object. For example, "The man (topic) I hit."

Comanche in Movies and TV

The Comanche language has appeared in several movies and TV shows:

• In the 1956 film The Searchers, starring John Wayne, some Comanche words are spoken, though not perfectly.
• The 1963 film McLintock!, also with John Wayne, features McLintock and Chief Puma speaking Comanche several times.
• In a 2013 article, a linguist from Comanche Nation College said that Johnny Depp's attempts to speak Comanche in the movie The Lone Ranger were "shaky but adequate."
• The 2016 film The Magnificent Seven shows two characters, a Comanche warrior and an African-American officer, speaking Comanche to each other.
• In the 2019 TV series The Son, the main character lives with a Comanche tribe, and they speak their language to each other and to him.

See also

In Spanish: Idioma comanche para niños