Kansa language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kansa |
|
|---|---|
| Káⁿza | |
| Native to | United States |
| Region | Kansas, Oklahoma |
| Ethnicity | 1,700 Kaw (2007) |
| Extinct | June 1982, with the death of Ralph Peppere18 |
| Language family |
Siouan
|
| Linguist List | qlc Kansa-Osage |
The Kansa language is a Siouan language that was once spoken by the Kaw tribe. The Kaw people lived in what is now Oklahoma. A famous person who spoke Kansa as a child was Vice President Charles Curtis.
Sadly, the last person who spoke Kansa as their first language, Ralph Pepper, passed away in June 1982. This means the language is no longer spoken by people who learned it from birth. However, there are efforts to bring the language back to life!
Contents
What is the Kansa Language?
Kansa belongs to a larger group of languages called Dhegiha Siouan. This group includes other languages like Quapaw, Omaha, Ponca, and Osage. Think of it like a language family tree! The Dhegiha languages are part of an even bigger group called Mississippi Valley Siouan. All these languages are part of the huge Siouan Language Family.
A Brief History of Kansa Speakers
The people who spoke Kansa are known as the Kaw people. Long ago, the Kaw people lived together with other Siouan-speaking tribes. They formed a large group called the Dhegiha Siouan group.
This group originally lived north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River. Over time, they moved west along the Ohio River. After this journey, the Dhegiha Siouan group split into five different tribes. These tribes were the Poncas, Osages, Omahas, Quapaws, and the Kaws.
Later, the Kaw tribe moved even further west, past the Missouri River. They became known as the "People of the Southwind." The languages spoken by these five tribes are very similar. Sometimes, they are even thought of as different ways of speaking the same language.
Where Was Kansa Spoken?
The Kansa language was mainly spoken in the area that is now Kansas. Today, no one speaks Kansa as their native language. Most members of the Kaw tribe now speak English. However, some people can still understand certain words or phrases in Kansa.
Luckily, there are special projects happening to help bring the language back. These are called language revitalization efforts.
Learning About Kansa: Past and Present
Many people have worked to study and save the Kansa language.
In the 1880s, a smart person named James Owen Dorsey collected over 600 Kansa words. He also started a huge Kansa-English dictionary with about 25,000 words! Sadly, this dictionary was never officially published. Dorsey also wrote down 24 myths, historical stories, and letters from Kansa speakers.
Later, in 1974, a linguist (a language expert) named Robert L. Rankin met the last native speakers of Kansa. Their names were Walter Kekahbah, Ralph Pepper, and Maud McCauley Rowe. Mr. Rankin made many recordings of them speaking. He especially recorded Maud McCauley Rowe. For over 30 years, his work helped document the language. It also helped the Kaw Nation create materials for people to learn Kansa.
How Kansa Sounds
The Kansa language has 29 different consonant sounds and 8 different vowel sounds.
| Bilabial | Dental | Alveolar | Post- alveolar |
Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive/ Affricate |
voiced | b | d | dʒ | ɡ | |||
| tense | [[Error using : IPA symbol "pː" not found in list|pː]] | [[Error using : IPA symbol "tː" not found in list|tː]] | [[Error using : IPA symbol "tʃː" not found in list|tʃː]] | [[Error using : IPA symbol "kː" not found in list|kː]] | ||||
| aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | tʃʰ | kʰ | ||||
| glottalized | pʼ | tʼ | tsʼ | kʼ | ʔ | |||
| Fricative | voiceless | s | ʃ | x | h | |||
| voiced | z | ʒ | ɣ | |||||
| Nasal | m | n | ||||||
| Approximant | w | l | j | |||||
| Front | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i ĩ | y | |
| Mid | ɛ | o õ | |
| Open | a ã | ||
Kansa Grammar Basics
Kansa grammar is different from English. For example, Kansa does not use different forms of verbs to show when something happened (like past, present, or future tense). Also, nouns do not change to show if there is one or many (no plural forms).
In Kansa, the verb usually comes at the end of a sentence. The verb also includes details about who is doing the action and who or what is receiving the action. For example, ni kóⁿbla means "Water, I want it." Also, the word síⁿga can mean "squirrel" or "squirrels."
Kansa Words and Other Languages
Many words in Kansa are similar to words in other languages from the Dhegiha Siouan group. This shows how closely related these languages are! Here are a few examples comparing Kansa and Osage words:
| English | Osage | Kansa |
|---|---|---|
| House | hcí | ci |
| Man | níhka | níka |
| Woman | wak'ó | wak'ó |
Bringing Kansa Back to Life
The Kaw Nation is working hard to bring the Kansa language back. Since 2012, they have offered online classes for people who want to learn Kansa as a second language.
In 2012, there was a special event called the 2nd Annual Dhegiha Gathering. Speakers of Kansa, Quapaw, Osage, Omaha, and Ponca languages came together. They shared ideas and tips on the best ways to help their languages thrive again.
