Serrano language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Serrano |
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|---|---|
| Maarrênga'twich | |
| Native to | United States |
| Region | Southern California |
| Ethnicity | Serrano people |
| Extinct | 2002, with the death of Dorothy Ramon |
| Language family |
Uto-Aztecan
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Historical extent of Serran languages
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The Serrano language (called Maarrênga'twich by the Serrano people) is a language from the Uto-Aztecan family. It was spoken by the Serrano people in Southern California. This language is similar to Tongva, Tataviam, Kitanemuk, and Vanyume. In Serrano, words can be arranged in many ways, but verbs usually come at the end of a sentence.
Who Speaks Serrano?
In 1994, only one person was known to speak Serrano. The last person who spoke Serrano fluently was Dorothy Ramon. She passed away in 2002. Before she died, Dorothy Ramon worked with a language expert named Eric Elliot. They wrote a book together called Wayta' Yawa' (Always Believe). This book was written in both Serrano and English. It shared stories about Serrano culture and Dorothy Ramon's life. This helped save the Serrano language from being completely lost.
After Dorothy Ramon's death, the language was thought to be "dormant." This means it was no longer spoken every day, but people were working to bring it back. The Serrano people traditionally called themselves Maarrênga'yam, meaning "people of Maarra." Maarra' is now known as Twentynine Palms. They also called themselves Yuhaviatam, meaning "people of the pines." They lived near the Mojave River and San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California.
In 1891, the United States created the San Manuel Reservation for the Serrano people. Many of the last Serrano speakers lived there. In 1967, a researcher named Kenneth Cushman Hill found that about six people still spoke the language. Today, Dorothy Ramon's nephew is considered the last person who can speak Serrano very well.
Bringing the Language Back
The Serrano language was once thought to be gone forever, but people are now working hard to revive it. At the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and Morongo Band of Mission Indians reservations, there are programs to teach the language. They also teach the history and culture of the Serrano people.
A language teacher named Pauline Murillo helped create an interactive CD-ROM. This CD-ROM helps people learn Serrano. Since 2013, new apps and games have been made to help learn the language. The San Manuel Band's Serrano Language Revitalization Project (SLRP) wants to create even more online learning tools. In May 2013, Cal State San Bernardino announced it would offer Serrano language classes to its students.
The Limu project also offers online courses. These courses teach two different Serrano dialects. One is Maarrênga', spoken by the Morongo Band. The other is Yuhaviat, spoken by the San Manuel Band.
Serrano was traditionally a spoken language. It did not have a written alphabet until the 1990s. A new alphabet with 47 letters was created starting in 2005. This new alphabet includes special sounds like the glottal stop.
The Endangered Languages Project says Serrano is in the "Awakening" stage. This means the language lost its native speakers. However, there are projects to keep the language and Serrano culture alive. The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has a recording of a Serrano speaker reading a list of words. Serrano is also being added to Google Translate.
How Serrano Words Are Built
Serrano is an agglutinative language. This means that words are often made by adding many small parts, called morphemes, to a base word. These small parts are usually added at the end of the word. They change the meaning or purpose of the word.
In 1967, experts studied the sounds of the Serrano language. They found it had 33 consonant sounds and 9 vowel sounds.
See also
In Spanish: Idioma serrano para niños
