Ute dialect facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ute |
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| núu-'apaghapi núuchi |
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| Native to | United States | |||
| Region | Utah, Colorado | |||
| Ethnicity | Ute | |||
| Native speakers | 1640 of parent language (2010) | |||
| Language family |
Uto-Aztecan
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Area where the Ute dialect is spoken.
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The Ute language is a special way of speaking used by the Ute people. It's actually a dialect, which is like a unique version, of the Colorado River Numic language.
Most Ute speakers live in the United States. You can find them on three main reservations: Uintah-Ouray in Utah, Southern Ute in Colorado, and Ute Mountain in Colorado and Utah. The Ute language is part of a bigger language family called Uto-Aztecan.
Other dialects similar to Ute are Chemehuevi and Southern Paiute. In 2010, about 1,640 people spoke these dialects combined. The Ute language is considered "threatened," meaning fewer people are learning it. But don't worry! There are special programs run by the tribes to help keep the language alive and strong.
The name "Ute" was given to the people by Spanish explorers a long time ago. The Ute people have their own names for their language: núu-'apaghapi or núuchi. These names mean "the people's speech" and "of the people."
Contents
Sounds of Ute: Phonology
Every language has its own unique sounds, and Ute is no different! This section explores the sounds that make up the Ute language.
Ute Vowel Sounds
Ute has five main vowel sounds, similar to the "a, e, i, o, u" in English, but they sound a bit different. These vowels can be short or long. The length of a vowel can change the meaning of a word. For example, whca-y means 'wrapping,' but whcáa-y means 'swirling.'
Sometimes, a vowel might sound quieter or "devoiced." This happens in certain parts of a word or sentence. When a vowel is devoiced, it's often shown with an underline.
Ute Consonant Sounds
Ute also has its own set of consonant sounds. Some of these are similar to English, while others are quite different. For example, all "stop" sounds in Ute (like 'p' or 't') are voiceless, meaning you don't use your vocal cords to make them vibrate.
The 'g' sound in Ute is not like the 'g' in "go." Instead, it's a "fricative," which means you make the sound by pushing air through a narrow space in your mouth, like the 'ch' in "loch" or the 'g' in Spanish luego. The 'v' sound is also different from English 'v'; it's made with both lips, not just the lower lip and upper teeth.
How Words Are Built: Syllable Structure
Words in Ute are often built in a pattern like "consonant-vowel-consonant-vowel" (CVCV). Most words start with a consonant. Usually, each part of a word (a syllable) has only one consonant at the beginning.
Most syllables in Ute don't end with a consonant. However, some words do end with a consonant, like pʉi-n, which means 'I'm sleeping'.
Word Stress
In every Ute word, one vowel sound is stressed, meaning it's said with more emphasis. This stress can be on the first or second vowel of a word. Often, the stress is on the second vowel.
Where you put the stress can change the meaning of a word. For example, suwá means 'almost,' but súwa means 'straight out.'
How Words Change: Morphology
Ute is a "polysynthetic" language. This means words can be very long and have many parts added to them. These parts, called "affixes," change the meaning of the main word. Most of these parts are added to the end of words (suffixes), but some are added to the beginning (prefixes).
Nouns in Ute
Nouns are words for people, places, or things. In Ute, most nouns have special endings, or suffixes. For example, words for things that aren't alive often end with -pu or -vu. Words for living things usually end with -chi, -vi/-pi, or -tu/-ru.
You can also make new nouns from verbs. For instance, piki-pu means "rotten thing," and it comes from the verb piki- meaning "to be rotten."
When you want to talk about more than one living thing, Ute has ways to show that it's plural. The most common way is to add -u to the end of the word. Sometimes, the first part of the word is repeated, like in táa-ta'wa-chi-u for "men," which comes from ta'wa-chi.
Verbs in Ute
Verbs are action words. Ute verbs can have many suffixes and prefixes added to them. To say "not" or "no," Ute uses both a prefix ka- and a suffix -wa with the verb.
If you want to say an action happened many times, you can repeat the first part of the verb. For example, táa-pugay-'u means "[s/he] kicked him (once)," but ta-táa-pugay-'u means "[s/he] kicked him repeatedly."
You can also add words into the verb itself to give more detail about the action. For example, 'apagha-y means "[s/he] is talking," but pia-'apagha-y means "[s/he] is sweet-talking."
Verbs also have suffixes to show when something happened (like present or future tense) or how it happened. For example, -y is for the present tense, and -vaa-ni is for the future.
How Sentences Are Built: Syntax
The order of words in a Ute sentence can be quite flexible. It often depends on what the speaker wants to emphasize. However, most of the time, Ute sentences follow a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) 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.
Noun Cases
Ute marks nouns to show their role in a sentence. This is called "case marking." Nouns can be in the "nominative" case (for subjects or predicates) or the "oblique" case (for objects or possessives).
Often, the last vowel of a noun is quiet (devoiced) in the nominative case and spoken clearly (voiced) in the oblique case. For example, "woman" is mama-chi (quiet 'i') in the nominative, but mama-chi (clear 'i') in the oblique. Some pronouns add a -y to show the oblique case.
Nouns Inside Verbs
As mentioned before, nouns and other words can be added right into verbs. This helps to explain how an action is done. For instance, instead of saying wii-chi-m tuka-y-aqh, which means "s/he eats it with a knife," you can combine "knife" into the verb to say wii-tuka-y-aqh, meaning "s/he is knife-eating it."
