Cahto language

Extinct Athabaskan language of California
Kato
Cahto
Native toUnited States
RegionCalifornia (Eel River)
EthnicityCahto people
Extinct1960s[1]
Language family
Dené–Yeniseian?
Language codes
ISO 639-3ktw
Glottologkato1244

Cahto (also spelled Kato) is an extinct Athabaskan language that was formerly spoken by the Kato people of the Laytonville and Branscomb area at the head of the South Fork of the Eel River. It is one of the four languages belonging to the California Athabaskan cluster of the Pacific Coast Athabaskan languages. Most Kato speakers were bilingual in Northern Pomo and some also spoke Yuki.

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Dental Alveolar Post-
alveolar 		Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
central lateral plain labial
Nasal m ⟨m⟩ n ⟨n⟩ ɲ ⟨ñ⟩
Plosive/
Affricate 		unaspirated p~b ⟨b⟩ t~d ⟨d⟩ ts ⟨ts⟩ t͡ʃ~d͡ʒ ⟨dj⟩ c~ɟ ⟨g⟩ k~g ⟨g⟩ kʷ ⟨kw⟩ k~q ⟨q⟩ ʔ ⟨′⟩
ejective tʼ ⟨t'⟩ tsʼ ⟨ts'⟩ tɬʼ ⟨L⟩ t͡ʃʼ ⟨tc'⟩ cʼ ⟨k'⟩ kʼ ⟨k'⟩ kʷʼ ⟨kw'⟩
aspirated tʰ ⟨t⟩ t͡ʃʰ ⟨tc⟩ cʰ ⟨k⟩ kʰ ⟨k⟩
Fricative voiceless s ⟨s⟩ ɬ ⟨ʟ⟩ ʃ ⟨c⟩ h ⟨h⟩
voiced z ⟨z⟩ ʒ ɣ ⟨ɢ⟩
Approximant l ⟨l⟩ j ⟨y⟩ w ⟨w⟩

Cahto has 26 consonant phonemes and 30 phones.

Vowels

Front Central Back Diphthong
High [i(ː)] ī [ɪ] i ~ [ʊ] û [u(ː)] ū
High-Mid [e(ː)] ē [e] ɛ ~ [ə] ę [o(ː)] ō
Low-Mid [ɛ] ɛ ~ [ə] ę [ʌ] ą ~ [a] a
Low [a(ː)] ā, [ʌ] ą ~ [a] a [ai] ai

Cahto has 9 vowel phonemes (including the diphthong) and 12 phones.

References

  1. ^ Golla, Victor (2011). California Indian languages. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-26667-4. OCLC 668191602.
  • Goddard, Pliny Earle; Bill Ray (1909). Kato texts. The University Press. Retrieved 24 August 2012. University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnography 5(3):65-238.
  • Goddard, Pliny Earle (1912). Elements of the Kato Language. University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnography 11(1):1-176.
  • Goddard, Pliny Earle (1916). Elements of the Kato language. University of California Press. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  • Golla, Victor (2011). California Indian Languages. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-052-026667-4.

External links

  • Kato language overview at the Survey of California and Other Indian Languages
  • Kato Language (Cahto), nativelanguages.org
  • The Cahto ("Kato") Language
  • Experimental Cahto lexical database
  • OLAC resources in and about the Kato language
  • Kato Bibliography
  • Kato basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database
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Italics indicate extinct languages
Indigenous
Algic
Athabaskan
Chumashan
Ohlone
Hokan
Penutian
Shastan
Uto Aztecan
Wintuan
Yukian
Language isolates
and unclassified
Non-Indigenous
Indo-European
Asian
Francosign
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