Oodham

O’odham (O’odham ñiok)

O’odham is a Uto-Aztecan language spoken in south-central Arizona and Mexico.
It is the one of the most widely spoken Native American language with roughly
45,000 speakers, about 30,000 of whom are fluent. There are two main O’odham
dialects: Tohono O’odham (Papago) and Akimel O’odham (Pima),
which are largely mutually intelligilble.

O’odham pronuncation

O'odham pronunciation

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O’odham_language

Sample text in O’odham

Ce:daghim ‘o ‘ab wu:sañhim.
To:tahim ‘o ‘ab wu:sañhim.
Cuckuhim ‘o ‘ab him.
Wepeghim ‘o ‘abai him.

Translation

Greenly they emerge.
In colors of blue they emerge
Whitely they emerge.
In colors of black they are coming.
Reddening, they are right here.

Na:nko Ma:s Cewagi/Cloud Song, by Ofelia Zepeda
Source: http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/pubs/stabilize/iii-families/zepeda.htm

Links

Information about the O’odham people and language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O’odham_language
http://www.heard.org/rain/cultura2/raincul5.html
http://www.itcaonline.com/tribes_tohono.html
http://www.nps.gov/tuma/papago.html

Papago English dictionary
http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Papago-english/

Tohono O’odham Community Action
http://www.tocaonline.org

The Tohono O’odham Creation Story
http://www.hanksville.org/voyage/poems/Papagocreation.html

  • Post category:Languages
  • Reading time:2 mins read