Kaáⁿze Íe - Kanza Language

Ho Níkashinga Zhúje Olímbe!

[ho ˈnikkaʃĩŋga ˈʒyʤe oˈlĩmbe]        (ho NEEK-kah-shing-gah ZHÜ-jay oh-LEEM-bay!)

Note: A man would say "ho," and a woman would say "hawé" [haˈwe] (hah-WAY). Also, "Níkashinga Zhúje Olímbe" literally means "home of the red people."

 

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• WebKanza – The Kanza Language Online

 

"Nishóje ópha ahúbe čhe ao, ts’ágehinga angóta abá.  Máⁿhiⁿ-Tanga abá yingábe čhe ao.  Ni-oízhanka yegá éji olímbe čhe ao.  Gayó éji Máⁿhiⁿ-Tanga íyabe čhe ao.  Máⁿhiⁿ-Tanga abá íyabe daⁿ, dádaⁿ k’úbe čhe:  Jéγe, máⁿzeha, halézhe, máⁿhiⁿ shki, k’úbe čhe ao.  Gayóje nishóje ophá ayábe čhe ao.  Yegá ahíbe-go omáⁿyinka míⁿxči wáspe olímbe čhe ao."

Following the Missouri River our elders came. There were no Americans. They dwelled there at the fork of the river. Then they saw Americans there. The Americans saw them and gave them things: Kettles, pans, calico, and even knives, they gave them. Then they went following the Missouri River. When they reached that place, they lived peacefully for one year.

-Kanza Tribal Elder Waxóbe-K’iⁿ (Bundle-Carrier), mid-1880's

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Contributed by Justin McBride

COMMON PHRASES
Click here for pronunciations of the following words:
Khe dázhi yayíshe?	Are you feeling all right (moving around)?
Gasixci yali.	Good morning.
Háⁿ yali.	Good night.
Hawé/Ho	Hello (f/m)
We ______ bliⁿ.	I am ______. (insert name)
nompéaⁿhi.	I am hungry.
Aⁿhúhega minkhé.	I am sick (sitting).
Omáⁿzheya akhá.	I am tired (standing).
Doⁿhé ayihé.	I am well (moving around).
Ble ta minkhé.	I will be going.
Witómbe ta minkhé	I will be seeing you.
hánkazhi	no
Wíblahaⁿ.	Thank you.
Dádaⁿ shkáxe hninkhé?	What are you doing?
Be yayishé?	Who are you?
Bé’e’e?	Who is that/it?
Zházhe ahníⁿ?	What is your name?
aⁿhá/howé	yes (f/m)

 

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©2003, Kaw Nation of Oklahoma. Used with permission.

Source: "Kanza Vocabulary." Internet: <http://www.geocities.com/kansalang/vocab.htm> January 23, 2006.

Kanza Alphabet

Consonants

	Labial	Dental-Alveolar	Postalveolar-Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Voiceless Tense Stop	p	t		k
Voiceless Tense Affricate			č
Voiceless Aspirated Stop	ph			kh
Voiceless Aspirated Affricate			čh
Voiceless Glottalized Stop	p’	t’		k’	’
Voiceless Glottalized Affricate		ts’
Voiced Stop	b	d		g
Voiced Affricate			j
Nasal	m	n
Voiceless Fricative		s	sh	x	h
Voiced Fricative		z	zh	γ
Approximant	w		y
Lateral Approximant		l

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	i u
High Nasal	iⁿ
Mid	e		o
Mid Nasal			oⁿ
Low		a
Low Nasal		aⁿ

Notes

• When certain characters are not available, the following substitutions are made when typing in Kanza:
  • aⁿ » a~ or aN (same for all nasal vowels)
  • č and čh » c and ch
  • γ » gh
• An acute accent (´) is used to indicate primary stress. Example: íe [ˈie]
• A grave accent (`) is used to indicate secondary stress. Example: mokáⁿ sàbe [moˈkkã ˌsabe]
• When nasal vowels come before a velar consonant, the ⁿ becomes n. Example: angóta, not aⁿgóta.
• When nasal vowels come before a bilabial consonant, the ⁿ becomes m. Example: zhómbe, not zhóⁿbe.
• č, k, p, and t are tense consonants. When they occur word-initially, they are plain, [ʧ, k, p, t]. However, in other positions they geminate, and become [ʧʧ, kk, pp, tt].
• Long vowels are indicated by doubling. The accent mark on a long vowel is placed on the second letter. Example: Kaáⁿze [ˈkãːze].

 

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