Seneca
Seneca is an Iroquoian language spoken in United States and Canada, by about 100 people. Glottolog rates it nearly extinct.
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Seneca (; in Seneca, Onödowaʼga꞉ʼ Gawë꞉noʼ, or Onötowáʼka꞉) is the language of the Seneca people, one of the Six Nations of the Hodínöhšö꞉ni꞉h (Haudenosaunee Confederacy or Iroquois League); it is an Iroquoian language, spoken at the time of contact in the western part of New York. While the name Seneca, attested as early as the seventeenth century, is of obscure origins, the endonym Onödowaʼga꞉ʼ translates to "those of the big hill." About 10,000 Seneca live in the United States and Canada, primarily on reservations in western New York, with others living in Oklahoma and near Brantford, Ontario. Since 2022 an active language revitalization program has been underway.
From Wikipedia · Seneca language · CC BY-SA 4.0
Words in Seneca
| Meaning | Word | Romanization |
|---|---|---|
| person | okwe* | |
| name | hsEn* | |
| eye | ka* | |
| ear | aoht* | |
| nose | 7nyohs* | |
| tooth | no7c* | |
| tongue | E7nohs* | |
| hand | s7oht* | |
| blood | tkwEhs* | |
| bone | 7nEy* | |
| skin | in* | |
| knee | osh* | |
| breast | no7kw* | |
| liver | thwEhs* | |
| water | o꞉neganos | |
| fire | cist* | |
| sun | Ehkw* | |
| star | cihso7t* | |
| stone | 7skwa* | |
| mountain | not* | |
| tree | ot* | |
| leaf | nEht* | |
| night | ahsot* | |
| dog | ji꞉yäh | |
| fish | ica* | |
| bird | jíʼdëʼö꞉h | |
| louse | ci7noh* | |
| one | skat* | |
| two | tekhnih* | |
| I | i7* |
* in the simplified ASJP transcription
Most similar languages
Vocabulary
Grammar
- Huron-WyandotIroquoian86% alike
- IwaidjaIwaidjan Proper86% alike
- Avá-CanoeiroTupian82% alike
- Mescalero-Chiricahua ApacheAthabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit82% alike
- ChilcotinAthabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit82% alike
- Temascaltepec NahuatlUto-Aztecan82% alike
Vocabulary compares 40 basic words (ASJP); grammar compares 195 features (Grambank). Similar is not always related.
Nearby languages
Elsewhere
Glottolog · sene1264 · Wikipedia (English) · Ethnologue · see