Tongva is an Uto-Aztecan language which was spoken in Southern California, around Los Angeles (Yaanga) and on Santa Catalina Island. The last native speakers are thought to have died in about 1900. However, there are unverified reports of speakers surviving until the 1970s. Tongva is also known as Gabrieleño.
Tongva was extensively documented by John Peabody Harrington (1884-1961), a linguist and ethnologist who specialised in the native languages of California. His work on Tongva was not published, but was collected by the Smithsonian Museum's Bureau of American Ethnology.
Since 2012 efforts have been made by the Tongva tribal council to revive the language. They have set up classes, and the Gabrielino-Tongva Language Committee has created Tongva grammar lessons and songs, and a Tongva Facebook page.
Download Tongva alphabet charts in PDF or Excel
Mopuushtenpo xaa mochoova!
May your strength be with you!
Yaraarkomokre'e
I remember you
Totaara'e piik
He is throwing the rock
Paararne xaa
I'm thirsty
'Aweeshkone xaa, 'ekwaa'a xaa!
I'm happy you're here!
Heniike'am mohiin tameevngey?
How old are you?
... nehiin tameevngey
I'm ... years old
Tomii'aa!
Be quiet!
ʼEyoonak, ʼeyooken tokuupangaʼe xaa;
hoyuuykoy motwaanyan;
moxariin mokiimen tokuupra;
maay moʼwiishme meyii ʼooxor ʼeyaa tokuupar.
Hamaare, ʼeyooneʼ maxaareʼ ʼwee taamet,
koy ʼoovonreʼ ʼeyoomamaayntar momoohaysh, miyii ʼeyaare
'oovonax 'eyoohiino 'eyooyha';
koy xaareʼ maayn ʼiitam momoohaysh,
koy xaa mohuuʼesh.
ʼWee meneeʼ xaaʼe.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongva_language#The_Lord's_Prayer[11]
Some details provided by Wolfram Siegel and Michael Peter Füstumum
Information about Tongva | Numbers
Information about the Tongva language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongva_language
https://www.facebook.com/TongvaLanguage/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Peabody_Harrington
Comanche, Cora, Hopi, Huarijio, Huichol, Ivilyuat / Cahuilla, Kawaiisu, Luiseño, Mayo, Mono, O'odham, Nahuatl, Northern Paiute, Pipil, Serrano, Shoshone, Southern Paiute, Tarahumara, Tepehuán (Northern), Tepehuán (Southeastern), Tepehuán (Southwestern), Timbisha, Tongva, Yaqui
Languages written with the Latin alphabet
Page last modified: 20.04.24
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