Wichita (Kirikir’iis)

Wichita is a Northern Caddoan language that was spoken near Anadarko in western Oklahoma. The last known native speaker of Wichita, Doris McLemore, died in August 2016. Efforts are being made to revive the language in a partnership between the Wichita tribe and the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Wichita alphabet and pronunciation

Wichita is a tonal language with high and low tones. The high tone is indicated with an acute accent (á). The low tone is unmarked.

Download an alphabet chart for Wichita (Excel)

Sample text in Wichita

ka:ʔa:ʔa:kó:kha:rʔa, kíkʔi:s, khiʔas, kiyakihiteʔecaki, kiya:kiʔi:khíyaʔa hakihiʔiyaskwah. "ka:kiyaʔ, isí:ʔa! iskirhiʔiyaskwa!"

Translation

Once upon a time, turtle, poor thing, he was sitting at the edge, they say. He was wishing, they say to go across the water. Somebody come! Take me across the water!

Source: http://www.colorado.edu/linguistics/faculty/rood-old/Wichita/texts/tbc_a_b.html

Videos in and about Wichita

Information about Wichita | Numbers

Links

Information about the Wichita language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wichita_language
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wichita_(langue)
http://www.colorado.edu/linguistics/faculty/rood-old/Wichita/
http://www.colorado.edu/linguistics/faculty/rood-old/Wichita/SketchofWichita.pdf
http://www.native-languages.org/wichita_guide.htm

The Last Living Speaker of Wichita
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18532656
http://www.nativetimes.com/archives/22/1171-woman-last-to-speak-wichita-language
http://kmuw.org/post/last-fluent-speaker-wichita-tribal-language-dies

Caddoan languages

Arikara, Caddo, Pawnee, Wichita

Languages written with the Latin alphabet

Page last modified: 06.08.21

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