# Caddoan languages

The Caddoan languages are a family of languages native to the Great Plains spoken by tribal groups of the central United States, from present-day North Dakota south to Oklahoma. All Caddoan languages are critically endangered, as the number of speakers has declined markedly due to colonial legacy, lack of support, and other factors.

## Family division

Five languages belong to the Caddoan language family:
* Caddoan languages
** Caddo (2 speakers)
** Northern Caddoan
*** Wichita †
*** Pawnee–Kitsai
**** Kitsai †
**** Pawnee–Arikara
***** Pawnee (10 speakers)
***** Arikara (10 speakers)
Kitsai and Wichita have no speakers left. Kitsai stopped being spoken in the 19th century when its members were absorbed into the Wichita tribe. Wichita stopped being spoken in 2016, when the last native speaker of Wichita, Doris McLemore (who left recordings and language materials), died.
All of the remaining Caddoan languages spoken today are severely endangered. As of 2007, both the Pawnee and Arikara languages only had 10 speakers, with the Caddo language only spoken by 2 (as of 2023). Caddo and Pawnee are spoken in Oklahoma by small numbers of tribal elders. Arikara is spoken on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota.
Prior to colonization and US expansion, speakers of Caddoan languages were more widespread. The Caddo, for example, lived in northeastern Texas, southwestern Arkansas, and northwestern Louisiana, as well as southeastern Oklahoma. The Pawnee formerly lived along the Platte River in what is now Nebraska.

## Prehistory

Glottochronology is a controversial method of reconstructing, in broad detail, the history of a language and its relationships, though it may still provide useful insights and generalizations regarding a family's history. In the case of Proto-Caddoan, it appeared to have divided into two branches, Northern and Southern, more than 3000 years ago (The division of the language implies also a geographic and/or political separation).
South Caddoan, or Caddo proper, evolved in north-eastern Texas and adjacent Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Other than Caddo, no daughter languages are known, but some unrecorded ones likely existed in the 16th and the 17th centuries.
Northern Caddoan evolved into several different languages. The language that became Wichita, with several different dialects, branched off about 2000 years ago. Kitsai separated from the Northern Caddoan stem about 1200 years ago, and Pawnee and Arikara separated 300 to 500 years ago.

## External relations

Adai, a language isolate from Louisiana is known only from a 275-word list collected in 1804, and may be a Caddoan language, however documentation is too scanty to determine with certainty. Adjacent to the Caddo lived the Eyeish or Ais—not to be confused with the Ais of Florida—who also spoke a language that may have been related to Caddoan.
Some linguists believe that the Caddoan, Iroquoian, and Siouan languages may be connected in a Macro-Siouan language family, but their work is suggestive and the theory remains hypothetical. Similar attempts to find a connection with the Algonquian languages have been inconclusive. There is insufficient evidence for linguists to propose a hypothetical Macro-Algonquian/Iroquoian language family.

## Reconstruction

Some Proto-Northern Caddoan reconstructions by Chafe (1979):$^{:220}$
    glossProto- Northern CaddoanPawneeArikaraWichitaCaddo arm*win-pí:ruʔwí:nuʔwi:rʔamí:suh blood*pat-pá:tuʔpá:tuʔwa:ckicʔabahʔuh bone*kis-kí:suʔčí:šuʔki:sʔa egg*nipik-ripí:kuʔnipí:kuʔnikʷi:kʔanibih eye*kirik-kirí:kuʔciríːkuʔkirikʔa intestine*riyac-ré:cuʔné:suʔniya:cʔanahč’uh leg*kas-ká:suʔká:xuʔka:sʔak’á:suh liver*karik-karí:kuʔkarí:kuʔkarikʔakánk’uh skunk*niwitríwitníwitniwi:cwihit sun*sak-(h)un-sakú:ruʔšakú:nuʔsa:khirʔasak’uh wood*yak-rá:kuʔ ’box’há:kuʔ ’box’haːkʔa/-ya:k-yaʔk’uh
For Proto-Caddoan, Chafe (1979) reconstructs the following phonemes.
* stops: /p t k/
* affricate: /ts/ ⟨c⟩
* spirant: /s/
* resonants: /w n r/ and /j/ ⟨y⟩
* laryngeals: /ʔ h/
* vowels: /i a u/

## Vocabulary

Below is a list of basic vocabulary of Northern Caddoan languages from Parks (1979):
    No.EnglishArikaraPawneeKitsaiWichita 1I-t--t--t--c- 2thou-x--s--s--s- 3we-sir--cir--ci- (incl. dual)-cíːy- 4thistititiʔitiʔi 5thatiii-, anini ‘by that’haːríːh 6chestwaːkuːkáu?awaːkiːsuʔnikokíːsukhiːkʔa 7notka-ka-ka-kírih 8allčitúːʔkituːakwácasséːhah 9manyranihuːnkarinirahkina ‘there are many’iyarhah 10oneáxkuxáskuarískuass 11twopítkuxpítkucásu, cúsuwicha 12bigrihuːnrihuːrnikintac; Riwaːc 13womansápatcápatcakwáktkaːhiːkʔa 14manwíːtapíːtawiːtawiːc 15personsáhnišcáhrikskírikaihaːs 16fishčiwáhtškacíːkinitátkaːcʔa 17birdníkusríkuckikuːcáke, kucákiichir 18dogxáːtšásaːkianúːsakicíyeːh 19treenaháːpirahaːpeyáku (wood); ayákwitiyaːhkw 20seednačiríːkuʔrákiriːkuʔnikiríːkʔunikiːsʔa 21leafsčeːkaráːkuʔkskéːkaraːkuʔyakánukíʔincaːcʔa 22rootkasukaːwíuʔrákapahcuʔayakakunayahkasaʔaskiːcʔa 23barkhaːkiskúːxuʔráːkickuːsuʔyakatakuáctíːkʔacʔiyaːcʔa 24skinsahnišskúːxuʔckáriːtuʔarahkitakithaːrʔa 25meattsástškísackineːtanaːs, awánasʔarasʔa 26bloodpáːtuʔpáːtuʔkwáːtuwaːckicʔa 27bonečíːšuʔkíːsuʔkíːsukiːsʔa 28greasečisahítškícahihtuʔyahtkiríyu ‘hot’; kinasíːtu ‘lard’kiraːsʔa 29eggnipíːkuʔripíːkuʔnikwíːkunikwiːkʔa 30hornaríːkuʔpaːríːkuʔ, aríːkuʔaríːkuʔarikʔa 31tailnitkúːʔritkuːʔunitkúhukiːyaːkʔa 32featherhíːtuʔíːtuʔhíːtuʔniːsʔa 33hairúːxuʔúːsuʔickóːsutiyaːcʔa 34headpáxuʔpáksuʔkwitácuʔ íckoʔo ‘about head’weʔekʔa 35eyečiríːkuʔkiríːkuʔkiriːkʔukirikʔa 36nosesiníːtuʔicúːsuʔicúːsutisʔa 37mouthhaːkáʔuʔháːkauʔháːkuhaːkaʔa 38tootháːnuʔáːruʔanhíːsuʔaːkʔa 39tongueháːtuʔháːtuʔháːtuʔhacʔa 40fingernailšwíːtuʔkspíːtuʔkskwíːtuiskwicʔa 41footáxuʔásuʔasúʔasʔa 42kneepaːčíːšuʔpáːkiːsuʔkirikisnayuskiːskwasʔa 43handíšuʔíksuʔíksuʔiskʔa 44neckčíːsuʔkíːcuʔnatíːnukiticʔa 45breastséːtuʔéːtuʔisáːtueːcʔa 46liverkaríːkuʔkaríːkuʔkaríːkukarikʔa 47drinkčiːkakíːkakíːka-kikʔa 48eatwaːwa-awaːwa-awawaʔánu, wáwaʔa-waːwaʔa 49bitekaʔuskauctakocóhu ‘bite it’-taʔa 50seeut... e.rikut... eːriktuciʔeːriksu ‘he sees it’ʔiːs 51hearatka-uatka-uatkarahkus ‘hear it’ʔaːckhéʔe 52knowut...reːsiːšir...raːʔiːtaatihayaki ‘I know it’wickaʔa 53sleepitkaitkaitka-hiʔinck 54diekoːthurahachíːksta ‘died’-teʔes 55killkoːtikkuːtikkiki 56swimhuːseːriːtikhuːceːriːtiknutoceríːtik ‘he swims’-arhiya ‘to bathe’ 57flyawanuawariniahak, -a-ʔiːtoː (+loc.)ʔa 58laughawaxkawaskawas naʔaʔa ‘comes in air’-wakharikikw 59comein...ain...aináhu ‘he is coming’u-a... ʔa 60liešasasaʔirhawi 61sitkuxkuwiʔicaki 62standaričarikárikiariki 63cutkakatkkakatkkakatk-kack 64saywaːkowaːkuwákuwakʔa 65sunšakúːnuʔsakúːruʔsakúːnusaːkhirʔa 66moonpáhpácúhkwáwáːh 67starsákaːʔaúːpiritnikwírikhíːkwirikʔa 68watertstóːxuʔkíːcuʔakicóːnukicʔa 69raintsuhíːnuʔácuhuːruʔnahacaʔaa...hiriʔa (verb only) 70stonekanítškarítkikátanuʔikaːʔa 71sandčiwíhtuʔkíwiktuʔkiwíktukiːchaːrʔa 72earthhunáːnuʔhuráːruʔhunáːnahiraːrʔa 73cloudskarahkataháːnuʔckáuʔnáctonkeʔeːrʔa 74smokenaːwíːšuʔráːwiːsuʔaːrosːickweʔeːkʔa 75firečeːkáʔuʔkeːkauʔ ‘flame’akiakyecʔa (n.); -keʔe ‘be a fire’ 76ashitkanahtúːsuʔkaráktuhcuʔitkáːnuickhaːrʔa ‘dust, sand’ 77burnin...kunistaʔakahuːriktik, ir...kunstaʔanahúniku, -hurik-hiri 78pathhatúːnuʔ, -sat-hatúːruʔnuhyaːtáta ‘path goes’hachirʔa; -yac ‘to be path’ 79mountainwáːʔuʔwáːuʔarakauhnawaːreʔerhárih ‘where there are mountains’ 80redpahaːtpahaːtkwahtnyúkwaːc 81bluetareːʔuːxtareːʔuːsarayósːkawʔac 82yellowrahkatáːnrahkataːrkisísː, kwanisnarisis 83whitečiːsawatáːntaːkaːrkahcnúkhac 84blackkatíːtkatíːtkatinukkaːrʔiːs 85nightnitkaháːnuʔrátkahaːruʔnatki-ckhaːrʔa 86hotin...awiristoir...awiricturahtátkiu ‘it’s hot’wariːckhaːrʔa 87coldin...raːnanaːxituir...raraːsitunahenóːku ‘it’s cold’-hkwic 88satedkaːwačiːtkaːwakiːtahinoːsana ‘becomes sated’tawaːwi 89goodun...heːrur...heːrickuruːku, ickorókacs 90roundriwiruriwiruariwíoktáriwiːk 91threetawihk-tawihk-táwihkotawhaː 92grasshúːnuʔíːruʔacíːuhíːyaːkhaːrʔa 93gutsnéːsuʔréːcuʔkiréːcu, kiriacuniyaːcʔa 94windhutúːnuʔhutúːruʔhutúːnuniweʔéːrʔa 95foggypihuːpihuːrúsca-ʔiskwaːwi 96urinatekaːsuːkaːcuːwíahas ‘he urinates’-aːhas 97tieut...tareːpiut...tareːpuatonocakósk ‘I tie it’-thiyaki 98singraːkaroːkraːkaruːkkurawáknu ‘he is singing’kiraːh 99spit outhawathawatahatkicowati ‘he spits’hawati 100cryčikakkikakakikakóhuʔiriki