Wiktionary:About Cupeño

link={{{imglink}}} This is a Wiktionary policy, guideline or common practices page. Specifically it is a policy think tank, working to develop a formal policy.
Policies – Entries: CFI - EL - NORM - NPOV - QUOTE - REDIR - DELETE. Languages: LT - AXX. Others: BLOCK - BOTS - VOTES.

This policy explains considerations for Cupeño entries that are not covered by WT:ELE and other general policies.

This is a preliminary version for the purpose of explaining the orthography used

Orthography edit

Modified slightly from that used in Mulu'wetam so it can be reproduced in Unicode

Stress edit

Stress is shown with an acute accent added to the vowel, instead of an underline- but only in the display forms. Entry names should never have an accent.

Comparison with other orthographies edit

Wiktionary Mulu'wetam IPA Notes
' ' ʔ The glottal stop
a a a (ɑ before uvulars q and qw) Like "a" as in English father ("ɑ" as in English no before uvulars q and qw)
aa aa Long* "a"
ch ch t͡ʃ Like "ch" in English cheese or in Spanish
d d ð Only in Spanish loanwords
ɛ ɛ ɛ Like the "e" in English hey or in Spanish
ɛɛ ɛ ɛ: Long* "ɛ"
e e ɘ or ɨ Like the "e" in English nodded or English noses
ee ee ɘ: or ɨ: Long* "e"
f f f Only in Spanish loanwords
g g ɣ Only in Spanish loanwords
h h h Never silent (except in digraphs "ch", "sh" and "ṣh")
i i i Like the "i" in English machine, or like in Spanish
ii ii i: Long* "i"
k k k
kw kw Like the "qu" in English quick
l l l
ly ly ʎ Like the "lli" in English million or Castillian Spanish "ll"
m m m
n n n
ng ng ŋ Like the "ng" in English sing, without the "g" sound in English finger
ny ny ɲ Like the "ny" in English canyon
o o o Like the "o" in English no or in Spanish
oo oo o: Long* "o"
p p p
q q q Not like anything in English- much lower and further back than the "k" sound (see Voiceless uvular stop at Wikipedia)
qw qw Same as "q", but with a "w" after it.
r r ɾ Only in Spanish loanwords
s s s
sh sh ʃ Like "sh" in English shoe
ṣh sh with a forward slash (/) through the s ʂ All one sound: the retroflex equivalent of sh (see Voiceless retroflex sibilant at Wikipedia). To English speakers it sounds like a cross between "r" and "sh". The character used in Mulu'wetam apparently doesn't exist in Unicode (though it's easy to make on a manual typewriter), so the Sanskritist symbol for the sound was substituted (in Sanskrit transliteration, though, "ṣ" represents the whole sound).
t t t
u u u Like the "u" in English salute
uu uu u: Long* "u"
v v v
w w w
x x x Not like anything in English, except the "ch" in loch for Scottish speakers, but like Spanish "j".
xw xw Same as "x", but with a "w" after it. Some people come close to this when they pronounce the
y y j Like the "y" in English yard

* Not like English long vowels: exactly the same as the normal sound, but held longer.

Grammar edit

Nouns edit

Nouns can be either possessed or non-possessed if possessed, it will normally have a pronoun prefix agreeing in person and number with the possessor, and may have a possessed-noun suffix. Non-possessed nouns will almost always have an absolutive suffix, which is always the same for a given word.

Some nouns, such as those for body parts or relatives, are always possessed, while others, such as the names of animals, are never (grammatically) possessed. Nouns with no possessed forms are preceded by an auxiliary noun which takes the prefix and suffix (if any) that would otherwise appear on the main noun.

Lemma forms edit

  • If there is a non-possessed form, it should be the lemma, and include the absolutive suffix.
  • Possessed-only lemmas should be spelled with a hyphen in front, and include any possessed-noun suffix.

References edit

  • Mulu'wetam: The First People: Cupeño Oral History and Language, Edited by Jane H. Hill and Rosinda Nolasquez, Malki Museum Press.
A collection of stories and texts transcribed from native speakers, accompanied by a sketch of the grammar and a dictionary.
  • A grammar of Cupeño, by Jane H. Hill, University of California Press (available here).