Cotoname language
| Cotoname | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Mexico, United States |
| Region | lower Rio Grande |
| Ethnicity | Cotoname |
| Extinct | c. 1900 |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | xcn |
xcn | |
| Glottolog | coto1248 |
 Map indicating where Cotoname was spoken | |
Cotoname[2] is an Indigenous language of Mexico and the American state of Texas formerly spoken by Native Americans indigenous to the lower Rio Grande Valley of northeastern Mexico and extreme southern Texas (United States). Today it is extinct, and is proposed to be a component of a Pakawan language family. Today, it is considered a language isolate.[3]
All known primary witnesses to the Cotoname language were published in 2024.[4]
Vocabulary
The following vocabulary list of Cotoname is from John Swanton (1940).[5]
gloss Cotoname air gurám arm, right katówan arrow ká-u bad kĕnáx, sá bed kắm belly kóx, kuwéle below éta bird komióm bison wiyá-u black baí (cf. night) blade ĕhiá-u blanket, American häwáss (cf. cold) blood sä'x blow, to pó-une bow kémma boy kuwósam breast (female) kĕnám breechclout xaguátema buffalo wiyá-u cactus-fig wámena cane ká-u chair, a náxe chief kapitán cloth (a small piece of cloth) huáxhe cold häwéss come here! sánxe Comecrudo Aranguá, xaíma cow wiyá-u crane karakór cry, to páma dance, to okáwe day ō' daybreak káma deer kĕmás die, to wátĕxo dog kowá-u drink, to xuáxe dust pó-una earth pén east otá-ume eat, to haháme evening ovx eye arókwan face makuát far huánpa feathers kuwai female nan fire mánĕx flesh kĕmás fog máyen food haháme foot ayésim fox kissá girl kuwósam go over there! awóyo! goat kápĕra good kĕnáx goose krák grass suá-u great katám gun komióp guts kuwéle hair makuát handkerchief huáxhe hare gamáro hat garópa head makuát high katám hog esmók horn yómo horse kokátere Indian, an xaíma infant huwáxe iron komióp Karankawa Aranguá kill, to wátxuka knife komiópo knife (for cutting leather) ĕhiá-u land pén let us go! awóyo little kuwósam low (said of water) xuắxe maize tawaló maize-husk wapxáp male quadruped yómo man xuaináxe masticate, to akwanámie meat kemás mesquite-bush dán metate komoí milk kĕnám mouse tsĕmáx mud pén night baí no sá north hayámta nose yá-ĕx ox (young) wiyá-u painted (on body, face, etc.) tháwĕ peccary kápio Pintos (Indian tribe so called) tháwĕ pipe pá-una rabbit kiáxhem rat tsĕmáx red msá-ĕ reed ká-u rifle komióp Rio Grande river áx̣, katám river áx̣, katám run, to mtára salt dá-än scratch, to átsiu seat, a náxe sheep séwuya sing, to koyáma sit, to páwe sit down! páwe sleep, to mátsĕkuka small kuwósam smoke, to pá-una, suá-u snake kiá-uxa sombrero garópa south séta stand, to páwia star kápra stick dópax suck, to huä'xle sun ō' sweet yáx sweetmeats yáx tail (of animal) ásuxuga Tampacuás Indian xaíma tobacco suá-u tortilla kamaplaí tortoise gapáx tree dópax tuna wámĕna up the country wéfta velduque ĕhiá-u west wéfta what do you want? titcháx mén? water áx̣ weep, to xákue west wéfta white mesó-i wind gurám wings miápa within kuwéle wolf kombóx woman katám
See also
References
- ^ Barnes, Thomas C.; Naylor, Thomas H.; Polzer, Charles W. Northern New Spain: A Research Guide. University of Arizona. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ Or Cotonamu.[1]
- ^ Zamponi, Raoul (2024-12-02), Wichmann, Søren (ed.), "5 Extinct lineages and unclassified languages of Mexico", The Languages and Linguistics of Mexico and Northern Central America, De Gruyter, pp. 99–158, doi:10.1515/9783110421705-005, ISBN 978-3-11-042170-5, retrieved 2025-06-08
- ^ Haukur Þorgeirsson and Alaric Hall, 'The Cotoname Language – The Primary Sources', Zenodo (2024), doi:10.5281/zenodo.13368224.
- ^ Swanton, John. 1940. Linguistic material from the tribes of southern Texas and northern Mexico.
External links
Wiktionary has a word list at Appendix:Cotoname word list