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Choctaw Language and Culture combines a beginning language and grammar text with a selection of essays on Choctaw history, language, and culture from prehistoric times to the present.In part one of the book, "Chahta Anumpa," Marcia Haag, a linguist, and Henry Willis, a native speaker and Choctaw instructor, present the Choctaw language. Each chapter begins with a conversation or a Choctaw story. Designed for classroom use and to preserve the rich heritage of the Choctaw language, the lessons introduce new words, explain sentence construction and correct usage, and provide exercises in grammar and composition.Part two, "Kaniohmichi-hosh Okchayat Il-asha ("The Way We Live")," contains essays on Choctaw history and culture written especially for this volume by leading scholars in anthropology, history, linguistics, archaeology, and Native American studies. Beginning with "The Ancient Ones," the chapters describe Choctaw prehistory, daily life before contact, ritual and religion, trade, removal to Indian Territory, schools, newspapers, and contemporary life.
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Choctaw Language and Culture This page intentionally left blank Choctaw Language and Culture Chahta Anumpa By Marcia Haag and Henry Willis Foreword by Grayson Noley University of Oklahoma Press : Norman Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Haag, Marcia, 1951– Choctaw language and culture : Chahta Anumpa / by Marcia Haag and Henry Willis. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–8061–3339–2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Choctaw language—Grammar. 2. Choctaw Indians. I. Willis, Henry, 1929– II. Title. PM872 .H33 2001 497 .3—dc21 00–053277 The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources, Inc. ∞ Copyright © 2001 by the University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Publishing Division of the University. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the U.S.A. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Contents List of Illustrations vii Foreword: Choctaws Today, by Grayson Noley ix Preface xv Part One. Chahta Anumpa, The Choctaw Language 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. The Sounds of Choctaw The Noun Phrase: The Noun and Its Modifiers The Basic Sentence The Past Tense Agent Person Markers Question Words Affected Person Markers Word Formation and Verbs with Affected Subjects Recipient Person Markers The Future Tense and Verbs with Recipient Subjects Complex Verbs: The -t Suffix Commands Dependent Clauses Plurals Aspect: Events and States Clause Conjunction with m t and ma Clause Conjunction with -cha and -na v 3 14 18 29 39 48 59 68 76 86 95 104 115 124 134 144 154 vi 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. Contents Iterative and Resolutional Aspects Negation with ik-o Adverbials with -osh and -o The Potential Mood Relative Clauses Indefinites Emphatic Pronouns 164 178 187 199 210 220 228 Part Two. Kaniohmichi-hosh Okchayat Il-asha, ‘The Way We Live’ 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. The Ancient Ones, by Timothy R. Pauketat The Life Cycle from Birth to Death, by Pamela Innes Choctaw Social Organization, by Morris Foster Daily Life in the Southeastern Forest, by Charles Hudson The Origins of Maize, by Cameron B. Wesson Southeastern Iconography, by David H. Dye Choctaw Houses and Public Buildings, by Cameron B. Wesson European Contact and Trade, by Cameron B. Wesson A History of the Choctaw Language, by Marcia Haag The Choctaw People Resist the Treaty at Dancing Rabbit Creek, by Duane Champagne The Choctaw Trail of Tears, by James Carson Life in Mississippi after Removal, by James Carson Urban and Rural: New Life