Talk:Nez Perce language

A fact from Nez Perce language appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 10 October 2005. The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that a single verb in the Nez Percé language, which is currently spoken by fewer than 100 people, can contain as much information as a complete sentence in English?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2005/October.

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DYK blurb and a suggestion

...that a single verb in the Nez Percé language, which is currently spoken by less than 100 people, can contain as much information as a complete sentence in English?

Can some examples be given in support of the above? Even one should do. It appears to be a good, well-researched article in all other respects. --Gurubrahma 05:52, 10 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

It's a fairly simple thing. Polysynthetic languages incorporate roots of nouns into them. To give an exaple from Inuktitut, the word 'aiviq' means 'walrus', I believe. If you want to say 'I am eating walrus', you have two options. You can translate it literally, using the verb 'to eat', and the noun walrus', or you can use a suffix, '-tuq', creating a verb with the meaning 'to eat walrus'. So, if you wish to say 'I am eating walrus', you also add the suffix 'tunga'. Hence 'aiviqtuqtunga' - this is technically one verb, but has the meaning of a whole sentence. You can do other things, too. To make such a thing negative, you add the suffix '-nngit' directly after the verb stem, creating the word 'aiviqturnngittunga' - 'I am not eating walrus'. I can't give examples for Nez Perce, but that gives a fairly good description of the process.

If at all possible, can a link or suggestion be given as to the language it self? i mean like a book that has the language format, usage, or even how to learn to speak and write it? seems like a very interesting language, especially when only less then 100 people know it. perhaps i might learn it and be the 100th person to know it.. :)--Charle301 17:20, 10 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I rather doubt that a language instruction book for Nez Percé has ever been published. I suspect you'll have to go and live among the remaining speakers to learn it. But then you could be the one to write the (presumably first) textbook for Nez Percé learners! --Angr/_{tɔk tə mi} 17:39, 10 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

yes, but how do you tell the word boundaries? why could

hi-tiw̓ele-pá:y-e

3rdSUBJ-in.rain-come-PAST

not just as well be given as

hi tiw̓ele pá:y-e

3rdSUBJ in.rain come-PAST

i.e. as three words, a proclitic pronoun, a locative noun, and a finite verb or participle? Note that if the structure was different, such as rain-come-3sg-LOC-PAST or similar, I couldn't make this argument, but this case seems wholly analyzable as pronoun + locative noun + predicate. 19:49, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

The point is, it isn't pronounced hi-tiw̓ele-pá:y-e, it's pronounced hitw̓alapáyna, which has only one stressed syllable and so is just one phonological word. It's sort of an extreme version of contraction in English: don't contains two morphemes but it's only one syllable so phonologically it's only one word. --Angr/_{tɔk tə mi} 20:12, 10 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Nez Percé

How is this pronounced? I was told it was like Nee Paw. Can a phonetic spelling be given?

that's just French for "pierced nose", see the Nez Percé article -- they didn't even pierce their noses, apparently they were mistaken for another tribe of nose-pierces, and the name stuck. 19:58, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Phonology

If you list a consonant phonology table, you should list a vowel phonology table. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.138.177.168 (talk) 14:55, 7 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified (February 2018)

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CSL parameter

As an FYI: There was an error in the first two of three flexible word order scenarios in Case section (see this version}. The message (Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);) related to the CSL parameter. I removed the two instance of "CSL" in this diff and the error is gone now.–CaroleHenson (talk) 18:10, 4 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

A fix to my edit was made here.–CaroleHenson (talk) 18:40, 4 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]