Lipan language

Lipan
Ndé miizaa
Native to	Mexico,United States
Region	Chihuahua,Coahuila,New Mexico,Texas
Ethnicity	Lipan Apache people
Native speakers	110 (in Mexico)
Language family	Dené–Yeniseian? Na-Dene Athabaskan Southern Athabaskan Eastern Lipan
Writing system	Latin
Official status
Official language in	Mexico
Regulated by	Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas
Language codes
ISO 639-3	apl
Glottolog	lipa1241
ELP	Lipan

Lipan(ndé miizaa) is an EasternSouthern Athabaskan languagespoken by theLipan Apachein the states ofCoahuilaandChihuahuain northernMexico,some reservations ofNew Mexicoand parts of southern Texas. Lipan belongs to theNa-Dene languagesfamily and it is closely related to theJicarilla language,which is also part of the Eastern Southern Athabaskan languages.

History

In 1981, it was reported that in New Mexico there were only 2 or 3 elderly speakers still alive.

On March 22, 2023, a speech in Lipan was given in the tribune of theChamber of Deputiesof Mexico.

On July 22, 2023, theInstituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenaspresented and validated an official Alpha bet for Lipan in the Assembly Hall ofCasas Grandes, Chihuahua.

Distribution

In Mexico, Lipan is traditionally spoken in some native communities in the states ofCoahuilaandChihuahua:In Coahuila it was mainly spoken in Los Lirios and San Antonio de Alanzas inArteaga Municipality,El Remolino and Zaragoza inZaragoza Municipality,Sierra de Santa Rosa de Lima and Múzquiz inMúzquiz Municipalityand the cities ofSabinasandSaltillo.In Chihuahua it is mainly spoken inCiudad Juarez,the city ofChihuahuaand other native towns.

Lipan was spoken in New Mexico in theMescalero Reservationand in Texas near theMexico-U.S. border.

Phonology

Consonants

There are 30 consonants in Lipan Apache:

		Bilabial	Alveolar			Palatal	Velar	Glottal
			plain	sibilant	lateral
Nasal		m⟨m⟩	n⟨n⟩
Stop	prenasal		ⁿd⟨nd⟩
	voiceless	p⟨b⟩	t⟨d⟩	ts⟨dz⟩	tɬ⟨dl⟩	tʃ⟨j⟩	k⟨g⟩	ʔ⟨'⟩
	aspirated		tʰ⟨t⟩	tsʰ⟨ts⟩	tɬʰ⟨tł⟩	tʃʰ⟨ch⟩	kʰ⟨k⟩
	ejective		tʼ⟨t'⟩	tsʼ⟨ts'⟩	tɬʼ⟨tł'⟩	tʃʼ⟨ch'⟩	kʼ⟨k'⟩
Fricative	voiceless			s⟨s⟩	ɬ⟨ł⟩	ʃ⟨sh⟩	x⟨x⟩	h⟨h⟩
	voiced			z⟨z⟩		ʒ⟨zh⟩	ɣ⟨gh⟩
Approximant					l⟨l⟩	j⟨y⟩

Vowels

There are 16 vowels in Lipan Apache:

		Front		Central		Back
		short	long	short	long	short	long
Close	oral	i⟨i⟩	iː⟨ii⟩
	nasal	ĩ⟨į⟩	ĩː⟨įį⟩
Mid	oral	e⟨e⟩	eː⟨ee⟩			o⟨o⟩	oː⟨oo⟩
	nasal	ẽ⟨ę⟩	ẽː⟨ęę⟩			õ⟨ǫ⟩	õː⟨ǫǫ⟩
Open	oral			a⟨a⟩	aː⟨aa⟩
	nasal			ã⟨ą⟩	ãː⟨ąą⟩

Tone

Tones are represented as high[V́],low[V̀],falling[V́V̀],and rising[V̀V́].Rising and falling tones only occur on long vowels.

Toponymy

The Lipan people preserve their own toponymic names to name important places within their history and culture that are part of theNdé Bikéyaa( "Ndé land" in Lipan):

Mexico	Mehigu
Chihuahua City	Ją’éłąyá
Ciudad Juárez	Tsé Tahu’aya / Yaa tu enéé
Coahuila	Nacika

Bibliography

• Breuninger, Evelyn; Hugar, Elbys; Lathan, Ellen Ann; & Rushforth, Scott. (1982).Mescalero Apache dictionary.Mescalero, NM: Mescalero Apache Tribe.
• Gatschet, Albert S. [1884]. Lipan words, phrases, and sentences. (Unpublished manuscript No. 81, Bureau of American Ethnology Archives, Smithsonian Institution).
• Gatschet, Albert S. [1885]. Lipan words, clans, and stories. (Unpublished manuscript No. 114, Bureau of American Ethnology Archives, Smithsonian Institution).
• Goddard, Pliny E. [1906]. Lipan texts. (Unpublished manuscript in Archives of Traditional Music, Indiana University, Bloomington.)
• Hoijer, Harry. (n.d.). Lipan texts. (Available from the American Philosophical Society, Chicago.) (Unpublished field notes, includes handwritten transcription and typed versions, 4 texts, one text published as Hoijer 1975).
• Hoijer, Harry. (1938). The southern Athapaskan languages.American Anthropologist,40(1), 75–87.
• Hoijer, Harry. (1942). Phonetic and phonemic change in the Athapaskan languages.Language,18(3), 218–220.
• Hoijer, Harry. (1945). The Apachean verb, part I: Verb structure and pronominal prefixes.International Journal of American Linguistics,11(4), 193–203.
• Hoijer, Harry. (1946). The Apachean verb, part II: The prefixes for mode and tense.International Journal of American Linguistics,12(1), 1–13.
• Hoijer, Harry. (1946). The Apachean verb, part III: The classifiers.International Journal of American Linguistics,12(2), 51–59.
• Hoijer, Harry. (1948). Linguistic and cultural change.Language,24(4), 335–345.
• Hoijer, Harry. (1956). Athapaskan kinship systems.American Anthropologist,58(2), 309–333.
• Hoijer, Harry. (1956).The chronology of the Athapaskan languages.International Journal of American Linguistics,22(4), 219–232.
• Hoijer, Harry. (1975). The history and customs of the Lipan, as told by Augustina Zuazua.Linguistics: An international review,161,5-37.
• Jung, Dagmar. (2000). "Word Order in Apache Narratives." InThe Athabaskan Languages.(Eds. Fernald, Theodore and Platero, Paul). Oxford: Oxford UP. 92–100.
• Opler, Morris E. (1936).The kinship systems of the southern Athabaskan-speaking tribes.American Anthropologist,38,620–633.
• Opler, Morris E. (2001).Lipan Apache.In Raymond J. DeMallie (ed.), Plains, 941-952. Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution.
• Webster, Anthony. (1999). "Lisandro Mendez’s ‘Coyote and Deer’: On narrative structures, reciprocity, and interactions."American Indian Quarterly.23(1): 1-24.