Sahaptin (suh-HAP-tin), also called Ichishkiin (ih-chis-KEEN; Umatilla: Čiškíin, Yakama: Ichishkíin Sɨ́nwit), is one of the two-language Sahaptian branch of the Plateau Penutian family spoken in a section of the northwestern plateau along the Columbia River and its tributaries in southern Washington, northern Oregon, and southwestern Idaho, in the United States;[2] the other language is Nez Perce (Niimi'ipuutímt).
Sahaptin is spoken by various tribes of the Washington Reservations; Yakama, Warm Springs, Umatilla; and also spoken in many smaller communities such as Celilo, Oregon.
The Yakama Nation tribal cultural resources program has been promoting the use of their traditional name of the language, Ichishkíin Sɨ́nwit ('this language'), instead of the Salish-derived name Sahaptin.[3]
Name
Sahaptin is typically known as Ichiskiin in its various dialects.[4] In the Yakama dialect, it is called Ichishkíin Sɨ́nwit, spelled variously Ichishkíin, Íchishkin, Íchishkink, or Chishkíin.[5] In the Umatilla dialect, it is called Čiškíin or Ičiškíin.[6]
The words Sahaptin, Shahaptin, and Sahaptian are derived from the Columbia-Moses name for the Nez Perce, sħáptənəxʷ.[7] Cognates appear in other Interior Salishan languages, such as Okanagansʕaptnx 'Nez Perce'[8] or Spokanesaʕáptni 'Nez Perce',[9] indictating the ancient age of the ethnonym. The name Sahaptin has also been spelled "Shahaptin", "Sahapten", "Shahaptian", and "Shawpatin".[10]
The first usage of the word "Sahaptin" dates to 1811, in the journal of fur trader David Thompson, who wrote of the "Chief of all the Shawpatin Tribes", referring to the Nez Perce. At the time, "Sahaptin" (and variants) was used to refer to the Nez Perce, while "Walla Walla" was used to refer to the Sahaptin-speaking peoples. Alexander Ross visited a large camp on the Walla Walla River later that year, identifying "the Walla-Wallas, the Shaw Haptens, and the Cajouses". In 1844, Horatio Hale wrote of the "Sahaptin or Nez-Perces" language and the "Walawala" language. At the same time, the Snake River was also sometimes called the Sahaptin River, because it led from the Columbia River to the country of the Nez Perce.[10]
In the 1960s, the name "Sahaptin" was used by linguists, but it was rare for Sahaptin speakers to even be aware of the term. Most speakers used the terms Ichishkínk (Yakama) or Chishkín (Walla Walla and Umatilla), which mean literally "in this way/manner".[10][5]
There are published grammars,[14][11] a recent dictionary,[3] and a corpus of published texts.[15][16]
Sahaptin has a split ergative syntax, with direct-inverse voicing and several applicative constructions.[17]
The ergative case inflects third-person nominals only when the direct object is first- or second-person (the examples below are from the Umatilla dialect):
i-
3.NOM-
q̓ínu
see
-šana
-ASP
yáka
bear
paanáy
3SG.ACC
i- q̓ínu -šana yáka paanáy
3.NOM- see -ASP bear 3SG.ACC
'the bear saw him'
i-
3.NOM-
q̓ínu
see
-šana
-ASP
=aš
=1SG
yáka
bear
-nɨm
-ERG
i- q̓ínu -šana =aš yáka -nɨm
3.NOM- see -ASP =1SG bear -ERG
'the bear saw me'
The direct-inverse contrast can be elicited with examples such as the following. In the inverse, the transitive direct object is coreferential with the subject in the preceding clause.
Jacobs, Melville (1934–1937). Northwest Sahaptin Texts. Columbia University Contributions to Anthropology. Vol. 19. New York: Columbia University Press.
