Oneida (Onʌyotaʼa:ka)

Oneida is a Northern Iroquoian language with about 200 speakers in southern Ontario in Canada, and in New York state and part of Wisconsin in the USA. The native name for the language, Onʌyotaʼa:ka, means 'people of the standing stone'.

The Oneida tribe was one of the original members of the Iroquois Confederacy, or Kanonsionni (league of clans). The other member of the Confederacy were the Mohawk, Seneca, Cayuga, and Onondaga. A sixth tribe, the Tuscarora, joined the confederacy at a later date. These allies now refer to themselves as the Haudenosaunee (people of the longhouse) or Six Nations.

Oneida alphabet and pronunciation

Notes

Stress is marked with an acute accent (á)
Underlined letters are pronounced voiceless (whispered)

Sample text in Oneida

Tahonatutáhkwʌʼ katiʼ wí:kaʼikʌ́ ohkwalí khaleʼ skʌhnáksʌʼ tahyatawʌlyéhsaʌ. Nok tsiʼ elakwi né: naʼkawhyúhatiʼ nukwá: lotukohtuhátiʼ skʌhnáksʌ́. Tehotawʌlyehátiʼ kaʼikʌ́ tehotkahtunyútih. Kawhyuhaktútiʼ kwí: kaʼikʌ́ tehonatawʌlyehátih.

Source: http://www.languagegeek.com/rotinonhsonni/one_example.html

Links

Information about the Oneida people and language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oneida_language
http://www.geocities.com/bigorrin/oneida_kids.htm
http://www.languagegeek.com/rotinonhsonni/oneida.html

Oneida animal words (illustrated)
http://www.native-languages.org/oneida_animals.htm

Official Website of the Oneida Indian Nation
http://www.oneida-nation.net

Oneida Language Revitalization Program (includes Oneida lessons)
http://language.oneidanation.org

Related languages

Cayuga, Cherokee, Mohawk, Oneida, Tuscarora

Other languages written with the Latin alphabet