12 thoughts on “Language Quiz

  1. There are bits and pieces of English in there, I think, and it sounds like someone remembering a song or chant in another language, perhaps a Native American or Asian one … But I’m not too sure about any of this.

  2. I would bet the rent it’s a North American indigenous language. I just now have to figure out which one!

  3. Based on the range and habitat of the North American porcupine, we can probably rule out the southeastern US and Great Plains, and probably the coastal areas, A language from a forested area, probably mid to high elevation, is likely.

    THe speaker seems not to use the language very often, but is probably an L1 speaker. That suggests very few surviving speakers.

  4. I think I’m hearing a word-initial voiced velar stop, which doesn’t fit Hidatsa. THat should only appear intervocalicly.

  5. Yes, a word-initial /g/ would rule out Hidatsa. I can’t actually hear one, though. I think what I hear are word-initial, unvoiced velar stops without aspiration … But I might be wrong.

  6. No, I think you’re right. Those are unvoiced stops without articulation.

  7. Can you people make some (better) use (than me) of Simon’s clue that this language is spoken in North Dakota?

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