Onondaga language

Onondaga (Onundagaono or "People of the Hills") is the language of the Onondaga First Nation, one of the original five constituent tribes of the League of the Iroquois (Hodenosaunee)

Related Topics:
First Nation - Iroquois

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This language is spoken in the United States and Canada, primarily on reservations in western New York state, and near Brantford, Ontario.

Related Topics:
United States - Canada - New York state - Brantford - Ontario

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Like all Iroquoian languages, Onondaga is a polysynthetic language. As such, many grammatical and lexical concepts are expressed in a single "word". Here is an example:

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wa?tkhenakdagwád?h

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wa?-t-k-he-nakd-a-gwa-d-?h

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FACT-DUALIC-1.SG.NOM-3.NON-MASC.ACC-bed-EPEN-raise-BEN-PUNC

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"I raised the bed for her/them." (ex, a Murphy bed)

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FACT = factive, something known to have occured

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DUALIC = range of different meanings

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1.SG.NOM = I - refers to the subject

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3.NOM-MASC.ACC = her/them - refers to the object, 3rd person, non-masculine singular

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EPEN - epenthetic vowel, inserted to break up illegal consonant clusters

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BEN - benefactive, indicates that event was done for someone's benefit

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PUNC - punctual, refers to an event that is over and done with

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