Adai language

Adai (also Adaizan, Adaizi, Adaise, Adahi, Adaes, Adees, Atayos) is an extinct Native American language that was spoken in northwestern Louisiana.

Adai
Tenánat Hadéyas
Native to	United States
Region	Louisiana
Ethnicity	Adai people
Extinct	19th century[1]
Language family	unclassified
Language codes
ISO 639-3	xad
Linguist List	xad
Glottolog	adai1235[2]
Linguasphere	64-BCA-a
Pre-contact distribution of Adai

Classification

It was once proposed that there may be a connection between Adai and the nearby Caddoan languages, but this now seems unlikely.[3]

Vocabulary

Adai is known only from a list of 275 words from 1804 by John Sibley.[4] The manuscript word list below has been reproduced from Grant's (1995) transcriptions.[3] (Note: Due to the poor printing in Grant (1995), the text below may not be entirely accurate and will need to be re-checked.)

Nouns

gloss	Adai
fire	nang
water	holcat
earth	capăt
air	gavecăt
wind	solette
sky	ganick
sun	naleen
moon	nachavat
star	otat
light	cahachet
darkness	hachaoosto
day	nestack
night	arestenet
cold	hastalza
smoke	sewot
cloud	sowie
fog	sawiatto
rain	ganic
hail	hiechuck
ice	hăhing
frost	hatsuck
dew	helgat
rainbow	cochakee
thunder	nacotrine
lightning	newiche
yesterday	woncha
today	naleaton
tomorrow	ansteete
a day	nallenachus
a month	ponachus
a year	ovetsnachus
spring	hoasang
summer	weetsuck
autumn	hăstal neetsoock
winter	henawnck
a man	haasing
a woman	quaechuke
a boy	tallahache
a girl	quoatwistuck
a child	tallahaning
father	kewanick
mother	amanie
brother	gasing
sister	nasing
husband	hasekino
wife	quochekino
son	tallehennic
daughter	quolasinic
the body	stieng
the head	tochae
the hair	catatuck
the beard	tosocat
the faced	annack
an eye	analca
the nose	wecoocat
the cheek	ampachochuk
chin	teaskuck
lip	wacachuck
mouth	wacatcholak
tooth	awat
tongue	tenanat
ear	calat
neck	hautoleat
arm	walcat
wrist	sickolat
hand	secut
finger	okinsin
belly	noeyack
back	sahaocat
side	soleot
bubby	acut
nipple	actonè
thigh	otack
leg	ahasuck
foot	nocal
toe	notocat
skin	polac
nails	sicksapasca
bone	wahacut
blood	pchack
life	waaton
death	oeying
food	capisting
meat	kosing
fat	taanack
lean	ahcanick
bread	okhapin
Indian corn	ocasuck
milk	haplecut
egg	oalaken
a house	coochut
buffalo	haapan
elk	wakhanissie
deer	wakhine
bear	solang
wolf	akalasco
panther	hieanne
wildcat	ocashine
polecat	nowat
fox	yanostan
beaver	culawa
raccoon	angalasto
opossum	wasehat
hare	awaine
squirrel	onack
flying squirrel	paachan
mole	ainolack
a bird	washang
an eagle	ochuck
a hawk	tiang
owl	onack
turkey	owachuck
swan	teotoka
wild goose	nicknicka
duck	ahuck
turkey buzzard	aspachuack
raven	anak
crow	antocock (anlocock)
blackbird	tehalhuck
crane	cuhat
pigeon	anchocat
pheasant	newatocat
partridge	newan
mockingbird	waccocochin
redbird	yatochosto
snake	hostuck
lizard	annuila
butterfly	washep
fly	ganetso
fish	aesut
frog	halonloka (halontoka)
gold	selhack
silver	stawa
copper	holnasak
a stone	ekseka
wood	mang
gum	wastocha
a mountain	tolola
hill	newanah
valley	steluck
sea	aatack
lake	aatalkon
pond	holcata
river	yawichat
creek	yacuck
a spring	holcastalga
grass	hasack
a tree	tanack
pine	tanquechat
cedar	nooktanuck
sycamore	heohè
ash	toltenna
elm	napstein
beech	hancaptin
birch	caoluck
maple	wieack
oak	pantana
chestnut	hangan
hickory	tampchasuck
walnut	nahattonie
locust	nohat
mulberry	etalenno
a vine	colac
tobacco	hackhuck
joy	olaha
sorrow	cachtiek

Adjectives

gloss	Adai
white	testaga
black	hatona
green	naetsa
blue	ostonga
yellow	neetsack
red	pechasat
good	awiste
bad	ashawè
large	tocat
small	enechet
high	alonie
low	hatishtinet
broad	walack
narrow	cooatechuck
old	hansnala
young	tallahasin
new	colisco
hard	toosca
soft	yolaca
sweet	piscacha
sour	chacuck
bitter	yaweiling
hot	welchuck
cold	hostalga
dry	tollooso
wet	walloco
strong	olack
weak	okesack
pretty	alwoinie
ugly	chawack
sick	kistana
brave	hackhing
cowardly	tewani
wise	acknossese
foolish	achiskiet

Pronouns

gloss	Adai
I	hicatuck
you	innaluak
he	nassicon
she	estuck
they	ostachan
this	attack
that	natack

Verbs

gloss	Adai
to eat	okeach
to drink	hann
to sleep	nican
to laugh	heike
to cry	newaskè
to sing	havetoo
to whistle	yastoo
to smell	nescon
to hear	henaasack
to see	watuck
to speak	cocheek
to walk	enacoot
to run	hehi
to stand	hintoco
to sit	hetachelsa
to lie down	connie
to smoke a pipe	hatchhunk
to love	cosetan
to hate	hieska
to strike	ecanhack
to kill	yoeick
to dance	nasan
to jump	yestook
to fall	yeahtack
to break	cheeceek (cheereek?)
to bend	pasquoque

Numerals

gloss	Adai
1	nancas
2	nass
3	colle
4	tacache
5	seppacan
6	pacanancus
7	pacaness
8	pacalcon
9	sickinish
10	neusne
11	cooscosnawa
12	coawaconnos
13	coescoescola
14	coescoestacahce
15	coescoesspacanas
16	coescoespacana
17	coescoespalcol
18	coescoespaciness
19	coescoessickiness
20	neusnieanagas
20	coescoesnagas
30	coescoesnass
40	coescoescola
50	coescoestathata
60	coescoesipagan
70	coescosepanas
80	coescoeshana
90	coescoespalcola
100	coescoessikiness
200	neusnicola
300	neusnicol
400	coscosnagas
500	coscosnassa
600	coescoescolla
700	coescoestacataha
800	coescoesipacanis
900	coescoespacanis
1000	quosquospanis

Others

gloss	Adai
yes	cola
no	ieska

References

1. Adai at MultiTree on the Linguist List
2. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Adai". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
3. Grant, Anthony P. 1995. John Sibley's Adai vocabulary: a contribution to Caddoan Lexicography? Paper presented at 1995 Siouan-Caddoan Conference, Albuquerque. 15pp. (Contains the entire vocabulary of Adai from MS in American Philosophical Soc.)
4. Sibley, John. 1804. A vocabulary of the Adaye or Adaize Indians. Manuscript. (See also Mithridates Vol. 3, part 3., p. 278.)

• Campbell, Lyle. (1997). American Indian languages: The historical linguistics of Native America. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-509427-5
• Mithun, Marianne. (1999). The languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23228-7 (hbk); ISBN 0-521-29875-X.

External links

• OLAC resources in and about the Adai language