Learner's - intro A4

Map showing the summer territories of the Alopian languages.

§1.2 The Alopian Language Family

According to one fairly supported theory, the reconstructed proto-langauge, ancestor of the Alopian languages, seems to have been originally spoken somewhere in Eurasia, most likely to the west of the Ural mountains. Proto-Alopians moved westward and perhaps encountered the early Uralic or Finno-Ugric people in or east of Scandinavia and eventually Proto-Alopians traveled across the Atlantic Ocean and settled what is known today as Quebec. Although an unlikely scenario, it seems to be the most probable one in light of otherwise unexplained evidence. The evidence is composed of a few borrowings from a very early Uralic language and traits dissimilar to the native american cultures and general linguistic Sprachbund as well as also non-european mitochondrial DNA. This would make the Alopian people the only genetic and linguistic group to have settled America from the Atlantic Ocean. The earliest traces of Alopian culture in North America go back to ±4000 BCE to the south of the shores of the Saint-Lawrence River. However, it

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is not unlikely that Proto-Alopian people were in the Eastern Woodland area of North America 9000-8000 BCE. This dating, however, complicates matters as such a time depth renders any contact with Uralic people unlikely. The earliest date for a migration over the Atlantic is in the range of 10,000 to 8000 BCE. It is possible that Proto-Alopian people sailed much later on, as late as ±5000 BCE (called the Late Settlement Theory). No archeological evidence points to this being possible or impossible, such that this remains an unverifiable theory. Because of the great time depth of the Uralic languages and because reconstructed words of the Proto-Finnic, Proto-Samic and/or Proto-Finno-Permic (depending on the classification) seem to go back to the earliest stages of Proto-Uralic, it is not possible to guess at what time or in what place the Proto-Alopians would have had contacts with early Uralic people – if ever. It is quite certain, however, that Proto-Alopian people and Proto-Uralic people shared a similar Urheimat and were originally part of a similar cultural area – certain cultural terms that seem common to many Uralic languages For example, the Proto-Uralic *wäśkä (sometimes termed a Wanderwort) resembles the Proto-Alopian form *(v/m?)ōski (cf. SIWA moski ‘wild copper’). Similarly, the Proto-Uralic *yïŋsi ‘bow’ is similar (but not identical or regularly derivable) to the Proto-Alopian *ɨksɨ (cf. SIWA ỷksy ‘bow’). Thus, the Proto-Alopian Urheimat is assumed to have been somewhere to the west of the Ural mountains, and Proto-Alopian tribes would have followed a migration course that would have led them the to the Baltic Sea. It is possible that Proto-Alopian people would have come in contact with a neolithic people of the comb ceramic culture in Europe, placing a Proto-Alopian presence there at ±7000 BCE. This is coherent with apparent loanwords from a Uralic language and the Late Settlement Theory. Below are words regarded to be borrowings from an early Uralic language;

*suksi ‘ski’ > PROTO-ALOPIAN *süs:i-ba > SIWA sohpa ‘ski’ *suksi ‘ski’ > PROTO-ALOPIAN *süs:i > SIWA syhhi ‘bent tree’ *mekši ‘bee’ > PROTO-ALOPIAN *mēši > SIWA meihmi ‘it is pointy, it has a sharp edge’ ? *wäŋe ‘brother-in-law’ > PROTO-ALOPIAN *veŋe > SIWA vỉe ‘male visitor who is allowed to sleep with host’s daughter’ *puwe ‘wood’ > PROTO-ALOPIAN *pümi > SIWA pymi ‘unedible cambrium’ *jikä ‘age’ > PROTO-ALOPIAN *j:ecæ > SIWA gįekes ‘year’ *repä ‘fox’ > PROTO-ALOPIAN *re<te>pa > SIWA retema ‘fox’ ? *tuŋke ‘push’ > PROTO-ALOPIAN *toŋ-ka > SIWA tõkka ‘it will give birth to it (of animals)’

These correspondences are hypothetical and it cannot be asserted with any certainty whether or not these words are true borrowings or simply coincidences. Because the Alopian languages split up after the time of the borrowings, it is also impossible to prove whether or not the words are part of the Alopian vocabulary.

§1.2.1 Alopian Languages in North-America

How and when Proto-Alopians would have crossed the Atlantic is unknown, but the most likely route would have been along the southern margins of the Atlantic sea ice. An agricultural force such as the comb ceramic culture might have triggered the hunters of

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Proto-Alopian to leave in search of better territory. Most of the present Alopian territory would have been unaccessible or covered in a large lake (called the Tyrrell sea). So it is likely that Proto-Alopian people would have first settled in the eastern Woodlands and subsequently moved up into the Shield Archaic cultural region as the Laurentide Ice Sheet recessed. Unlike the Algonquian people, who are believed to have come from the West and have more or less always been part of the Shield Archaic culture, Proto-Alopians would have gone through a cultural switch, going from semi-nomadic forest hunting and light agriculture to a much more nomadic lifestyle of forest and sea hunting and a heavy dependence on caribou herding. Many terms related more or less to the lifestyle of the Shield Archaic culture found in Alopian languages are borrowed from an early Algonquian language:

*ahp ‘dark blue, bruise’ > PROTO-ALOPIAN *o-ōp-i > SIWA oubi ‘X gets a bruise’

*ameθkwa ‘beaver’ > PROTO-ALOPIAN *meskwa > SIWA mỉsko ‘beaver meat’

*ašk ‘unripe’ > PROTO-ALOPIAN *ǒsk-ama > SIWA ohkama ‘raw’

*-axkw- ‘wood’ > PROTO-ALOPIAN *-ōga- in certain tree names > SIWA serula ‘larch’ > iruoga ‘larch wood’ (cf. siįula ‘fir’ > iįuoga ‘fir wood’ and nỉpi ‘dwarf birch’ neuoga/neųoga ‘drift wood’ (PROTO-SIWA *nīw-ōga, contaminated by neųo ‘sand’)

*eθkwe·a ‘woman’ > PROTO-ALOPIAN *iskwe > SIWA ỉski ‘woman’

*ka:wa:ntakwa ‘white spruce’ > proto-alopian *kauwantak > kumora ‘white spruce’

*mahkate:w ‘black’ > PROTO-ALOPIAN *mōka-si > SIWA moasi ‘black bear (taboo word)’

*namewa ‘sturgeon’ > PROTO-ALOPIAN *nomwa > SIWA novmo/nỏvmo ‘sturgeon’

*na:pe:ya:kwa ‘male porcupine’ > PROTO-ALOPIAN *nobeja > SIWA nobia ‘porcupine’

*oxpwa·kana ‘pipe’ > PROTO-ALOPIAN *ōbwa·kon > SIWA uboko ‘pipe’

*se:hse:ka:ntakwa ‘black spruce’ > PROTO-ALOPIAN *sesekantak > SIWA seskora ‘tree used to find one’s way’

*weθkwani ‘his forehead’ > PROTO-ALOPIAN *oskwan > SIWA oskon ‘male moose’

*wesa:w ‘yellow’ > PROTO-ALOPIAN *osū > SIWA usu ‘smoked’ (reanalyzed as *os-u, cf. toski ‘it keeps for a long time’ from *os-k and oskima ‘durable’)

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§1.2.2 The Alopian Language Family Tree

After the arrival in Quebec, it would seem that the proto-language broke up into two groups, called here Inland Alopian and Costal Alopian. The Costal Alopian language subsequently broke up into three languages; Eastern Olma, Central Olma and Southern Olma. Inland-Alopian broke up into two branches; Tundra Alopian and Forest Alopian. Forest Alopian subsequently yielded Siwa and Sigori, while Tundra Alopian yielded Eastern Onori and Western Onori. It is thought that the initial Inland-Costal break up would have happened within the first 500 years in America, or ±5000-4500 years ago. Inland Alopians moved further north and probably stuck together as a means for survival in a new and hostile environment. Inland Alopian languages resemble each other more, contain fewer borrowings from Algonquian languages and are much more conservative grammatically than the Costal Alopian languages. Inland Alopian most likely divided into Tundra and Forest Alopian at least ±4000 years ago. Forest Alopian languages are the closest linguistically, and so it seems likely that Siwa and Sigori split up ±3500 years ago. Tundra Alopian languages are also quite close linguistically, but they still differ from Forest Alopian significantly, and the split into Eastern Onori and Western Onori is likely to have happened roughly at the same time as the split between Siwa and Sigori. The current situation of the language is set ±500 years after the split between Siwa and Sigori, placing the Siwa world somewhere about ±3000 years ago.

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Proto-Alopian

Inland Alopian

Costal Alopian

Eastern Olma Central Olma Southern Olma

Tundra Alopian Forest Alopian

Siwa SigoriEastern Onori Western Onori

Above is the Alopian Language Family tree. Below is a chart to illustrate the linguistic distance between each language, showing the assumed proto-form of each word.

Proto-Alopian Forest AlopianForest Alopian Tundra AlopianTundra Alopian Costal AlopianCostal AlopianCostal Alopian

SiwaSigori

(western/eastern)

Eastern Onori

(northern/southern)

Western Onori

Southern Olma

Central Olma

Costal Olma

fish *siro siro sino si:/si:s sinu siesu si:su siesa

berry *sudo suvo suo/suju su:j su: suoru su:ru suora

firewood *tine tinin čie/čieni čeni čini tsieni čeni čiem

honey *siwe sivi sibi še:j šie siebi si:bi šep

cedar *tsxi: tsġỉn tsuhi/tso: tsømø tši tšiše tšiši tši:š

guts *tio:di-un tįoadįun čo:čan/čo:nu čo:čunu čo:čo čuaʔnu čuoʔnu čaʔnu

snowshoes *ɟɨku-m gįykin čikom/čika čyka/kyka čykyn köka köka kaka

aspen *săl-ka solka sanaka sauk/sauka salka sauka so:ka so:ka

maple *ma:hi maihhi mauhi/ma:fi ma:š/ma:ši ma:š ma:j ma:fi ma:fi

smoke *obena obena obna/wabna

wo:na/wo:ni oʔna vuapi wapi wapin

fat *bi:li bieli bieli/biali be:w/be:j bieli pieja paja paja

fly (n.) *mɨrɨ myry mini myry/myny myry mana mana mana

forest fire *săθ-bi savpi soppi saspi/sappi saspi saumpi sampi sauppi

hunter *ta-măθ-si tamosi tamoši/

tamoš tamši tamši tama:š tamo:š tamo:š

The Alopians are organized in 3 main groups according to both a cultural and geographical separation of the groups; the nomadic caribou herders of the north (the Tundra Alopians); the semi-nomadic hunter gatherers of the Boreal Forest (the Forest Alopian speakers); and the semi-settled fishermen, farmers, traders and hunters of the southern territory (the Costal Alopial speakers). The settled Costal Alopians have been influenced by the extended North-Eastern cultural area of North-America, similar to Iroquoians. The nomadic and semi-nomadic Forest and Taiga Alopians of the North belonged to the Subarctic hunter-gatherer cultural area. Despite large cultural differences, the Alopian peoples recognize their distinct culture, ethnicity and linguistic relationship. This is supported by an intricate system of cooperation, intertribal visitations, intermarriage and trade.

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The three linguistic areas (forest, tundra and costal) sometimes overlap or come in close contact. For this reason, the Sigori and Eastern Onori languages each have 2 dialects: Western Sigori has come under the influence of Western Onori whereas Eastern Sigori has been influenced by both Eastern Onori and Central Olma. The form of certain words in the table above can be more or less attributable to contact with other languages; e.g., Western Sigori has obna [ˈɔbnɑ] for ‘smoke’ which is closer to Western Onori oʔna [ˈɔʔtnɑ] for the same word, whereas Eastern Sigori has wabna [ˈwɑbnɑ], clearly a contamination from Central Olma wapi [ˈwɑpɪ], where the Proto-Alopian *o often became wa-. Influences from other Alopian languages are present in all daughter languages, but they are strongest in Sigori and Eastern Onori.

§1.3 Geography

The geography of Quebec was quite different ±3000 years ago than it is today. The water levels of lakes and rivers was higher, the climate was wetter and slightly cooler than today. Flora and fauna found more to the north were common in the south of Quebec. The Boreal Forest was also found further south than it is today. Wetlands, quagmires, bogs and marshes were much more common than today. The Tundra, Open Boreal Woodland, Mid Taiga and South Taiga vegetation/climate belts would have been respectively shifted to the south, such that the Tundra belt of today would have been found where today’s Open Boreal Woodland belt is, and the Open Boreal Woodland belt would have been where the Mid Taiga belt is today, and so forth. The tundra area would have been particularly treeless, perhaps similar to northern Scandinavia.

§1.3.1 Territories and Habitation

Each language area also forms a cultural area with socially organized territories which house various gathering places, trading camps, winter or summer habitation clusters, small villages, large villages and cities as well as hunting territories, so called ỉtruma or sacred places and topographical features.

§1.3.1.1 Topography of Alopian Territories

§1.3.1.1.1 Eastern Onori

Each of the 7 territories of the Alopians are distinct. The northern-most habitated area is the tip of the Eastern Onori territory, called Kou in Siwa (from PA *koʔ-uʔ ‘summer-frost’) and Kokuk in Eastern Onori. All of the Tundra Alopian people venture up to Kou in various bands of caribou herders and hunters during the early months of winter. Kou is generally characterized by open tundra with few disparate winter camps around the main river of the Kou, called Ųatru in Siwa or Watsuk in Eastern Onori (PA *uʔ-àtaruʔ ‘big cold’), today called Caniapiscau. Slightly to the south-west is the summer territory of the Eastern Onori, with large villages around what is called today the Caniapiscau Reservoir, a huge (the largest in Quebec) water system made up of large lakes and rivers. The area is called Mỉgvara in Siwa and Mikwun in Eastern Onori (from PA *mi-g-wana ‘wide spread-out stretch [of water]’).

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Mỉgvara is a very important fishing territory. Almost all Inland Alopian peoples travel to the territory in early spring to fish in the cold and abundant waters of the lakes and rivers. The southern most parts of the Eastern Onori Territory, called Sủnsa in Siwa and Sosun in Eastern Onori (Proto-Inland-Alopian *suŋsa ‘broadleaf forest’). Many summer gatherings take place in Sủnsa and it has lead to the development of a few large villages there, namely Usira (Ausut in Eastern Onori, from PA *ol-si-da ‘there are no leaves’) Tsẻvna (Juosta in Eastern Onori, from PA *sēŋsa-mi-da ‘there is a large broadleaf forest’) which is an important trading village for birch bark, Kovna (Kwakina in Eastern Onoro, from PA *koʔ-na ‘summer-dwelling’) where many fishing bands end up in late summer, Sarisanda (Sanaisinin in Eastern Onori, from PA *sara-(h)isim-ta ‘narrows-to-south’) which is the last Eastern Onori village to the south, leading to a large piece of inhabited land. The Kou landscape varies mostly in a south-north axis. The northern parts crawls up to the low-arctic permafrost tundra, with its long barren rocky stretches (bisibma ‘barren land’ PA*mīsi-da-ma ‘where it is rocky’) and dwarf shrubby vegetation (ųanobma ‘lichen land’ PA *ōno-da-ma ‘where there is lichen’ or õki ‘id.’ PA *on-ki ‘lichen place’) and open subarctic lichen spruce forests ([ma]suokna PA *mēš-ōg-na ‘needle tree place’). The middle stretch of Kou is mostly covered in evergreen forests (tsavmi/tsavma) ; black spruce (minhi), white spruce (kumora) fir (niedas), larch (serula, from PA *sero- ‘yellow’), juniper (tuobi) and basalm fir (ủhtakemi PA *ur(χu)-ta-ke-mi ‘he bears his cones upright’) as well as some white birch (oįula) in the south and dwarf birch (nỉpi) to the south.. Winters in the north are long, dark and cold, punctuated by aurora borealis (tsảppema PA *tsabb-bema ‘blood north’) . Temperatures can reach lows of -30˚C. However the norm is somewhere around -10˚C. Summers are somewhat short (from June to mid August), but very hot and green, with temperatures as high as 30˚C (on average 20˚C). In the extreme North, summer nights are very short (upara, from PA *ur-ba-(ju)-da ‘when night is day’) while winter days are also short (but not quite as short) (baura, from AP *ba-ur-(ju)-da) ‘when day is night’).

§1.3.1.1.2 Western Onori

Southeast of Kou is the Western Onori territory, called Kỉspi in Siwa and Čišibi in Western Onori (from PA *kiš-be ‘lakes of the north’). Kỉspi is a very important fishing and hunting territory situated south of the Hudson Bay around the La Grande River, known as Chisasibi in Cree (possibly under the influence of Western Onori Čišibi or vice-versa), Gamoba (unknown origin) in Siwa and Čiši in Eastern Onori (literally ‘the big lake’) and on the coasts of the James Bay. The inland and coastal Western Onori have a very developped network of trade, such that both groups are considered to be one and the same. The Western Onori language reflects this unity, especially when compared to the two dialects of Eastern Onori (northern and southern). The climate of Kỉspi is very similar to that of Kou, composed mainly of evergreen forests and some open subarctic lichen spruce forests (called masuokna or suokna in Siwa). The territory around the Gamoba river is fairly populous, because it is rich in game and fish, and because the forests between the rivers and the coasts are not as important to the Western Onori people - the coastal Western Onori depend on marine mammals, birds and fishing and the inland Western Onori have enough fish and game from the rivers and surrounding forests.

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The most important village or city of the northern territories (both Kou and Kỉspi) is found in Kỉspi, close to the opening of the Gamoba into the James Bay or Ohhu in Siwa (Oʔu in Western Onori, from PA *oʔ-hu ‘north-west sea’). The trading village is called Notįi (Noči in Western Onori, both meaning simply ‘sedge’). Notįi is an important trading post where inland Western Onoris come to trade, usually moose, bear or caribou furs for the coastal seal hides and fat. A large pupolous area of forest called Oskuokna (Western Onori Ukwanoga, from PA *oskwan-ōga-(na), lit. ‘(where there are) shed antlers’) is home to the large majority of the Western Onoris who do not live by the coast, in or around Notįi. Oskuokna covers a roughly 130km stretch along the heart of the Gamoba river and is composed of many smaller villages called vahna in Siwa, a borrowing from Eastern Onori wa:na (from PA *ār-na ‘side-by-side dwelling’). The social ties between vahna are kept tight through exchange, visits and festivities. The coastal Western Onori people, sometimes refered to as Ỏhmo or Ỏhmua in the plural in Siwa and Oʔmo in Western Onori (roughly meaning ‘coaster’) live surrounded by rough arctic beaches (kauda) , barren rocky stretches (bisibma) and a five islands; Pảrga (Panko in Western Onori, North Twin Island, unknown origin), Pỉsma (Pišibi in Western Onori, South Twin Island, from PA *pis-ma lit. ‘it fights’ probably in reference to seals), Sabiluopa (Saʔno in Western Onori, Grey Goose Island, from PA *sabi-lōpa ‘goose island’), Ųinis (Winiš in Western Onori, Spencer Island, from PA *ōn-is ‘little one’) and Ỉs (Išiš in Western Onori, Walter Island, from PA *iš-is ‘the one inbetween’). The climate of Kỉspi is fairly similar to that of Kou, with perhaps milder temperatures because of the James Bay.

§1.3.1.1.3 Sigori The Sigori territory, inhabited by a hyponymous Forest Alopian people, spread from east to west very much like Kỉspi. The Sigoris are concentrated mostly around three large areas. To the east, the present-day lake Naococane, called Nokki in Sigori and Tįalama in Siwa (from PA *lōp-kiš and *kīš-lopa ‘little island big lake’), which is filled with small to medium sized islands. A great number of Sigoris have organized their social structure around these small islands, giving birth to a sort of wide spread village on islands. Sacred islands are found throughout the lake, making Tįalama a sort of spiritual/religious hotspot for all of the northern territories. Tįalama is home to roughly 2/4 of the Sigoris. To the west, the present-day Opinaca lake, called Tủbma in Siwa and Tubuna in Sigori (from PA *tuwu-da-ma ‘where it is bent’) is also an important fishing, hunting and trading populous area for the Sigoris. Tủbma is linked to the coast by today’s Eastmain River, called Hutatįi in Siwa and Huoči (from PA *hu-ta-tē ‘mouth to the ocean’). Small villages are found all along Hutatįi, but the third largest populous area of the Sigoris is at on the coast, where Hutatįi flows into Ohhu or Ohhi/Ofi (or Obi) in Sigori (western/eastern) (James Bay). This wide area is called Ko:čana in Sigori or Kauhhama (from PA *kāθa-da-ma ‘where there are rocky beaches’), present day Eastmain. About 30km off the coast are two inhabitated islands called Čiwabna and Denamo in Sigori, Įikobnamo and Tuobnamo in Siwa respectively (from PA *ɟi(k)-ob(e)na ‘west-smoke’ and *tōb-namo ‘juniper-bush island’, with non-native -namo suffix in Siwa taken from Sigori, from PA *lop- ‘island’ in both islands). The islands are important goose and seal hunting grounds.

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The vegetation of Sigori is more akin to that of present day Boreal Forest. The most common trees are jack pine (tabbikes), white spruce (kumora), black spruce (minhi), balsam fir (ủhtakemi), juniper (tuobi), larch (serula), balsam poplar (eṡadvima from PA *er-satvi-ma ‘it smells and hangs’), quaking aspen (hukkoma from PA *huʔ-ko-ma ‘it talks when it is windy’), white birch (oįula) and dwarf birch (nỉpi). Because of its complex system of rivers and lakes, Sigori is sometimes called nõki (regularly derived from the Sigori borrowing noma ‘small island’ and -ki ‘place rich in X’) in Siwa, perhaps in association with the Onori territories being called õki (from ono ‘lichen’ and -ki ‘place rich in X’). Sigori is also strategically placed, having large resources of birch bark to be traded with the nearly birchless territories of the Onoris.

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