Cahto (also spelled Kato) is an extinct Athabaskan language that was formerly spoken by the Kato people of the Laytonville and Branscomb area at the head of the South Fork of the Eel River. It is one of the four languages belonging to the California Athabaskan cluster of the Pacific Coast Athabaskan languages. Most Kato speakers were bilingual in Northern Pomo and some also spoke Yuki. It went extinct in the 1960s.[1][3]

Kato
Cahto
Native toUnited States
RegionCalifornia (Eel River)
EthnicityCahto people
Extinct1960s[1]
Revival2010s[2]
Latin (proposed)[2]
Language codes
ISO 639-3ktw
Glottologkato1244

Phonology

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Consonants

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Labial Dental Alveolar Post-
alveolar
Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
central lateral plain labial
Nasal m ⟨m⟩ n ⟨n⟩ ɲ ⟨ñ⟩
Plosive/
Affricate
unaspirated p~b ⟨b⟩ t~d ⟨d⟩ ts ⟨ts⟩ t͡ʃ~d͡ʒ ⟨dj⟩ c~ɟ ⟨g⟩ k~g ⟨g⟩ ⟨kw⟩ k~q ⟨q⟩ ʔ ⟨′⟩
ejective ⟨t'⟩ tsʼ ⟨ts'⟩ tɬʼ ⟨L⟩ t͡ʃʼ ⟨tc'⟩ ⟨k'⟩ ⟨k'⟩ kʷʼ ⟨kw'⟩
aspirated ⟨t⟩ t͡ʃʰ ⟨tc⟩ ⟨k⟩ ⟨k⟩
Fricative voiceless s ⟨s⟩ ɬ ⟨ʟ⟩ ʃ ⟨c⟩ h ⟨h⟩
voiced z ⟨z⟩ ʒ ɣ ⟨ɢ⟩
Approximant l ⟨l⟩ j ⟨y⟩ w ⟨w⟩

Cahto has 26 consonant phonemes and 30 phones.

Vowels

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Front Central Back Diphthong
High [i(ː)] ī [ɪ] i ~ [ʊ] û [u(ː)] ū [ai] ai
High-Mid [e(ː)] ē [e] ɛ ~ [ə] ę [o(ː)] ō
Low-Mid [ɛ] ɛ ~ [ə] ę [ʌ] ą ~ [a] a
Low [a(ː)] ā, [ʌ] ą ~ [a] a

Cahto has 9 vowel phonemes (including the diphthong) and 12 phones.

References

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  1. ^ a b Kato at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ a b Anderson, Sally R. (1996-12-12). "Cahto Language Homepage". www.turtlenodes.com. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  3. ^ Golla, Victor (2011). California Indian languages. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-26667-4. OCLC 668191602.
  • Goddard, Pliny Earle; Bill Ray (1909). Kato texts. The University Press. Retrieved 24 August 2012. University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnography 5(3):65-238.
  • Goddard, Pliny Earle (1912). Elements of the Kato Language. University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnography 11(1):1-176.
  • Goddard, Pliny Earle (1916). Elements of the Kato language (PDF). University of California Press. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  • Golla, Victor (2011). California Indian Languages. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-052-026667-4.
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