Stoney language

Stoney
Nakoda
Nakoda, Nakota, Isga, Îyethka Îabi, Îyethka wîchoîe, Isga Iʔabi
Native toCanada
RegionAlberta
EthnicityNakota: Stoney
Native speakers
930 (2021)
Siouan
Language codes
ISO 639-3sto
Glottologston1242
ELPStoney
The location of Stoney / Nakoda
Stoney is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.
Nakota / Nakoda // Îyârhe
"ally / friend" // "mountain"
PersonÎyethka
PeopleÎyethkabi
(Îyethka Oyade)
LanguageÎyethka Îabi / wîchoîe
Îyethka Wowîhâ
CountryÎyethka Makóce

Stoney—also called Nakota or Nakoda, Isga [ˈiʃɡɑ] (in the Alexis dialect) or Îyethka [ĩˈjes̪kə] (in the Mînî Thnî dialect), and formerly Alberta Assiniboine—is a member of the Dakota subgroup of the Mississippi Valley grouping of the Siouan languages. The Dakotan languages constitute a dialect continuum consisting of Santee-Sisseton (Dakota), Yankton-Yanktonai (Dakota), Teton (Lakota), Assiniboine, and Stoney.

Number of speakers

Stoney is the most linguistically divergent of the Dakotan dialects and has been described as "on the verge of becoming a separate language."[citation needed] The Stoneys are the only Siouan people that live entirely in Canada, and the Stoney language is spoken by five groups in Alberta.

No official language survey has been undertaken for every community where Stoney is spoken, but the language may be spoken by as many as a few thousand people, primarily at the Mînî Thnî community (renamed from Morley in 2024). The 1996 Canadian census recorded 2,800 people as having Stoney as their first language. At that time, it was spoken as a first language by people over the age of about twenty-five in the Alexis and St Paul bands, but younger people were growing up speaking English. In Morley, however, children were still speaking Stoney.: 1–2 

In 2016, the number of first-language Stoney-speakers was reported as 3,050, but the Stoney population had risen by 1,800 over the same period, indicating a relative decline in the number of Stoney-speakers. In 2026, Deanna Two Young Men, a teacher of the language at Nakoda Elementary School in Mînî Thnî, reported that "many students have minimal knowledge of the Stoney language. They can understand it, but they can’t speak it". She was actively engaged in revitalizing the language.

Relationship to Assiniboine

Stoney's closest linguistic relative is Assiniboine. The two have often been confused with each other due to their close historical and linguistic relationship, but they are not mutually intelligible. Stoney either developed from Assiniboine, or both Stoney and Assiniboine developed from a common ancestor language.

Ullrich considers Stoney and Assiniboine distinct languages, saying "The Nakoda language spoken by the Assiniboine is not intelligible to Lakota and Dakota speakers, unless they have been exposed to it extensively. The Stoney form of the Nakoda language is completely unintelligible to Lakota and Dakota speakers. As such, the two Nakoda languages cannot be considered dialects of the Lakota and Dakota language."

Phonology

Very little linguistic documentation and descriptive research has been done on Stoney. However, Stoney varieties demonstrate broad phonological similarity with some important divergences.[clarification needed]

Mînî Thnî Dialect

For example, the following phonemes are reportedly found in Mînî Thnî Stoney, spoken primarily in Mînî Thnî.

Consonants

Mînî Thnî Stoney consonants
Bilabial Dental/
Alveolar		 Palatal
(-alveolar)		 Velar Pharyngeal Glottal
Nasal m ⟨m⟩ n ⟨n⟩
Plosive/
Affricate		 voiceless p ⟨p⟩ t ⟨t⟩ t͡ʃ ⟨ch⟩ k ⟨k⟩ ʔ ⟨'⟩
voiced b ⟨b⟩ d ⟨d⟩ d͡ʒ ⟨j⟩ ɡ ⟨g⟩
Fricative voiceless s̪ ~ θ ⟨th⟩ ʃ ⟨s⟩ ħ ⟨rh⟩ h ⟨h⟩
voiced z̪ ~ ð ⟨ṯẖ⟩ ʒ ⟨z⟩
Approximant w ⟨w⟩ j ⟨y⟩ ʕ̞ ⟨r⟩

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close/High oral i ⟨i⟩ u ⟨u⟩
nasal ĩ ⟨î⟩ ũ ⟨û⟩
Mid oral e (ɛ) ⟨e⟩ (ə) o ⟨o⟩
Open/Low oral ɑ ⟨a⟩, ɑː ⟨aa⟩
nasal ɑ̃ ⟨â⟩, ɑ̃ː ⟨ââ⟩

Alexis Dialect

For comparison, these phonemes reportedly characterize the Stoney spoken at Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation, which maintains the common Siouan three-way contrast between plain, aspirated, and ejective stops:

Alexis Stoney consonants
Bilabial Dental/
Alveolar		 Palatal
(-alveolar)		 Velar Glottal
Nasal m ⟨m⟩ n ⟨n⟩
Plosive/
Affricate		 plain p ⟨b⟩ t ⟨d⟩ t͡ʃ ⟨j⟩ k ⟨g⟩ ʔ ⟨ʔ⟩
aspirated pʰ ⟨p⟩ tʰ ⟨t⟩ t͡ʃʰ ⟨c⟩ kʰ ⟨k⟩
ejective pʼ ⟨p'⟩ tʼ ⟨t'⟩ t͡ʃʼ ⟨c'⟩ kʼ ⟨k'⟩
Fricative voiceless s ~ θ ⟨s⟩ ʃ ⟨sh⟩ x ⟨x⟩ h ⟨h⟩
voiced z ~ ð ⟨z⟩ ʒ ⟨zh⟩ ɣ ⟨r⟩
Approximant w ⟨w⟩ j ⟨y⟩

Notice that Alexis Stoney, for example, has innovated contrastive vowel length, which is not found in other Dakotan dialects. Alexis Stoney also has long and nasal mid vowels:

Alexis Stoney vowels
Front Central Back
High i, iː, ĩu, uː, ũ
Mid e, eː, ẽo, oː, õ
Low a, aː, ã

Stress

Stress placement in Stoney is not predictable, and is phonemic, but is not marked in regular spelling. Thus ⟨hâbi⟩, when stressed on the first syllable ('hɑ̃bĩ), means "standing, they stand", but when stressed on the second (hɑ̃'bĩ) means "juice". The addition of extra syllables through inflexion, prefixation and suffixation can also cause stress to move: thus ⟨wîyâ⟩ ("woman") is stressed on the first syllable, but ⟨wîyâbi⟩ ("women") is stressed on the second.: 70 

According to Corrie Erdman, "Dakota languages characteristically realize stress on the second syllable and do not generate secondary stress. In Stoney, however, primary stress is predominantly realized on the penultimate syllable and secondary stress exhibits an alternating pattern applying from right to left. Lexically marked morphemes obstruct the predictabIe pattern of Stoney stress by suspending the alternating patten and averting the realizaton of penultimate stress to the final syiiable. Additionally, Stoney has a number of affixes that do not bear stress. These affixes cause further variation in the realization of stress and make developing a unified acount of Stoney stress a complicated task".: iii  Moreover, the stress-placement rules of Alexis Stoney differ significantly from Mînî Thnî Stoney.

Syntax

The usual word-order in Stoney sentences is subject-object-verb, but this order is not obligatory. As of 2023, "very little basic documentation and description has been carried out on the language beyond the lexical level", but a language corpus had been established as a step towards syntactic and morphological description.

Writing system

Systematic work to establish a Stoney writing system began in 1965, when the Stoney Tribal Council collaborated with the Summer Institute of Linguistics (specifically Warren Harbeck) and the elder J. R. Twoyoungmen to establish a system. Stoney families and students of what was then Morley school, at all grade levels, were consulted, and both Latin letters and Cree syllabics were considered as a basis for the system. The book The Stoney Alphabet, with drawings by Jawn C. Poucette, was published in 1970. Stoney-language writing and learning materials were further developed during the 1970s by the Stoney Cultural Education Program and in the 1980s by the Stoney Indian Language Project.

Stoney alphabet (Stoney Nakoda First Nation)

Note:

Stoney alphabet (Alexis Nakota Sioux First Nation)

Word set (includes numbers)

Phonetic differences from other Dakotan languages

The following table shows some of the main phonetic differences between Stoney, Assiniboine, and the three dialects (Lakota, Yankton-Yanktonai and Santee-Sisseton) of Sioux.

Sioux Nakota
Lakota Western Dakota Eastern Dakota Assiniboine Stoney gloss
Yanktonai Yankton Sisseton Santee
Lakȟóta Dakȟóta Dakhóta Nakhóta Nakhóda self-designation
lowáŋ dowáŋ dowáŋ nowáŋ 'to sing'
ló dó dó nó 'assertion'
čísčila čísčina čístina čúsina čúsin 'small'
hokšíla hokšína hokšína hokšída hokšína hokšín 'boy'
gnayáŋ gnayáŋ knayáŋ hnayáŋ knayáŋ hna 'to deceive'
glépa gdépa kdépa hdépa knépa hnéba 'to vomit'
kigná kigná kikná kihná kikná gihná 'to soothe'
slayá sdayá sdayá snayá snayá 'to grease'
wičháša wičháša wičhášta wičhášta wičhá 'man'
kibléza kibdéza kibdéza kimnéza gimnéza 'to sober up'
yatkáŋ yatkáŋ yatkáŋ yatkáŋ yatkáŋ 'to drink'
hé hé hé žé žé 'that'

References

  1. ↑ "Indigenous language and ability to conduct a conversation in an Indigenous language (2021 Census)". Statistics Canada. Government of Canada. 2022-10-26. Retrieved 2026-07-22.
  2. ↑ "Mountain". Stoney Nakoda Dictionary Online. Stoney Education Authority. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  3. ↑ "Stoney Nakoda". Stoney Nakoda Dictionary Online. Stoney Education Authority. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  4. ↑ "wowîhâ". Stoney Nakoda Dictionary Online. Stoney Education Authority. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Parks, Douglas R.; Rankin, Robert L. (2001). "Siouan languages". In DeMaille, Raymond J.; Sturtevant, William C. (eds.). Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 13: Plains. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. pp. 94–114.
  6. 1 2 3 Parks, Douglas R.; DeMallie, Raymond J. (1992). "Sioux, Assiniboine, and Stoney Dialects: A Classification". Anthropological Linguistics. 34 (1/4): 233–255. JSTOR 30028376.
  7. 1 2 Taylor, Alan R. (1981). "Variation in Canadian Assiniboine". Siouan and Caddoan Linguistics Newsletter.
  8. 1 2 Ullrich, Jan (2008). New Lakota Dictionary (Incorporating the Dakota Dialects of Yankton-Yanktonai and Santee-Sisseton). Lakota Language Consortium. pp. 2, 4. ISBN 978-0-9761082-9-0.
  9. ↑ Andersen, Raoul R. (1968). An inquiry into the political and economic structures of the Alexis band of Wood Stoney Indians, 1880-1964 (PhD dissertation). Columbia: University of Missouri.
  10. 1 2 3 Cook, Eung-Do; Owens, Camille C. (1991). "Conservative and innovative features in Alexis Stoney". Papers from the American Indian Languages Conferences Held at the University of California, Santa Cruz, July and August 1991. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University. pp. 135–146.
  11. ↑ Jeffrey, Andrew (Aug 30, 2024). "Stoney Nakoda reclaim traditional Mînî Thnî name for community". CBC News. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
  12. ↑ Erdman, Corrie Lee Rhyasen. 1997. Stress in Stoney. Master’s Thesis, University of Calgary.
  13. ↑ Jessica Lee and Initiative Reporter Local Journalism. 2022, Nov 25. "Stoney: A Look at Preserving Language, Culture in Stoney Nakoda." The Canadian Press.
  14. ↑ Pelletier, Leah. "Mînî Thnî schools' princess pageant keeping Stoney language alive". The Canadian Press; Toronto. 17 June 2026.
  15. ↑ DeMallie, Raymond; Miller, David Reed (2001). "Assiniboine". In DeMaille, Raymond J.; Sturtevant, William C. (eds.). Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 13: Plains. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. pp. 572–595.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Erdman, Corrie Lee Rhyasen (1997). Stress in Stoney (MA thesis). Calgary: University of Calgary. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
  17. ↑ Ullrich, Jan (2008). New Lakota Dictionary (Incorporating the Dakota Dialects of Yankton-Yanktonai and Santee-Sisseton). Lakota Language Consortium. pp. 2, 4. ISBN 978-0-9761082-9-0.
  18. ↑ Lee, Jessica G. (Dec 24, 2021). "Stoney speakers preserve 14K words in educational resources". Cochrane Eagle. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  19. ↑ Bellam, Ernest Jay (1975). Studies in Stoney phonology and morphology (MA thesis). Calgary: University of Calgary.
  20. ↑ Stoney Education Authority. "Stoney Nakoda Dictionary". Stoney Nakoda Dictionary. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  21. 1 2 Stoney Education Authority. "Stoney Nakoda Vocabulary Builder App". Stoney Education Authority. Retrieved 20 April 2026. See the pronunciation guide within the app.
  22. 1 2 Telfer, Corey, ed. (2021). Îethka Îam: Speak Stoney. Level 1 Stoney Nakoda Language Textbook (2nd ed.). Alberta: Stoney Education Authority. ISBN 9781941458860.
  23. 1 2 3 Jessica Lee and Initiative Reporter Local Journalism. 2022, Nov 25. "Stoney: A Look at Preserving Language, Culture in Stoney Nakoda." The Canadian Press.
  24. ↑ Darren Flavelle, Jordan Lachler, "Designing Corpus-Creation Tools for Language Revitalization", Dictionaries: Journal of the Dictionary Society of North America, Volume 44, Issue 2, 2023, pp. 143-159
  25. ↑ Calgary: Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada, 1970.
  26. ↑ Friesen, John W.; Kootenay, Clarice; Mark, Duane (1990). "The Stoney Indian Language Project". In Reyhner, Jon (ed.). Effective Language Education Practices and Native Language Survival. Proceedings of the Annual International Native American Language Issues Institute (9th, Billings, Montana, June 8-9, 1989). Choctaw, Oklahoma: Native American Language Issues.