Coosan languages


The Coosan language family consists of two languages spoken along the southern Oregon coast. Both languages are now extinct.

Classification

Melville Jacobs says that the languages are as close as Dutch and German. They share more than half of their vocabulary, though this is not always obvious, and grammatical differences cause the two languages to look quite different.
The origin of the name Coos is uncertain: one idea is that it is derived from a Hanis stem gus- meaning 'south' as in gusimídži·č 'southward'; another idea is that it is derived from a southwestern Oregon Athabaskan word ku·s meaning 'bay'.
In 1916 Edward Sapir suggested that the Coosan languages are part of a larger Oregon Penutian genetic grouping. This is currently being investigated. See Coast Oregon Penutian languages.

Phonology

Vowels

SHORT/i//e//a//u//ə/
LONG/i•//e•//a•//u•//-/

Diphthongs

Three Series of Stops

Consonants

PalatalAlveolarLabialDentalVelarGlottal
Plosivesg, gw, k, kw, k', kw'd, t, t'b, p, p'---
Affricates-s, c-d, ts, tc, ts', tc'--
Nasal-nm---
Lateral-l,ɬ----
Voiced Constinuants-nm---
Voiceless Constinuantsysw-xh

Key