Tawasa is an extinct Native American language. Ostensibly the language of the Tawasa people of what is now Alabama, it is known exclusively through a word list attributed to a Tawasa named Lamhatty, collected in 1707. John Swanton studied the Lamhatty word list and identified the language as a Timucuan dialect, suggesting it was intermediary between Timucua and Muskogean. This opinion has been the subject of significant scholarly debate, with some such as Julian Granberry considering it a dialect of Timucua, others arguing it was a distinct language in the Timucua family, and yet others such as John Hann doubting that Lamhatty was a Tawasa at all. The language shows significant Alabama influence, including the Muskogean same-subject suffix -t.
Evidence
In 1707 an Indian named Lamhatty arrived in the British colony of Virginia, eventually arriving at the estate of ColonelJohn Walker. Taking an interest in him, Walker introduced him to colonial historian Robert Beverley. Through an interpreter, Lamhatty explained that he was from the village of Tawasa near the Gulf of Mexico. He had been captured and enslaved by the Tuscarora, who transported him eastward and sold him to the Savannah people. He escaped and traveled north to Virginia. Walker recorded the 60-word lexicon he learned from Lamhatty on the back of a letter, while Beverley wrote an account of Lamhatty's story. According to Beverley, Walker began treating Lamhatty like a slave once he learned other Tawasa were enslaved. Lamhatty escaped and went into the woods, never to be heard from again. There has been scholarly debate about the place of Tawasa among languages. Studyingthe word list in the early 20th century, John Swanton noted the similarity with the Timucua language, and suggested Tawasa was an intermediary with Muskogean. Linguist Julian Granberry identifies it as a dialect of Timucua. Others, such as John Hann, are skeptical of the accuracy of Beverley's account. He questions whether Lamhatty was a Tawasa at all.
Vocabulary
Tawasa words are a bit difficult to make out, due to English respellings. For example, oo, ou corresponds to Timucua u, ough to o, eu to yu, and often e, ee to Timucua i. Tawasa w corresponds to Timucua b, which was probably pronounced. Timucua c, q were ; qu was. Some of the following correspondences have a final t in Tawasa, which appears to be a Muskogean suffix. Others appear to have the Timucua copula-la. Timucua forms are Mocama dialect.
Tawasa
Timucua
gloss
effalàh
efa-la
dog
písso
pesolo
bread
soúa
soba
meat
pítcho-t
picho
knife
ocoò-t
ucu
drink
heă-t
hiyaraba
cat
yáukfah
yaha
1
eúksah
yucha
2
hóp-ho
hapu
3
checúttah
cheqeta
4
márouah
marua
5
mareékah
mareca
6
pekétchah
piqicha
7
pekénnahough
piqinaho
8
peétchcuttah
peqecheqeta
9
toómah
tuma
10
tomo-eúcha
tuma-yucha
20
foóley
hue-le
hand
hewéenou
hinino
tobacco
ocut-soúa
ucuchua
door
oū
ho
I
hé
he
you
uēkqūah
ca
here
uēkheth
heqe
there
hĕmèh
hime
come
héwah
hiba
sit down
loókqŭy
ruqui
boy
néăh
nia
woman
wiedōō
biro
man
colúte
colo
bow
wiéo-tt
ibi
water
wiéo-tt opù-t
ibi-api
salt water
yōwe
yayu
great
chicky, chiéky
chiri, qichi
little
sōquàh
chuca
how many
Correspondences with Muskogean and Timucua are,
Tawasa
Muskogean
Timucua
gloss
chesapà
Alabama: časi
tapola
maize
hássey
Alabama: haši
ela
sun
ássick
Alabama: nila haši
acu
moon
chénah, chénoh
Natchez: ičina
oqe
he
tútcah
Creek: tó'tka
taca
fire
Although ássick 'moon' appears to be an Alabama form, its compounds are Timucuan:
