tongue

physical_somatic_body_part

Proto-Siouan-Catawba

Proto-Siouan *i-ré•ši

Proto-Crow-Hidatsa *ré•ši

Crow déeši GG:44, RGG:70

Hidatsa ré•ši ‘tongue’ J , né•ši

Pre-Mandan

Mandan ré•sike ‘tongue’ RTC

Proto-Mississipi-Valley *i-ré•zi ~ *i-ré•ži

Proto-Dakota *čheží

Lakota čheží RTC

Dakota ćez´í , †čheží ‘tongue’ SRR:100a

Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere *ré•zi

Chiwere ré•ðe ‘tongue’ RR

Hoocąk reezí ‘tongue’ KM:2606 , reezi

Proto-Dhegiha *ré•ze

Omaha-Ponca dé•zi, déizi ‘tongue’ RR , ðéze JOD

Kanza/Kaw léze ‘tongue’ RR , yéze ‘tongue’ JOD

Osage ðéze ‘tongue’ RR

Quapaw déze ‘tongue’ JOD

Proto-Southeastern *iré•či

Proto-Biloxi-Ofo

Biloxi yĕtcĭ´ , †yečí D&S:292a

Ofo ilétci, ĭletcí , †iléči ‘tongue’ D&S:324a , ālētci , †a•le•či ‘to lap’ JSS

Proto-Tutelo-Saponi

Tutelo netçi, netsi, letçi, nētçi, nētsi, lētçi , †re•či H

General comment

There are clear reflexes of *y- in those cases (Dakota, Biloxi) where stress is final (assuming Hoocąk accent shift to be recent). Dakota/Lakota, however, normally shift *r to *y (>čh) following inalienable possessive *i- so Biloxi is the only language whose form can only come from *y.

The better reconstruction, then, is probably with *r. Chiwere/DH shift *š > s > z. Accent, vowel length and the Lakota/Dakota initial consonant all suggest that this was one of the inherently possessed body part terms, so it is appropriate to reconstruct that prefix. Ofo tends to confirm this classification. This term has been assimilated into the common class of -e stems in DH, but recent field work suggests that Dorsey may have mistranscribed the form.

Language Cognate Phonetic Siouan Meaning Comment Sources