Several languages, not one
“The Apache language” is a convenient phrase, but it covers several related languages and many local varieties. Western Apache, Chiricahua, Mescalero, Jicarilla, Lipan and Plains Apache are usually treated as separate languages or closely related dialect clusters, and their speakers do not always agree on where one ends and the next begins. The variety is substantial, and Apache languages and dialects differ in vocabulary, sounds and grammar. All belong to the Southern Athabaskan language family, which also includes Navajo, and that family connects them to languages spoken in Alaska, western Canada and the Pacific coast.
This piece describes the features that learners and writers meet most often. It does not teach vocabulary, and it does not try to settle which community’s spelling is correct. Each nation’s own language program is the authority on its speech, and readers who want to learn should look there.
The sound system
The sound system of the Athabaskan languages differs from English in several ways that show up in writing.
Glottal stops and ejectives. The apostrophe in many Apache words usually stands for a glottal stop, the catch in the throat heard in the middle of “uh-oh”, or for an ejective consonant, in which a consonant is released with a small burst of air from the throat. Here the apostrophe is part of the spelling, not punctuation, and omitting it can change which word is written.
Sounds with no English letter. Many Athabaskan languages have a voiceless “l” sound made by blowing air around the sides of the tongue. It is commonly written with a barred l. Other consonants are written with two or three letters, such as combinations of d, z, ts or ch with an apostrophe.
Nasal vowels. Some vowels are pronounced with air passing through the nose. In many modern alphabets this is shown with a small hook under the vowel, an ogonek, though some writers use other marks.
Vowel length. Long and short vowels can differ in meaning. Some orthographies double the vowel letter, and others use a mark above it.
Not every variety has every feature in the same form, and the inventories of sounds differ from place to place, so treat any list as general.
Tone
Apache languages are tonal. That means the pitch of a syllable, usually described as high or low, can distinguish one word from another, in the way that stress can in English “record” as a noun and a verb, but much more systematically. Tone also interacts with the shape of verbs, which are the center of the grammar. A verb can carry within it information that English spreads across several words.
In the writing systems that mark tone, a high tone is commonly shown with an acute accent over a vowel, and low tone is left unmarked. Some everyday spellings leave tone out entirely, which is easier to type but loses information that fluent speakers supply from memory. Linguists have also pointed out that the details of tone differ among Apachean languages, and researchers continue to describe them. Exactly how tone behaves in a given community’s speech is a matter for that community’s speakers and teachers.
Why spelling varies
Apache languages were spoken for centuries before any widely used writing system existed. Early outsiders, including Spanish and American explorers, soldiers and ethnographers, wrote Apache names and words in whatever way made sense to their own alphabets. The results often leave out glottal stops, tone and nasalization, which is why the same group name may appear in many forms in older books. The many spellings of Apache self-names and of group names recorded by Spanish writers show the effect.
Twentieth-century linguists and educators developed more systematic alphabets. Several are in use today, and they were created in different places for different communities, so they do not always match. A letter that stands for one sound in Western Apache materials may be used differently in Mescalero or Jicarilla materials. Navajo has its own long-established writing system, adopted in the twentieth century, which has influenced some of the Apache alphabets. Because there is no single standard, a word written in one source can look unrecognizable in another even when the speakers pronounce it identically.
Writing, literacy and public life
Spoken tradition remains central, and the question of whether and how to write down knowledge is one communities decide for themselves. Some knowledge, including material connected with ceremony, is not meant to be published at all. Where writing is used, it supports teaching in schools and language classes, signs, dictionaries and recordings. Apache writing and literature now include dictionaries, textbooks and community-made materials, and they support Apache language revitalization among children and adults.
Reading Apache words responsibly
A few practical points follow from all this.
- Treat apostrophes and accent marks as part of the word. Removing them for convenience can change the meaning.
- Prefer a nation’s own spelling when writing its name or a place name, and expect it to differ from older English spellings.
- Be cautious about anything claiming to give “the Apache word for” a concept. Different nations may use different words, and some online lists are inaccurate.
- Do not assume that a phrase printed on merchandise or a “blessing” is genuine; many are invented.
- Listen where possible. Recordings made with communities’ participation convey tone and rhythm in a way text cannot.
The sound system of Apache languages is complex, but it is also regular, and the communities that speak them have taught it successfully for generations. Consulting official tribal language programs is the best way to go further.