Consonants[]
This table is based on Frank T. Siebert's reconstruction of the Powhatan language. He used the notes of John Smith but relied primarily on the work of William Strachey recorded between 1610 and 1611. Siebert also used his knowledge of the patterns of other Algonquian languages in determining the meaning of Strachey's notes. This table provides the practical symbols along with their IPA equivalents, in brackets.
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Velar | Glottal | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| voiceless | voiced | voiceless | voiced | voiceless | voiced | voiceless | voiced | ||
| Stop | p [p] | j [b] | t [t] | d [d] | k [k] | g [ɡ] | q [ʔ] | ||
| Affricate | č [tʃ] | c [dʒ] | |||||||
| Fricative | f [ɸ] | b [β] | s [s] | z [z] | ʃ [ʃ] | ʒ [ʒ] | x [x] | ɣ [ɣ] | h [h] |
| Nasal | ṁ [m̥] | m [m] | ṅ [n̥] | n [n] | ɲ [ŋ̊] | ŋ [ŋ] | |||
| Tap | v [ⱱ̟] | ṙ [ɾ̥] | r [ɾ] | ||||||
| Glide | ẇ [ʍ] | w [w] | ł [ɹ̥] | l [ɹ] | ẏ [j̊] | y [j] | q [ɰ] | ||
The consonants /p k č s/ could have also been pronounced as /b g dʒ z/.
Vowels[]
Siebert gives a very simplified table in his work with very little indication of whether a tone is high or low, but based on standard IPA, we can assume that "i" is high, "e" and "o" is mid and "a" is Low. He also mentions that the short "a" and "e" are weak vowels. As seen in the consonant chart, Sibert's original lettering and the IPA symbols are both represented in this chart with the IPA symbols in brackets.
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | i· [iː], i [ɪ] | |||
| Mid-high | e· [eː] | o· [oː], o [ʊ] | ||
| Mid-low | unr. | e [ɛ] | ɛ [ɜ] | ʌ [ʌ] |
| rnd. | œ [œ] | ə [ɞ] | u· [ɔː], ɔ [ɔ] | |
| Low | unr. | æ [æ] | a [a] | a· [ɑː] |
| rnd. | u [ɒ] | |||
Syllable structure[]
Siebert does not specifically go over the structure of syllables, but using the lexicon and examples that he does provide, (C)V(ː)(C) pattern can be determined. Clusters within words are limited to two consonants, CVCCVC.
Stress[]
The Powhatan language uses syncope to determine the stressed syllable in words, more specifically the syncopation of weak vowels, /a/ and /e/. Syllable weight is determined based on whether or not the first syllable contains a weak vowel. If it does, then even numbered syllables are heavy and odd numbered syllables are light. For example, /nepass/, which means sun, would be pronounced /ne|PASS/. If the word starts with a strong vowel, then it is the opposite, with the even numbered syllables being light and the odd numbered syllables being heavy. For example, /wiːngan/, which means good, would be pronounced /WIːN|gan/.
There are two kinds of syncope: major and minor. Major syncopation happens in morphemes that are three or more syllables in the middle of the word. This especially happens in light syllables ending in /s/ or /h/. Some examples of this are in the words spoon and broom. "Spoon" would be pronounced /eː | MEH | koːn/, but with major syncopation, it is pronounced /eːm | KOːN/. For "broom", it would pronounced /ČIː | keh | KAHI | kan/, but with the syncopation, it ends up /ČIːK| kahi | KAN/. Notice that the last example is a prime example of the light syllable that ends in /h/ being syncopated.
Minor syncopation tends to be optionally and only seen is specific dialects. Syllable weight is not a factor and instead it depends on if the word begins with /m/ or /n/ or ends with an /s/ or a cluster including /s/ such as /sk/. An example of this is in the word for five which would be pronounced /pa | REːN | eskw / and is instead pronounced as /pa | REːN| esk/ or /pa|REːN| sk/.
Historical phonological changes[]
Based on his work to reconstruct Powhatan, Siebert was able to compare the changes that the language might have made compared to Proto-Algonquian and Proto-Eastern Algonquian. Here are three of the most basic changes his research pinpointed:
All syllabic phonemes are the same in between Proto-Eastern Algonquian and Powhatan and the only change between those two and Proto-Algonquian is that word initial /ɛ/ became an /a/ in Powhatan and Proto-Eastern Algonquian. Ex: PA /ɛšpeːwi/ 'it is high' → /aspeːw/
Word final vowels are deleted if they are preceded by a consonant between Proto-Algonquian and Powhatan. Ex: PA /myeːneθki/ 'earthwork' → /meːnesk/
Powhatan drops the difference between /s/ and /š/ that is found in Proto-Algonquian. Similarly, PA /l/ becomes a /r/ in Powhatan, unless it in a word final position of a particle or inflectional morphemes, where it is deleted. Furthermore PA /θ/ becomes a /t/. Ex: PA /šiːˀšiːpa/ 'duck' → /siːssiːp/ ; PA /leːkawi/ 'sand' → /reːkaw/ ; PA /aθemwehša/ 'little dog' → /atemoss/