The Houma and Choctaw
people spoke very closely related languages. Houma was evidently so similar to Choctaw that speakers
of the two languages could understand each other easily, so most linguists consider Houma to have been a dialect of Choctaw.
Since Houma is no longer natively spoken, it is impossible to be sure of this one way or the other. Here are a list of Choctaw words
compared to Houma words collected in the early 1900's. Most of the differences seem to be related to spelling. The Houma words
use "tc" to represent a sound like the "tch" in "itch," while modern Choctaw orthography uses "ch." Choctaw uses a "v" character to
represent a short "uh" sound as in "cut," except at the end of a word where an "a" is used. The people who recorded Houma seem
to have used "a" and "u" indiscriminately to represent the "uh" sound. Since English uses the same vowel for more than one
sound, missionaries and other English speakers writing down Indian words were often rather careless about recording vowel sounds.
It's likely that the Houma word recorded as "totcenu" was pronounced very similar to, if not the same as, Choctaw "tuchina."
In any event, here are the vocabulary words:
Houma/Choctaw Word Set
English (Français)
Choctaw
Houma
One (Un)
Vchvffa
Tcafa
Two (Deux)
Tuklo
Toklu
Three (Trois)
Tuchina
Totcenu
Four (Quatre)
Ushta
Oshtu
Five (Cinq)
Tałapi
Tałape
Man (Homme)
Hattak
Atak
Woman (Femme)
Ohoyo
Oho
Dog (Chien)
Ofi
Ofe
Sun (Soleil)
Hvshi
Ashe
Moon (Lune)
Hvshi
Ashe
Water (Eau)
Oka
Oke
White (Blanc)
Hanta
Anta
Yellow (Jaune)
Lvkna
Lakna
Red (Rouge)
Humma
Homa
Black (Noir)
Lusa
Lusa
Eat (Manger)
Vpa
Apa
See (Voir)
Pisa
Pesa
Hear (Entendre)
Haklo
Haklu
Click here to see Choctaw vocabulary words compared to words in related Muskogean languages:Muskogean Indian Words
Native American tribes
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