Vocabulary in Native American Languages: Tonkawa Words

Welcome to our Tonkawa vocabulary page! Tonkawa is an indigenous language of Texas. Most linguists consider it a language isolate, not known to be related to any other language. We have included twenty basic Tonkawa words here, to compare with other American Indian languages. If you need to know a Tonkawa word that is not currently on our page, you can take part in our American Indian words fundraiser or visit our main Tonkawa language site for more free resources.

Thanks for your interest in Native American languages!

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The vocabulary words on this page were taken from Hoijer's 1933 article Tonkawa, an Indian language of Texas. Although the Tonkawa language is no longer spoken natively by tribal members, the Tonkawa tribe is currently working to revive their ancestral language. We hope that in time, there will be native speakers of Tonkawa again to contribute language lessons to our website.

Tonkawa Word Set

(Click here for Tonkawa pronunciation guide)

English (Français)	Tonkawa words
One (Un)	We:'ispax
Two (Deux)	Ketay
Three (Trois)	Metis
Four (Quatre)	Sikit
Five (Cinq)	Kaskwa
Man (Homme)	Ha:'ako:n
Woman (Femme)	Kwa:nla
Dog (Chien)	'Ekwan
Sun (Soleil)	Taxas
Water (Eau)	A:x

Tonkawa Picture Dictionaries

Here are some themed Tonkawa word lists we have put together and illustrated for language learners. Feel free to print them out for classroom purposes!

Tonkawa animal words

Tonkawa color words

Tonkawa numbers

Additional Resources

   Texas native languages
   Native myths
   Native Indian baby names

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