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| Alabama | |
|---|---|
| Albaamo innaaɬiilka | |
 Sign on theAlabama–Coushatta Indian Reservation with phraseOn ti chuka meaning 'welcome' | |
| Native to | United States |
| Region | Currently inTexas, Formerly inOklahoma andAlabama |
| Ethnicity | Alabama |
Native speakers | approx. 370 (2015 census)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | akz |
| Glottolog | alab1237 |
| ELP | Alabama |
 Alabama is classified as Definitely Endangered by theUNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Alabama, also known asAlibamu,[2] (endonym:Albaamo innaaɬiilka)[3] is aMuskogean language, spoken by theAlabama–Coushatta Tribe of Texas.[4] It was once spoken by theAlabama–Quassarte Tribal Town of Oklahoma, but there are no more Alabama speakers in Oklahoma. It is believed to have been closely related to the Muklasa and Tuskegee languages, which are now extinct. Alabama is closely related toKoasati andApalachee, and more distantly to otherMuskogean languages likeHitchiti,Chickasaw andChoctaw.
The Alabama first encountered Europeans whenHernando de Soto arrived in 1540. (Seehere for other de Soto contactees) In the 18th century, the French arrived on theGulf Coast and built a fort at what becameMobile, Alabama.
TheAlibamu andKoasati tribes were part of theCreek Confederacy. They had less contact withBritish settlers than otherCreek tribes did. They were the first to leave when British settlers swarmed into the area by the middle of the 18th century, after the land was ceded by the French following the British victory in theFrench and Indian War. Under pressure as well by Native American enemies, the Alabama and Coushatta tribes wanted to avoid the powerfulChoctaw in present-dayMississippi. They moved into territories of future states, first intoLouisiana and then intoTexas.
In 1795, the Coushatta arrived in the Big Thicket area of East Texas. In 1805, nearly 1,000 Alabama came toTyler County's Peach Tree Village in East Texas. The two tribes developed a strong friendship as they roamed and hunted their new land together. In the early 19th century, the Texas Congress granted each tribe two strips of land along theTrinity River. Their land was soon taken over by European-American settlers, leaving them homeless.Sam Houston, the governor of Texas, recommended that the state purchase 1,280 acres (5.2 km2) for the Alabamas. Although money was appropriated to buy 640 acres (2.6 km2) for the Coushatta, the land was never bought. Either through marriage or special permission, many Coushatta went to live on the land given to the Alabama. Other Coushatta had stayed in an area in southern Louisiana near the Red River. Many of their descendants are enrolled members of the federally recognized Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana.
Alabama and Coushatta towns were divided into "red" and "white" towns. The "white" towns were responsible for keeping the peace and for providing refuge, while the "red" towns were responsible for conducting military campaigns. Though they had "red" and "white" towns, the Alabama–Coushatta thought of themselves as a peace-loving people.[5]
By 1820, there were three main Alabama towns and three large Coushatta towns in eastTexas, in the region known as the Big Thicket. In 1854, the Alabama were given 1,280 acres (5.2 km2) inPolk County.[6] The following year, 640 acres (2.6 km2), also in Polk County, were given to the Coushattas. The Coushatta claim was disputed by white settlers in 1859. When the Coushatta lost the land claim, the Alabama invited them to live on their land claim.
The federal government approved a large grant in 1928 to purchase additional land near the reservation;[7] it was granted to the "Alabama and Coushatta tribes." Since that time, the reservation has officially been known asAlabama–Coushatta.
Origin narratives focus on the interconnectedness of the tribes. One narrative states that the two tribes sprouted from either side of acypress tree. Another legend was recorded in 1857 fromSe-ko-pe-chi, one of the oldest Creeks inIndian Territory. He said that the tribes “sprang out of the ground between theCohawba andAlabama Rivers.” The symbol of the Alabama–Coushatta tribe comes from pre-contactMississippian culture: two intertwined woodpeckers, now symbolic of the connection between the two tribes.
There are fourteen consonantphonemes in Alabama.[8]
| Labial | Alveolar | Postalveolar/ Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | |||||
| Stop | p | b | t | tʃ | k | ||
| Fricative | f | s | ɬ | h | |||
| Approximant | w | l | j | ||||
/s/ isapico-alveolar,[s̺]. The voiceless stops/ptk/ are typicallyfortis[clarification needed] and unlike in many other Southeastern languages they are notvoiced between vowels. All consonants can occurgeminated.[9] The post-alveolar affricate/tʃ/ is realized as[s] when it occurs as the first member of a consonant cluster and the geminate is realized as[ttʃ]. The only voicedobstruent in Alabama is/b/, which is realized as[m] when it occurs in coda (syllable final) position. The geminate/bb/ is realized as[mb].[9] The two nasal phonemes become velar[ŋ] before the velar stop/k/. In syllable-final position,/h/ is often realized as lengthening of the preceding vowel.[9]
There are three vowel qualities,/ioa/. Vowel length is distinctive. Vowels can be nasalized in certain morphological contexts.[9]
In Alabama, the final syllable generally carries the primary stress, except in the case of certain grammatical operations which move the stress. There is also a pitch accent system with two contrastive tones: high-level and high-falling. The two phonemic tones have several different allophonic realizations depending on vowel length and neighboring consonants.[10]
Since January 2024, theAlabama–Coushatta Tribe of Texas has engaged in a revitalization and documentation effort in partnership with the WOLF (Working on Language in the Field) Lab at Harvard University, with a five-year goal "to document the language, study its grammar and lexicon, and produce educational resources for the Alabama–Coushatta community."[11]
The 'reservation' consists principally of two tracts located in Polk County. One of them, consisting of 1,280 acres, was purchased in several parcels for the Alabama Indians by the state government in 1854 and 1855. The purchase was authorized to honor a claim held by the Alabama tribe against the Republic of Texas. Acts 1854, 5th Leg., ch. 44, at 68; Acts 1840, 4th Congress of the Republic, at 197
It was not until 1928 that the federal government purchased the larger tract 'in trust for the Alabama and Coushatta Indians of Texas.' See Act of May 29, 1928, ch. 853, 45 Stat. 883, 900; 88 Deed Records of Polk County Texas 209 (1928)
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