| Lipan | |
|---|---|
| Ndé miizaa | |
| Native to | Mexico,United States |
| Region | Chihuahua,Coahuila,New Mexico,Texas |
| Ethnicity | Lipan Apache people |
Native speakers | (undated figure of 110 in Mexico)[1] |
Dené–Yeniseian?
| |
| Latin | |
| Official status | |
Official language in |  Mexico |
| Regulated by | Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | apl |
| Glottolog | lipa1241 |
| ELP | Lipan |
 | |
| This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. | |
Lipan (Lipan Apache:ndé miizaa) is an EasternSouthern Athabaskan language spoken by theLipan Apache in the states ofCoahuila andChihuahua in northernMexico, some reservations ofNew Mexico and parts of southern Texas. Lipan belongs to theNa-Dene languages family and it is closely related to theJicarilla language, which is also part of the Eastern Southern Athabaskan languages.
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In 1981, it was reported that in New Mexico there were only 2 or 3 elderly speakers still alive.[3]
On March 22, 2023, a speech in Lipan was given in the tribune of theChamber of Deputies of Mexico.[4]
On July 22, 2023, theInstituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas presented and validated an official alphabet for Lipan in the Assembly Hall ofCasas Grandes, Chihuahua.
In Mexico, Lipan is traditionally spoken in some native communities in the states ofCoahuila andChihuahua: In Coahuila it was mainly spoken in Los Lirios and San Antonio de Alanzas inArteaga Municipality, El Remolino and Zaragoza inZaragoza Municipality, Sierra de Santa Rosa de Lima and Múzquiz inMúzquiz Municipality and the cities ofSabinas andSaltillo. In Chihuahua it is mainly spoken inCiudad Juarez, the city ofChihuahua and other native towns.[5]
Lipan was spoken in New Mexico in theMescalero Reservation and in Texas near theMexico–U.S. border.
There are 30 consonants in Lipan Apache:
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | sibilant | lateral | ||||||
| Nasal | m ⟨m⟩ | n ⟨n⟩ | ||||||
| Stop | prenasal | ⁿd ⟨nd⟩ | ||||||
| voiceless | p ⟨b⟩ | t ⟨d⟩ | ts ⟨dz⟩ | tɬ ⟨dl⟩ | tʃ ⟨j⟩ | k ⟨g⟩ | ʔ ⟨'⟩ | |
| aspirated | tʰ ⟨t⟩ | tsʰ ⟨ts⟩ | tɬʰ ⟨tł⟩ | tʃʰ ⟨ch⟩ | kʰ ⟨k⟩ | |||
| ejective | tʼ ⟨t'⟩ | tsʼ ⟨ts'⟩ | tɬʼ ⟨tł'⟩ | tʃʼ ⟨ch'⟩ | kʼ ⟨k'⟩ | |||
| Fricative | voiceless | s ⟨s⟩ | ɬ ⟨ł⟩ | ʃ ⟨sh⟩ | x ⟨x⟩ | h ⟨h⟩ | ||
| voiced | z ⟨z⟩ | ʒ ⟨zh⟩ | ɣ ⟨gh⟩ | |||||
| Approximant | l ⟨l⟩ | j ⟨y⟩ | ||||||
There are 16 vowels in Lipan Apache:
| Front | Central | Back | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| short | long | short | long | short | long | ||
| Close | oral | i ⟨i⟩ | iː ⟨ii⟩ | ||||
| nasal | ĩ ⟨į⟩ | ĩː ⟨įį⟩ | |||||
| Mid | oral | e ⟨e⟩ | eː ⟨ee⟩ | o ⟨o⟩ | oː ⟨oo⟩ | ||
| nasal | ẽ ⟨ę⟩ | ẽː ⟨ęę⟩ | õ ⟨ǫ⟩ | õː ⟨ǫǫ⟩ | |||
| Open | oral | a ⟨a⟩ | aː ⟨aa⟩ | ||||
| nasal | ã ⟨ą⟩ | ãː ⟨ąą⟩ | |||||
Tones are represented as high[V́], low[V̀], falling[V́V̀], and rising[V̀V́]. Rising and falling tones only occur on long vowels.
The Lipan people preserve their own toponymic names to name important places within their history and culture that are part of theNdé Bikéyaa ("Ndé land" in Lipan):[6]
| Mexico | Mehigu |
| Chihuahua City | Ją’éłąyá |
| Ciudad Juárez | Tsé Tahu’aya /Yaa tu enéé |
| Coahuila | Nacika |