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Cahto language facts for kids

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Kato
Cahto
Native to United States
Region California (Eel River)
Ethnicity Cahto people
Extinct 1960se18
Language family

Cahto (also spelled Kato) is an extinct Athabaskan language that was formerly spoken by the Kato people of the Laytonville and Branscomb area at the head of the South Fork of the Eel River. It is one of the four languages belonging to the California Athabaskan cluster of the Pacific Coast Athabaskan languages. Most Kato speakers were bilingual in Northern Pomo and some also spoke Yuki.

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Dental Alveolar Post-
alveolar
Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
central lateral plain labial
Nasal m ⟨m⟩ n ⟨n⟩ ɲ ⟨ñ⟩
Plosive/
Affricate
unaspirated b ⟨b⟩ t~d ⟨d⟩ ts ⟨ts⟩ t͡ʃ~d͡ʒ ⟨dj⟩ c~ɟ ⟨g⟩ k~[[Error using : IPA symbol "g" not found in list|g]] ⟨g⟩ ⟨kw⟩ k~q ⟨q⟩ ʔ ⟨′⟩
ejective ⟨t'⟩ tsʼ ⟨ts'⟩ tɬʼ ⟨L⟩ t͡ʃʼ ⟨tc'⟩ ⟨k'⟩ ⟨k'⟩ [[Error using : IPA symbol "kʷʼ" not found in list|kʷʼ]] ⟨kw'⟩
aspirated ⟨t⟩ t͡ʃʰ ⟨tc⟩ [[Error using : IPA symbol "cʰ" not found in list|cʰ]] ⟨k⟩ ⟨k⟩
Fricative voiceless s ⟨s⟩ ɬ ⟨ʟ⟩ ʃ ⟨c⟩ h ⟨h⟩
voiced z ⟨z⟩ ʒ ɣ ⟨ɢ⟩
Approximant l ⟨l⟩ j ⟨y⟩ w ⟨w⟩

Cahto has 26 consonant phonemes and 30 phones.

Vowels

Front Central Back Diphthong
High [i(ː)] ī [ɪ] i ~ [ʊ] û [u(ː)] ū
High-Mid [e(ː)] ē [e] ɛ ~ [ə] ę [o(ː)] ō
Low-Mid [ɛ] ɛ ~ [ə] ę [ʌ] ą ~ [a] a
Low [a(ː)] ā, [ʌ] ą ~ [a] a [ai] ai

Cahto has 9 vowel phonemes (including the diphthong) and 12 phones.

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