Handbook of the Seneca Language [Paperback]

Wallace L. Chafe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2007 | ISBN-10: 1897367139 | ISBN-13: 978-1897367131 | Edition: Bilingual

The Seneca language is a member of the Iroquoian language family. Seneca is a seriously endangered language spoken in upper New York State and Southern Ontario. This book consists of 3 parts. Section I, on orthography, describes a way of writing Seneca words consistently and without omitting features that are significant. Various spelling systems have been used, and are being used, for the writing of Seneca by missionaries, anthropologists, and the speakers of the language themselves. Section II, on grammar, is concerned with the structure of Seneca words. Section III is a brief glossary of the Seneca language.

Product Details

• Paperback: 76 pages
• Publisher: Global Language Press; Bilingual edition (June 1, 2007)
• Language: Unknown
• ISBN-10: 1897367139
• ISBN-13: 978-1897367131
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #671,661 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Native American
  • #75 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Native American

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Taste of Seneca!, November 1, 2010

By 

ksiezycowy (Rochester, NY) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Handbook of the Seneca Language (Paperback)

This little book packs quite a bit in it's pages. It is not a textbook, or anything like that, but it is still a good introduction to the Seneca language. It is basically a short grammar and word-list. For understanding the grammar it is helpful if you know another Iroquoian language like Mohawk or (especially) Cayuga, of which there are actually textbooks for. Still even a person that doesn't know any other Iroquoian language can get something out of this. You don't really learn any rules for which prefix to use, but at least you can understand it when it is used.

The word-list is a great reference. It doesn't have a lot of words, but the words it does have are quite helpful.

In short, this is a good taste of Seneca. For more check out: Seneca Morphology and Dictionary (Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology, Volume 4).

5.0 out of 5 stars good, January 18, 2012

By 

Mr. S - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Handbook of the Seneca Language (Paperback)

This is a really good book and one of the few that are available to read, learn, and study the Seneca language. I wish that more books would be published so that I could learn this language better.