Language Contact and Influence
Language contact with Spanish has influenced Wappo's sound structure and vocabulary. As listed above in the consonant section, /f/, /d/, /g/, /r/ and /rʼ/ are used for Spanish borrowings. Many of the first words borrowed from Spanish into Wappo referred to items that were traded. In some cases, words may have been borrowed from other American Indian languages in contact with Spanish, rather than directly from Spanish. Below are two examples of borrowings from Spanish.
- čičaloʔ "pea" was borrowed from chícharo JOS" />
While contact with English has not greatly influenced Wappo's lexicon, it has influenced its syntax. Thompson et al. cite the sentences below as examples of an expanded use of the benefactive case that could have arisen from contact with English.
- kaphe - ma ah mey k'o - taʔ
coffee - BENEF 1SG:NOM water boil - PST
"I boiled water for coffee" - i - ma eniya c'iti -khi?
DEM basket - NOM 1SG - BENEF very hard - STAT weave - INF
"this basket was very hard for me to make"
While Wappo has a predicate-final structure, question words are clause-initial in most cases. This is unexpected, and possibly resulting from English influence.
- may miʔ naw - taʔ
who 2SG:NOM see - PST
"who did you see?"
In another potential example of English influence, the word neʔ-khiʔ "have" is used in deontic expressions, and its meaning is adapted as "have to".
- ah čoh - ukh neʔ - khiʔ maʔa heʔ
1SG:NOM go - INF have - STAT just now
"I have to go right now"
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