Siouan, Caddoan, Iroquoian

[RLR]

> Chafe's book speculating on macrogenetic relationship between Siouan,
> Caddoan, and Iroqoian families? Don't know whether anyone wants to go at
> larger Greenbergian roadapples, Hokan-Siouan?

Jess,

I did a review of Wally's book in 1981 in IJAL 47:172-178. I have not
changed my general view of things much since then. I think Siouan-Yuchi
looks quite good, but Caddoan only has two potential pronominal matches
and that isn't enough of a paradigm to be very helpful. Iroquoian is
even harder for me to justify. I think it is wrong simply to presume the
relationship as Mithun does in her 1991 (?) paper in Language on
active/stative languages. Nonetheless, I think Wally, Marianne and
others have found enough interesting similarities to make the possible
relationship worth pursuing further as more comparative work is done and
becomes available in Caddoan and Iroquoian.

I have said all I have to say about the larger Greenbergian groupings in
a review of his book (LIA) that I did for IJAL 58:324-351 in 1992.

"Hokan-Siouan" had one known effect. Wick Miller, God rest his soul,
used to tell the story of driving across the desert West in the Death
Valley area and stopping at a curio shop at the edge of the desert.
There, hanging on the wall, was an object for sale that the owner had
labeled "Hokan-Siouan cradleboard."

Bob