Corn-Related Vocabulary in Various Southeastern Languages

Language family Word (language) English translation Proposed origin in vocabulary of the Totozoquean language family

Muskogean tanchi’ (Chickasaw); tanchi (Choctaw); vce (Muscogee, pronounced “uh-chi”) corn no

Iroquoian se-lu (Cherokee) corn no

Caddoan -k’as- (Caddo) dried corn yes

Chitimacha k’asma (Chitimacha) corn yes

In Caddo, a language from what is now the US Southeast, vocabulary about corn cultivation resembles equivalent vocabulary in the Totozoquean language family in Mexico. This resemblance is perhaps attributable to cultural contact: such words could have entered Caddo through the intermediary of the neighboring but unrelated Chitimacha language, concurrent with the dissemination of corn itself from Mexico into the Southeast after 700 CE. That the vocabulary about domestic crops accompanies them as they diffuse into new regions is an established phenomenon globally. Crops may also be decoupled from vocabulary altogether: corn cultivation became ubiquitous among the Southeastern tribes, yet _______

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the statement?

Question

Corn-Related Vocabulary in Various Southeastern Languages
Language family	Word (language)	English translation	Proposed origin in vocabulary of the Totozoquean language family
Muskogean	tanchi’ (Chickasaw); tanchi (Choctaw); vce (Muscogee, pronounced “uh-chi”)	corn	no
Iroquoian	se-lu (Cherokee)	corn	no
Caddoan	-k’as- (Caddo)	dried corn	yes
Chitimacha	k’asma (Chitimacha)	corn	yes

In Caddo, a language from what is now the US Southeast, vocabulary about corn cultivation resembles equivalent vocabulary in the Totozoquean language family in Mexico. This resemblance is perhaps attributable to cultural contact: such words could have entered Caddo through the intermediary of the neighboring but unrelated Chitimacha language, concurrent with the dissemination of corn itself from Mexico into the Southeast after 700 CE. That the vocabulary about domestic crops accompanies them as they diffuse into new regions is an established phenomenon globally. Crops may also be decoupled from vocabulary altogether: corn cultivation became ubiquitous among the Southeastern tribes, yet _______

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the statement?

Accepted Answer

the origins of vocabulary pertaining to the crop vary across languages in the region, with the words for corn in Cherokee and the Muskogean languages showing no demonstrable relationship to Totozoquean vocabulary.

Answer

the region is linguistically diverse, being home not only to Chitimacha and Caddo, but also to the Muskogean language family (including Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Muscogee) and to one Iroquoian language (Cherokee).

Answer

corn-related vocabulary underwent changes when entering other, unrelated languages, as can be seen by the divergence of the Caddo word from the Chitimacha word it originated in.

Answer

words for corn in the languages of the Muskogean family evolved from a common root, with the Muscogee word having lost certain consonant sounds still present in the Chickasaw and Choctaw words.