Bidai (also spelled Beadeye, Bedias, Bidey, Viday, etc.; autonym: Quasmigdo) is an unclassified extinct language formerly spoken by the Bidai people of eastern Texas. Zamponi (2024) notes that the numerals do not appear to be related to those of any other languages and hence proposes that Bidai may be a language isolate.

Word list

Rufus Grimes, a Texan settler in Navasota, Grimes County, sent a letter dated November 15, 1887, to Albert S. Gatschet that contained several Bidai words. The word list was published in Gatschet (1891: 39, fn. 2).

glossBidai onenamah twonahonde threenaheestah fournashirimah fivenahot nahonde sixnashees nahonde boypúskus corntándshai

Comparison of numerals

Below is Zamponi's (2024) comparison of Bidai numerals with those of neighboring languages.

languageonetwothreefourfivesix Bidainamahnahondenaheestahnashirimahnahot nahondenashees nahonde W. Atakapatanuʹk, taʹnuktsīklāt(h)imatoʹlnīt, nitlatsīʹk Karankawanáatsaháikiakaxájihájo haknnáatsa béhemahájo háikia Tonkawawe·ʔis-paxketaymetissikitkaskwasikwa·law Caddo’wísts’i’bítdaháw’híwí’diːsik’andáːnkih Adainancasnasscolletacacheseppacanpacanancus Mobilian Jargon(a)čaf(f)atok(o)lotočenaoštataɫapehan(n)ale

Anthony Grant (1995) finds the following cognates shared with Choctaw and Mobilian Jargon.

languageboycorn Bidaipúskustándshai Choctawpoškoš ~ poskos ‘child’tãci’ Mobilian Jargonposko(š) ~ poškoš ‘baby, child’tãče ‘baby, child’

See also