Kumeyaay language
Encyclopedia
Kumeyaay also known as Central Diegueño, Kamia, and Campo, is the Native American language spoken by the Kumeyaay
people of southern San Diego and Imperial counties in California. Hinton (1994:28) suggested a conservative estimate of 50 surviving Kumeyaay speakers. A more liberal estimate (including speakers of Ipai
and Tipai
), supported by the results of the Census 2000, is 110 people in the US, including 15 persons under the age of 18.
Kumeyaay belongs to the Yuman language family and to the Delta–California branch of that family. Kumeyaay and its neighbors, Ipai
to the north and Tipai
to the south, were often considered to be dialects of a single Diegueño language, but the current consensus among linguists seem to be that at least three distinct languages are present within the dialect chain (e.g., Langdon 1990). Confusingly, Kumeyaay is commonly used as a designation both for the central language of this family and for the Ipai-Kumeyaay-Tipai people as a whole. Tipai is also commonly used as a collective designation for speakers of both Kumeyaay and Tipai proper.
Published documentation for the Kumeyaay language appears to be limited to a few texts (cf. Mithun 1999:578).
Kumeyaay
The Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai, Kamia, or formerly Diegueño, are Native American people of the extreme southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. They live in the states of California in the US and Baja California in Mexico. In Spanish, the name is commonly spelled...
people of southern San Diego and Imperial counties in California. Hinton (1994:28) suggested a conservative estimate of 50 surviving Kumeyaay speakers. A more liberal estimate (including speakers of Ipai
Ipai language
Ipai, also known as Iipay or Northern Diegueño, is the Native American language spoken by the Kumeyaay people of central San Diego County, California. Hinton suggested a conservative estimate of 25 surviving Ipai speakers....
and Tipai
Tipai language
Tipai is the spelling used by anthropologists and people in Spanish-speaking countries to refer to Tiipay, a Native American language spoken by a number of Kumeyaay or Kumiai groups in northern Baja California and southern San Diego County, California. Tipai is also known as Southern Diegueño...
), supported by the results of the Census 2000, is 110 people in the US, including 15 persons under the age of 18.
Kumeyaay belongs to the Yuman language family and to the Delta–California branch of that family. Kumeyaay and its neighbors, Ipai
Ipai language
Ipai, also known as Iipay or Northern Diegueño, is the Native American language spoken by the Kumeyaay people of central San Diego County, California. Hinton suggested a conservative estimate of 25 surviving Ipai speakers....
to the north and Tipai
Tipai language
Tipai is the spelling used by anthropologists and people in Spanish-speaking countries to refer to Tiipay, a Native American language spoken by a number of Kumeyaay or Kumiai groups in northern Baja California and southern San Diego County, California. Tipai is also known as Southern Diegueño...
to the south, were often considered to be dialects of a single Diegueño language, but the current consensus among linguists seem to be that at least three distinct languages are present within the dialect chain (e.g., Langdon 1990). Confusingly, Kumeyaay is commonly used as a designation both for the central language of this family and for the Ipai-Kumeyaay-Tipai people as a whole. Tipai is also commonly used as a collective designation for speakers of both Kumeyaay and Tipai proper.
Published documentation for the Kumeyaay language appears to be limited to a few texts (cf. Mithun 1999:578).