List of endangered languages in North America
Encyclopedia
An endangered language
is a language
that it is at risk of falling out of use, generally because it has few surviving speakers. If it loses all of its native speakers, it becomes an extinct language
.
North America
is a continent
in the Earth
's northern hemisphere
and (chiefly) western hemisphere
. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean
, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean
, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea
, and on the south and west by the North Pacific Ocean
; South America
lies to the southeast. It covers an area
of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 sq mi), about 4.8% of the planet's surface or about 16.5% of its land area. As of July 2007, its population
was estimated at nearly 524 million people.
Canada
Mexico
Endangered language
An endangered language is a language that is at risk of falling out of use. If it loses all its native speakers, it becomes a dead language. If eventually no one speaks the language at all it becomes an "extinct language"....
is a language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
that it is at risk of falling out of use, generally because it has few surviving speakers. If it loses all of its native speakers, it becomes an extinct language
Extinct language
An extinct language is a language that no longer has any speakers., or that is no longer in current use. Extinct languages are sometimes contrasted with dead languages, which are still known and used in special contexts in written form, but not as ordinary spoken languages for everyday communication...
.
North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
is a continent
Continent
A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Plate tectonics is...
in the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
's northern hemisphere
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
and (chiefly) western hemisphere
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...
. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...
, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
, and on the south and west by the North Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
; South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
lies to the southeast. It covers an area
Area
Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...
of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 sq mi), about 4.8% of the planet's surface or about 16.5% of its land area. As of July 2007, its population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
was estimated at nearly 524 million people.
CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
| Language | Comments | Speakers | Source | ISO 639-3 | Ethnologue entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaver language | 300 speakers in 1991. | Red Book of Endangered Languages Red Book of Endangered Languages The Red Book of Endangered Languages was published by UNESCO and collected a comprehensive list of the world's languages currently facing extinction... |
bea | ||
| Bella Coola language | Also: Nuxalk language Nuxálk language Nuxálk is a Salishan language spoken in the vicinity of the Canadian town Bella Coola, British Columbia by approximately 20-30 elders... |
20 (2002 Poser) 700 (1991 Kinkade). | Ethnologue | blc | |
| Cayuga language Cayuga language Cayuga is a Northern Iroquoian language of the Iroquois Proper subfamily, and is spoken on Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation, Ontario, by around 100 Cayuga people.-Dialects:... |
40 to 60 speakers in 2002. | Red Book of Endangered Languages Red Book of Endangered Languages The Red Book of Endangered Languages was published by UNESCO and collected a comprehensive list of the world's languages currently facing extinction... |
cay | ||
| Chinook Wawa language | Also: Chinook Jargon language | 83 in Canada (1962 Chafe)Population total all countries: 100. | Ethnologue | chn | |
| Northern Haida language | See Haida language Haida language The Haida language is the language of the Haida people. It contains seven vowels and well over 30 consonants.-History:The first documented contact between the Haida and Europeans was in 1774, on Juan Pérez's exploratory voyage. At this time Haidas inhabited the Queen Charlotte Islands, Dall... |
30 in Canada (1995 M Krauss)Population total all countries: 45 1,100 in Canada (1995 M Krauss). | Ethnologue | hdn | |
| Southern Haida language | See Haida language Haida language The Haida language is the language of the Haida people. It contains seven vowels and well over 30 consonants.-History:The first documented contact between the Haida and Europeans was in 1774, on Juan Pérez's exploratory voyage. At this time Haidas inhabited the Queen Charlotte Islands, Dall... |
10 (1995 M Krauss) 500 (1995 M Krauss). | Ethnologue | hax | |
| Haisla language Haisla language The Haisla language is a First Nations language spoken by the Haisla people of the North Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, who are based in the village of Kitaamat 10 km from the town of Kitimat at the head of the Douglas Channel, a 120 km fjord that serves as a... |
25 (1991 M Dale Kinkade) 1,000 (1977 SIL). | Ethnologue | has | ||
| Heiltsuk language Heiltsuk language Heiltsuk , also known as Bella Bella and Haihais, is a dialect of the North Wakashan language Heiltsuk-Oowekyala that is spoken by the Haihai and Bella Bella First Nations peoples of the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, around the communities of Bella Bella and... |
Hai?zaqvla | 300 (1991 M Dale Kinkade). | Ethnologue | hei | |
| Han language Han language Han language may refer to:* Hän language, an endangered Native American language spoken in Eagle, Alaska and Dawson City, Yukon.* Chinese language... |
7 or 8 in Canada (1997 Krauss) 300. | Ethnologue | haa | ||
| Kutenai language Kutenai language The Kutenai language is named after and is spoken by some of the Kootenai Native American/First Nations people who are indigenous to the area of North America that is now Montana, Idaho, and British Columbia.... |
Kutanaxa | 6 in Canada (2002 Poser)Population total all countries: 12. | Ethnologue | kut | |
| Maritime Sign Language Maritime Sign Language Maritime Sign Language , is a sign language, derived from British Sign Language, formerly used in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, Canada... |
Ethnologue | nsr | |||
| Michif language Michif language Michif is the language of the Métis people of Canada and the United States, who are the descendants of First Nations women and fur trade workers of European ancestry... |
About 600 speakers in 1998. | Red Book of Endangered Languages Red Book of Endangered Languages The Red Book of Endangered Languages was published by UNESCO and collected a comprehensive list of the world's languages currently facing extinction... |
crg | ||
| Munsee language Munsee language Munsee is an endangered language of the Eastern Algonquian subgroup of the Algonquian language family, itself a branch of the Algic language family. Munsee is one of the two Delaware languages... |
7 or 8 (1991 M Dale Kinkade) 400 (1991 M Dale Kinkade). | Ethnologue | umu | ||
| Oneida language Oneida language Oneida is an Iroquoian language spoken primarily by the Oneida people in the U.S. states of New York and Wisconsin, and the Canadian province of Ontario. There are an estimated 160 native speakers left. Language revitalization efforts are in progress... |
fewer than 250 speakers in 1991. | Red Book of Endangered Languages Red Book of Endangered Languages The Red Book of Endangered Languages was published by UNESCO and collected a comprehensive list of the world's languages currently facing extinction... |
one | ||
| Onondaga language Onondaga language Onondaga Nation Language is the language of the Onondaga First Nation, one of the original five constituent tribes of the League of the Iroquois .... |
50 to 100 speakers in 1991. | Red Book of Endangered Languages Red Book of Endangered Languages The Red Book of Endangered Languages was published by UNESCO and collected a comprehensive list of the world's languages currently facing extinction... |
ono | ||
| Potawatomi language Potawatomi language Potawatomi is a Central Algonquian language and is spoken around the Great Lakes in Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as in Kansas in the United States, and in southern Ontario in Canada, 1300 Potawatomi people, all elderly... |
100 speakers | Red Book of Endangered Languages Red Book of Endangered Languages The Red Book of Endangered Languages was published by UNESCO and collected a comprehensive list of the world's languages currently facing extinction... |
pot | ||
| Salish language | Red Book of Endangered Languages Red Book of Endangered Languages The Red Book of Endangered Languages was published by UNESCO and collected a comprehensive list of the world's languages currently facing extinction... |
isocode | |||
| Straits Salish language | 20 in Canada (2002 Poser) 3,000 (1977 SIL). | Ethnologue | str | ||
| Sechelt language | Also: Shishalh language | 40 (1990 M.D Kinkade) 550 (1977 SIL). | Ethnologue | sec | |
| Sekani language Sekani language The Sekani language is a Northern Athabaskan language spoken by the Sekani people of north-central British Columbia, Canada.-Consonants:Sekani has 33 consonants:* *Sekani, like other Athabaskan languages, does not contrast fricatives with approximants.... |
30 to 40 (1997 Sharon Hargus) 600 (1982 SIL and 1997 S Hargus). | Ethnologue | sek | ||
| Seneca language Seneca language Seneca is the language of the Seneca people, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois League. About 10,000 Seneca live in the United States and Canada, primarily on reservations in western New York, with others living in Oklahoma and near Brantford, Ontario.-Phonology:Seneca words are written with... |
25 speakers in 1991. | Red Book of Endangered Languages Red Book of Endangered Languages The Red Book of Endangered Languages was published by UNESCO and collected a comprehensive list of the world's languages currently facing extinction... |
see | ||
| Squamish language | 15 (2002 Poser) 2,300. | Ethnologue | squ | ||
| Tagish language Tagish language Tagish is an endangered Northern Athabaskan language spoken by the Tagish people in the Yukon Territory in Canada. It is almost extinct as there are only two fluent speakers left.Tagish is closely related to Kaska and Tahltan... |
2 (1995 M Krauss) 400 possibly (1995 M Krauss). | Ethnologue | tgx | ||
| Tahltan language Tahltan language Tahltan is a poorly documented Northern Athabaskan language historically spoken by the Tahltan people who live in northern British Columbia around Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake, and Iskut. Some linguists consider Tahltan to be a language with 3 divergent but mutually intelligible dialects... |
35 (2002 Poser) 750 (1977 SIL). | Ethnologue | tht | ||
| Tlingit language Tlingit language The Tlingit language ) is spoken by the Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska and Western Canada. It is a branch of the Na-Dené language family. Tlingit is very endangered, with fewer than 140 native speakers still living, all of whom are bilingual or near-bilingual in English... |
145 speakers in Canada in 1998. | Red Book of Endangered Languages Red Book of Endangered Languages The Red Book of Endangered Languages was published by UNESCO and collected a comprehensive list of the world's languages currently facing extinction... |
tli | ||
| Tsuut’ina language Tsuut’ina language Tsuut’ina is a language spoken by the Tsuu T'ina Nation near Calgary, Alberta... |
Also: Tsuu T'ina language, Sarsi language, Sarcee language | 50 (1991 M. Dale Kinkade) | Red Book of Endangered Languages Red Book of Endangered Languages The Red Book of Endangered Languages was published by UNESCO and collected a comprehensive list of the world's languages currently facing extinction... |
srs | |
| Tuscarora language Tuscarora language Tuscarora, sometimes called Ska:rù:rę, is an Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people, spoken in southern Ontario, Canada, and northwestern New York around Niagara Falls, in the United States. The historic homeland of the Tuscarora was in eastern North Carolina, in and around the Goldsboro,... |
7 or 8 in Canada (1991 Kinkade)Population total all countries: 11 to 13. | Ethnologue | tus | ||
| Western Abnaki language Western Abnaki language Western Abnaki is one of the World's most endangered languages. In 1991 it was spoken by 20 individuals along the St. Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec City, who lived mostly at Odanak, the site of the former mission village of St. Francis and about 50 individuals living throughout New... |
20 (1991 M Krauss) 1,800 including Eastern Abnaki in USA (1982 SIL). | Ethnologue | abe | ||
MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
| Language | Comments | Speakers | Source | ISO 639-3 | Ethnologue entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cocopah language Cocopah language Cocopah is a Delta language of the Yuman language family spoken by the Cocopah. It is still being learned by children.-Consonants:Cocopah has 21 consonants:... |
Red Book of Endangered Languages Red Book of Endangered Languages The Red Book of Endangered Languages was published by UNESCO and collected a comprehensive list of the world's languages currently facing extinction... |
coc | |||
| Ixcatec language Ixcatec language Ixcatec, also known as Xwja, is a language spoken by the people of the Mexican village of Santa María Ixcatlan, in the northern part of the state of Oaxaca... |
213 speakers in 2006. | Red Book of Endangered Languages Red Book of Endangered Languages The Red Book of Endangered Languages was published by UNESCO and collected a comprehensive list of the world's languages currently facing extinction... |
ixc | ||
| Kiliwa language Kiliwa language Kiliwa is a Yuman language spoken in Baja California, in the far northwest of Mexico, by the Kiliwa people. It may form part of the hypothetical Hokan linguistic phylum. Kiliwa is the southernmost representative of the family, and the one that is most distinct from the remaining Yuman languages,... |
24 to 32 (1994 SIL). | Ethnologue | klb | ||
| Lacandon language Lacandon language Lacandon is a Mayan language spoken by approximately 1000 Lacandon people in the state of Chiapas in Mexico. Native Lacandon speakers refer to their language as Jach t’aan or Hach t'an. A portion of the Lacandon people also speak Tzeltal, Chol, and Spanish.... |
44 speakers in 2006. (SIL counted 1000 speakers in 2000?) | Red Book of Endangered Languages Red Book of Endangered Languages The Red Book of Endangered Languages was published by UNESCO and collected a comprehensive list of the world's languages currently facing extinction... |
lac | ||
| Mocho' language Mocho' language Mocho’ or Mototzintlec is a language belonging to the western branch of Mayan languages spoken in the Mexican state of Chiapas. The two dialects of Mocho' are spoken in two different villages: the Tuzantec dialect in Tuzantán and the Motozintlec dialect in Mototzintla.... |
Red Book of Endangered Languages Red Book of Endangered Languages The Red Book of Endangered Languages was published by UNESCO and collected a comprehensive list of the world's languages currently facing extinction... |
||||
| Atzingo Matlatzinca language | see also Matlatzinca Matlatzinca Matlatzinca is a name used to refer to different indigenous ethnic groups in the Toluca Valley in the state of México, located in the central highlands of Mexico. The term is applied to the ethnic group inhabiting the valley of Toluca and to their language, Matlatzinca.When used as an ethnonym,... |
50 to 100 (1993 SIL) 642 (1990 census). | Ethnologue | ocu | |
| San Francisco Matlatzinca language | see also Matlatzinca Matlatzinca Matlatzinca is a name used to refer to different indigenous ethnic groups in the Toluca Valley in the state of México, located in the central highlands of Mexico. The term is applied to the ethnic group inhabiting the valley of Toluca and to their language, Matlatzinca.When used as an ethnonym,... |
1,167 (2000 WCD). | Ethnologue | mat | |
| Oluta Popoluca language | around 30 speakers | Red Book of Endangered Languages Red Book of Endangered Languages The Red Book of Endangered Languages was published by UNESCO and collected a comprehensive list of the world's languages currently facing extinction... |
plo | ||
| Opata language Opata language Ópata is the name of the Uto-Aztecan language spoken by the Opata people of northern central Sonora in Mexico... |
15 Population includes 11 in Distrito Federal, 4 in State of Mexico (1993 Instituto Nacional Indigenista). | Ethnologue | opt | ||
| Texistepec Popoluca language | around 400 elderly speakers | Red Book of Endangered Languages Red Book of Endangered Languages The Red Book of Endangered Languages was published by UNESCO and collected a comprehensive list of the world's languages currently facing extinction... |
poq | ||
| Zapotec, Asunción Mixtepec language | see also Zapotec languages | 100 (1990 census) 2,476 (1990 census). | Ethnologue | zoo | |
| Zapotec, San Agustín Mixtepec language | see also Zapotec languages | 59 (1994 SIL). | Ethnologue | ztm | |
| Tabasco Zoque language | see also Zoque languages Zoque languages The Zoque languages are languages of the Zoquean branch of the Mixe–Zoquean language family indigenous to southern Mexico.The Zoque languages are spoken in the in northern Chiapas and far eastern Chiapas around Chimalapa, and in Ayapa Tabasco altogether by around 88,000 indigenous Zoque people... |
40 (1971 García de León) 367 (1960 census). | Ethnologue | zoq | |
USA
| Language | Comments | Speakers | Source | ISO 639-3 | Ethnologue entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Achumawi language Achumawi language The Achumawi language is the native language spoken by the Pit River people of present-day California. The term Achumawi is an anglicization of the name of the Fall River band, ajúmmááwí, from ajúmmá "river"... |
10 nonfluent speakers (1997 Nevin) 1,000 (1997 Bruce Nevin). | Ethnologue | acv | ||
| Alutiiq language Alutiiq language The Alutiiq language is a close relative to the Central Alaskan Yup'ik language spoken in the western and southwestern Alaska, but is considered a distinct language... |
30 speakers (2009) 1,000 . | Ethnologue | acv | ||
| Ahtena language | 80 (1995 M Krauss) 500 (1995 M Krauss). | Ethnologue | aht | ||
| Kiowa Apache language | 18 (1990 census) 1,000 (1977 SIL). | Ethnologue | apk | ||
| Lipan Apache language | 2 or 3 (1981 R W Young) 100 (1977 SIL). | Ethnologue | apl | ||
| Arikara language Arikara language Arikara is a Caddoan language spoken by the Arikara people, who reside primarily at Fort Berthold reservation in North Dakota. Arikara is very close to the Pawnee language, but they are not mutually intelligible.... |
20 (1997 Parks) 3,000. | Ethnologue | ari | ||
| Atsugewi language Atsugewi language Atsugewi is an extinct Palaihnihan language of northeastern California spoken by the Hat Creek and Dixie Valley people. In 1962, there were four speakers out of an ethnic group of 200, all elderly.Astugewi is related to Achumawi... |
3 (1994 L Hinton) 200 (1977 SIL)1,350 with Achumawi (2000 A Yamamoto). | Ethnologue | atw | ||
| Balboa Creole French Balboa Creole French Balboa French Creole is a Creole language used in Balboa Island in the city of Newport Beach, California. It originated from a blending of French spoken by French families on the island with English, Spanish, and German, all which are spoken by some members of the Balboa Island community... |
20 (2009 census) | Ethnologue | balcreo | ||
| Caddo language Caddo language Caddo is the only surviving Southern Caddoan language of the Caddo language family. It is spoken by the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma. Today, only 25 elderly speakers are estimated to remain, none of whom are monolingual Caddo speakers, making Caddo a critically endangered language... |
25 (1997 Chafe) 3,371 (1997 W Chafe). | Ethnologue | cad | ||
| Cahuilla language Cahuilla language Cahuilla is an endangered Uto-Aztecan language, spoken by the Cahuilla tribe, living in the Coachella Valley, San Gorgonio Pass and San Jacinto Mountain region of Southern California. Cahuilla call themselves Iviatam, speakers of 'Ivia' - the 'original' language. A 1990 census revealed 35 speakers... |
7 to 20 (1994 L Hinton) 35 (1990 census). | Ethnologue | chl | ||
| Chetco language | 5 (1962 Chafe) 100 possibly (1977 SIL). | Ethnologue | ctc | ||
| Chinook language | 12 speakers of Kiksht dialect (1996) 300 possibly (1977 SIL). | Ethnologue | chh | ||
| Chinook Wawa language | 17 in the USA (1990 census). | Ethnologue | chn | ||
| Clallam language | 10 (1997 Timothy Montler) Several thousands (1997 T Montler). | Ethnologue | clm | ||
| Coeur d'Alene language Coeur d'Alene language Coeur d'Alene is a Salishan language spoken by only five of the 800 individuals in the Coeur d'Alene Tribe on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation in northern Idaho, United States. It is considered an endangered language.-References:... |
5 (1999 R McDonald) 800 (1977 SIL). | Ethnologue | crd | ||
| Coos language | 1 or 2 (1962 Chafe) 250 (1977 SIL). | Ethnologue | csz | ||
| Degexit'an language | 20 to 30 (1997 Sharon Hargus) 250 to 300 (1997 M Krauss). | Ethnologue | ing | ||
| Gros Ventre language Gros Ventre language Atsina is the moribund Algonquian ancestral language of the Gros Ventre tribe in Montana. The last fluent speaker died in 1981. Atsina is the name applied by specialists in Algonquian linguistics... |
10 (1977 SIL)Very few semispeakers in 2000 (2001 Goddard) 1,200 (1977 SIL). | Ethnologue | ats | ||
| Northern Haida language | 15 in the USA (1995 M Krauss) 600 in the USA (1995 M Krauss). | Ethnologue | hdn | ||
| Han language Han language Han language may refer to:* Hän language, an endangered Native American language spoken in Eagle, Alaska and Dawson City, Yukon.* Chinese language... |
7 or 8 in Alaska (1995 M Krauss)Population total all countries: 14 300. | Ethnologue | haa | ||
| Hawai'i Pidgin Sign Language | A few users out of about 6,000 profoundly deaf people in Hawaii (1987 Honolulu Star-Bulletin), 72,000 deaf or hard-of-hearing people in Hawaii (1998 Honolulu Advertiser). | Ethnologue | hps | ||
| Holikachuk language Holikachuk language Holikachuk is a highly endangered Athabaskan language formerly spoken at the village of Holikachuk on the Innoko River in central Alaska. In 1962 residents of Holikachuk relocated to Grayling on the lower Yukon River. Holikachuk is intermediate between the Deg Xinag and Koyukon languages,... |
12 (1995 M Krauss) 200 (1995 M Krauss). | Ethnologue | hoi | ||
| Hupa language Hupa language -External links :* * overview at the Survey of California and Other Indian Languages*... |
8 (1998 Brook) 2,000. | Ethnologue | hup | ||
| Kalapuya language | 1 or 2 (1962 Chafe). | Ethnologue | kyl | ||
| Kansa language Kansa language Kansa is a Siouan language once spoken by the Kaw people of Oklahoma. The last mother-tongue speaker, Walter Kekahbah, died in 1983.-Scholarship and Resources:... |
19 (1990 census) 250 (1986 SIL). | Ethnologue | ksk | ||
| Karok language | 10 (1997 William Bright) 1,900 (2000 A Yamamoto). | Ethnologue | kyh | ||
| Kashaya language Kashaya language Kashaya is a name for a branch of Pomo people whose historical home is the Pacific Coastline of what is now Sonoma County, California, and also their severely endangered Pomoan language. The Pomoan languages have been classified as part of the Hokan language family, although this proposal is... |
45 (1994 L Hinton). | Ethnologue | kju | ||
| Kawaiisu language Kawaiisu language The Kawaiisu language is an Uto-Aztecan language spoken by the Kawaiisu people of California.-Classification:Kawaiisu is a member of the Southern Numic division of the Uto-Aztecan language family.-Linguistic Environment:... |
8 to 10 (2000 L Hinton) 35 (2000 A Yamamoto). | Ethnologue | xaw | ||
| Klamath-Modoc language Klamath-Modoc language Klamath-Modoc is a Native American language that was spoken around Klamath Lake in what is now southern Oregon and northern California. It is the traditional language of the Klamath and Modoc peoples, each of whom spoke a dialect of the language... |
1 (1998 N.Y Times, April 9, p A20) 2,000 (1997 Scott DeLancey). | Ethnologue | kla | ||
| Upper Kuskokwim language | 40 (1995 Krauss)3 households (1997) 160 (1995 Krauss). | Ethnologue | kuu | ||
| Kutenai language Kutenai language The Kutenai language is named after and is spoken by some of the Kootenai Native American/First Nations people who are indigenous to the area of North America that is now Montana, Idaho, and British Columbia.... |
6 in the USA (2002). | Ethnologue | kut | ||
| Luiseño language Luiseño language The Luiseño language is an Uto-Aztecan language of California spoken by the Luiseño, a Native American people who at the time of the first contacts with the Spanish in the 16th century inhabited the coastal area of southern California, ranging 50 miles from the southern part of Los Angeles County,... |
30 to 40 (2000 L Hinton) 2,000 (2000 A Yamamoto). | Ethnologue | lui | ||
| Lushootseed language | 60 (1990 M D Kinkade)Population evenly divided between the northern and southern dialects 2,000 (1990 M D Kinkade). | Ethnologue | lut | ||
| Northeast Maidu language | 1 to 2 (1994 L Hinton) 108 (1990 census). | Ethnologue | nmu | ||
| Northwest Maidu language | 3 to 6 (1994 L Hinton) 200 (1977 SIL). | Ethnologue | mjd | ||
| Mandan language Mandan language -Genetic relations:It was initially thought to be closely related to the languages of the Hidatsa and the Crow tribes. However, since the Mandan language has been in contact with Hidatsa and Crow for many years, the exact relationship between Mandan and other Siouan languages has been obscured and... |
6 (1992 M Krauss) 400 (1986 SIL and 1997 M Mixco). | Ethnologue | mhq | ||
| Menominee language Menominee language The Menominee language is an Algonquian language originally spoken by the Menominee people of northern Wisconsin and Michigan. It is still spoken on the Menominee Nation lands in Northern Wisconsin in the United States.... |
39 (3,500 ethnic) (1977 SIL). | Ethnologue | mez | ||
| Central Sierra Miwok language | 12 Population includes 6 Eastern Central Sierra, 6 Western Central Sierra (1994 L Hinton) Possibly 5,000 all Miwok (2000 Yamamoto). | Ethnologue | csm | ||
| Lake Miwok language Lake Miwok language The Lake Miwok language is a moribund language of Northern California, traditionally spoken in an area adjacent to the Clear Lake... |
1 to 2 (1994 L Hinton). | Ethnologue | lmw | ||
| Northern Sierra Miwok language | 6 (1994 L Hinton). | Ethnologue | nsq | ||
| Plains Miwok language Plains Miwok language Plains Miwok, also known as Valley Miwok, was one of the Miwok languages spoken in eastern California by the Plains Miwok people. It was spoken in the deltas of the San Joaquin and Cosumnes rivers. Plains Miwok was once one of the most populous Miwok languages. All of the population has shifted to... |
1 (1962 H Landar in Sebeok 1977). | Ethnologue | pmw | ||
| Southern Sierra Miwok language Southern Sierra Miwok language Southern Sierra Miwok is a Utian language spoken by the Native American people called the Southern Sierra Miwok of Northern California.-Consonants:The 15 consonants of Southern Sierra Miwok:-Vowels:The 6 vowels of Southern Sierra Miwok:-Length:... |
7 Southern Central Sierra Miwok (1994 L Hinton). | Ethnologue | skd | ||
| Mono language Mono language (Native American) Mono is a Native American language of the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, the ancestral language of the Mono people. Mono consists of two dialects, Eastern and Western. The name "Monachi" is commonly used in reference to Western Mono and "Owens Valley Paiute" in reference to Eastern Mono.... |
Western Mono: 37 to 41 (1994 L Hinton) Population includes 10-12 North Fork, 15 Auberry, 7-8 Big Sandy, 5-6 Dunlap, no Waksachi. Eastern Mono: 50 (1994 L Hinton) 600 (2000 A Yamamoto). |
Ethnologue | mnr | ||
| Nisenan language Nisenan language Nisenan is a nearly extinct Maiduan language spoken by the Nisenan people of central California in the foothills of the Sierras, in the whole of the American, Bear and Yuba river drainages.Ethnologue states that there is only one speaker left... |
1 (1994 L Hinton). | Ethnologue | nsz | ||
| Osage language Osage language Osage is a Siouan language spoken by the Osage people of Oklahoma. The last native speaker, Lucille Roubedeaux, died ca. 2005.Osage has an inventory of sounds very similar to that of Dakota, plus vowel length, preaspirated obstruents, and an interdental fricative... |
5 (1991 M Krauss) 15,000 (1997 Carolyn Quintero). | Ethnologue | osa | ||
| Panamint language | 20 100 (1998 John E McLaughlin). | Ethnologue | par | ||
| Pawnee language Pawnee language The Pawnee language is a Caddoan language spoken by some Pawnee Native Americans now located in north central Oklahoma. Their traditional historic lands were along the Platte River in what is now Nebraska. Once the language of thousands of Pawnees, today Pawnee is spoken by a shrinking number of... |
20 (1997 Parks) 2,500 (1997 Parks). | Ethnologue | paw | ||
| Central Pomo language Central Pomo language Central Pomo is one of the seven Pomoan languages spoken in Northern California. It is currently an endangered language, with fewer than 10 speakers... |
2 to 5 (1997 Mithun) 4,766 (1997 Mithun). | Ethnologue | poo | ||
| Southeastern Pomo language Southeastern Pomo language Southeastern Pomo, also known as Lower Lake Pomo, is a Pomoan language of Northern California. It was spoken along the eastern coast of Clear Lake, in Northern California.-External links:... |
5 (1994 L Hinton). | Ethnologue | pom | ||
| Southern Pomo language Southern Pomo language Southern Pomo is one of seven mutually unintelligible Pomoan languages which were formerly spoken by the Pomo people in Northern California along the Russian River and Clear Lake. The Pomo languages have been grouped together with other so-called Hokan languages... |
1 (1994 L Hinton). | Ethnologue | peq | ||
| Quapaw language | 34 (1990 census) 2,000 (1986 SIL). | Ethnologue | qua | ||
| Quileute language Quileute language Quileute , also known as Quillayute , is the only surviving Chimakuan language, spoken by a few Quileute and Makah elders on the western coast of the Olympic peninsula south of Cape Flattery at La Push and the lower Hoh River in Washington state, USA... |
10 (1977 SIL) 300 (1977 SIL). | Ethnologue | qui | ||
| Straits Salish language | Ethnologue | str | |||
| Serrano language Serrano language The Serrano language is a language in the Takic branch of the Uto-Aztecan family spoken by the Serrano people of Southern California. The language is closely related to Tongva and Kitanemuk.... |
1 (1994 Coker). | Ethnologue | ser | ||
| Snohomish language | 10 (1998 J Brooke) 800 (1977 SIL). | Ethnologue | sno | ||
| Tanacross language Tanacross language Tanacross is an endangered Athabaskan language spoken by fewer than 60 persons in eastern Interior Alaska.- Overview :The word Tanacross Tanacross (also Transitional Tanana) is an endangered Athabaskan language spoken by fewer than 60 persons in eastern Interior Alaska.- Overview :The word... |
35 (1997 G Holton)Population includes 3 in the Healy Lake dialect, 32 in Mansfield-Ketchumstuck 120 (1997 G Holton). | Ethnologue | tcb | ||
| Tanaina language | 75 (1997 M Krauss) 900 (1997 M Krauss). | Ethnologue | tfn | ||
| Lower Tanana language Lower Tanana language Lower Tanana is an endangered Athabaskan language spoken in Interior Alaska in the lower Tanana River villages of Minto and Nenana. Of about 380 Tanana people in the two villages, about 30 still speak the language... |
30 (1995 M Krauss) 380 (1995 M Krauss). | Ethnologue | taa | ||
| Tolowa language Tolowa language The Tolowa language is a member of the Pacific Coast subgroup of the Athabaskan language family. It is spoken by Tolowa Indians in southern Oregon and northern California. There are only a handful of remaining fully fluent native speakers... |
4 to 5 (1994 Hinton) 1,000 (2000 Yamamoto). | Ethnologue | tol | ||
| Tübatulabal language Tubatulabal language Tübatulabal is a Uto-Aztecan language, traditionally spoken in Kern County, California. It is the traditional language of the Tübatulabal people, who have now largely shifted to English. The language is currently considered moribund.... |
6 900 (2000 Yamamoto). | Ethnologue | tub | ||
| Tuscarora language Tuscarora language Tuscarora, sometimes called Ska:rù:rę, is an Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people, spoken in southern Ontario, Canada, and northwestern New York around Niagara Falls, in the United States. The historic homeland of the Tuscarora was in eastern North Carolina, in and around the Goldsboro,... |
4 to 5 in the USA (1997 Mithun) 1,200 in the USA (1997 Mithun). | Ethnologue | tus | ||
| Tututni language | 10 (1962 Chafe). | Ethnologue | tuu | ||
| Wasco-Wishram language Wasco-Wishram language Upper Chinook, also known as Kiksht, Columbia Chinook, and Wasco-Wishram after its only living dialect, is a highly endangered language of the US Pacific Northwest. It had 69 speakers as of 1990, of which 7 were monolingual: five Wasco and two Wishram... |
69 (1990 census)7 monolinguals 750 possibly (1977 SIL). | Ethnologue | wac | ||
| Washo language Washo language The Washo language is an endangered Native American language isolate spoken by the Washo on the California–Nevada border in the drainages of the Truckee and Carson Rivers, especially around Lake Tahoe... |
10 (1998 J Brooke) 1,500 (2000 A Yamamoto). | Ethnologue | was | ||
| Wichita language Wichita language Wichita is a moribund Caddoan language spoken in Oklahoma by the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. Only one fluent speaker remains, Doris McLemore, although in 2007 there were only three first language learners still alive... |
3 (2000 Brian Levy) 1,400 (2000 David S Rood). | Ethnologue | wic | ||
| Wintu language Wintu language Wintu is an endangered Wintuan language spoken by the Wintu people of Northern California.Wintu is the northernmost member of the Wintun family of languages.... |
5 or 6 (1997 Shepherd) 2,244 (1997 Shepherd) | Ethnologue | wit | ||
| Yokutsan languages Yokutsan languages Yokutsan is an endangered language family spoken in the interior of Northern and Central California in and around the San Joaquin Valley by the Yokut people. The speakers of Yokutsan languages were severely affected by disease, missionaries, and the Gold Rush... |
78 speakers of Northern Foothill Yokuts (1990 census) 2,500 (2000 A Yamamoto). | Ethnologue | yok | ||
| Yuchi language Yuchi language The Yuchi language is the language of the Yuchi people living in the southeastern United States, including eastern Tennessee, western Carolinas, northern Georgia and Alabama, in the period of early European colonization. However, speakers of the Yuchi language were forcibly relocated to Oklahoma... |
10 to 12 (1997 Mary Linn) 1,500 (1977 SIL). | Ethnologue | yuc | ||
| Yurok language Yurok language Yurok is a moribund Algic language. It is the traditional language of the Yurok tribe of Del Norte County and Humboldt County on the far North Coast of California, U.S., most of whom now speak English... |
12 (2002 Goddard) 3,000 to 4,500 possibly (1982 SIL). | Ethnologue | yur | ||