Macro-Siouan languages
Encyclopedia
The Macro-Siouan languages are a proposed language family
that would include the Siouan
, Iroquoian
, and Caddoan
families. Most linguists remain unconvinced that these languages share a genetic relationship
, and the existence of a Macro-Siouan language family remains a subject of debate.
In the 19th century, Robert Latham
suggested that the Siouan languages are related to the Caddoan
and Iroquoian languages
. In 1931, Louis Allen
presented the first list of systematic correspondences between a set of 25 lexical items in Siouan and Iroquoian. In the 1960s and 1970s, Wallace Chafe
further explored the link between Siouan and Caddoan languages. In the 1990s, Marianne Mithun
compared the morphology and syntax of all the three families. At present, the Macro-Siouan hypothesis based on relations among Siouan, Caddoan, and Iroquoian is not universally accepted proven.
However, the Caddoan
languages appear to share many cognates with the Crow language
, which is within most divergent branch of the Siouan language family. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Swadesh_lists_for_Siouan_languages
Language family
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term 'family' comes from the tree model of language origination in historical linguistics, which makes use of a metaphor comparing languages to people in a...
that would include the Siouan
Siouan languages
The Western Siouan languages, also called Siouan proper or simply Siouan, are a Native American language family of North America, and the second largest indigenous language family in North America, after Algonquian...
, Iroquoian
Iroquoian languages
The Iroquoian languages are a First Nation and Native American language family.-Family division:*Ruttenber, Edward Manning. 1992 [1872]. History of the Indian tribes of Hudson's River. Hope Farm Press....
, and Caddoan
Caddoan languages
The Caddoan languages are a family of Native American languages. They are spoken by Native Americans in parts of the Great Plains of the central United States, from North Dakota south to Oklahoma.-Family division:...
families. Most linguists remain unconvinced that these languages share a genetic relationship
Genetic relationship
In linguistics, genetic relationship is the usual term for the relationship which exists between languages that are members of the same language family. The term genealogical relationship is sometimes used to avoid confusion with the unrelated use of the term in biological genetics...
, and the existence of a Macro-Siouan language family remains a subject of debate.
In the 19th century, Robert Latham
Robert Gordon Latham
Robert Gordon Latham FRS was an ethnologist and philologist.Born at Billingborough, Lincolnshire, Latham studied philology in Scandinavia. He graduated from King's College, Cambridge in 1833, becoming a Fellow of King's...
suggested that the Siouan languages are related to the Caddoan
Caddoan languages
The Caddoan languages are a family of Native American languages. They are spoken by Native Americans in parts of the Great Plains of the central United States, from North Dakota south to Oklahoma.-Family division:...
and Iroquoian languages
Iroquoian languages
The Iroquoian languages are a First Nation and Native American language family.-Family division:*Ruttenber, Edward Manning. 1992 [1872]. History of the Indian tribes of Hudson's River. Hope Farm Press....
. In 1931, Louis Allen
Louis Allen
Louis Allen was an African-American logger and civil rights activist, involved in voter registration in the small town of Liberty, Mississippi. He allegedly witnessed the murder of a fellow activist by a white state legislator, and was himself murdered when he approached federal authorities about...
presented the first list of systematic correspondences between a set of 25 lexical items in Siouan and Iroquoian. In the 1960s and 1970s, Wallace Chafe
Wallace Chafe
Wallace Chafe is an American linguist.Chafe was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He graduated from Yale University, where he obtained his doctorate in 1958. From 1975 to 1986 he was the director of the Survey of California and Other Indian Languages at the University of California, Berkeley...
further explored the link between Siouan and Caddoan languages. In the 1990s, Marianne Mithun
Marianne Mithun
Marianne Mithun is a leading scholar of American Indian languages and language typology. She is currently Professor of Linguistics at the University of California at Santa Barbara....
compared the morphology and syntax of all the three families. At present, the Macro-Siouan hypothesis based on relations among Siouan, Caddoan, and Iroquoian is not universally accepted proven.
However, the Caddoan
Caddoan languages
The Caddoan languages are a family of Native American languages. They are spoken by Native Americans in parts of the Great Plains of the central United States, from North Dakota south to Oklahoma.-Family division:...
languages appear to share many cognates with the Crow language
Crow language
Crow is a Missouri Valley Siouan language spoken primarily by the Crow Nation in present-day southeastern Montana...
, which is within most divergent branch of the Siouan language family. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Swadesh_lists_for_Siouan_languages