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Indigenous languages of the Americas

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File:Dresden codex, page 2.jpg
Yucatec Maya writing in the Dresden Codex, ca. 11–12th century, Chichen Itza

The Indigenous languages of the Americas are the languages that were used by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas before the arrival of non-Indigenous peoples. Over a thousand of these languages are still used today, while many more are now extinct. The Indigenous languages of the Americas are not all related to each other; instead, they are classified into a hundred or so language families and isolates, as well as several extinct languages that are unclassified due to the lack of information on them.

Many proposals have been made to relate some or all of these languages to each other, with varying degrees of success. The most widely reported is Joseph Greenberg's Amerind hypothesis,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> which, however, nearly all specialists reject because of severe methodological flaws; spurious data; and a failure to distinguish cognation, contact, and coincidence.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

According to UNESCO, most of the Indigenous languages of the Americas are critically endangered, and many are dormant (without native speakers but with a community of heritage-language users) or entirely extinct.<ref name="online">Template:Cite book. (Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com)</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The most widely spoken Indigenous languages are Southern Quechua (spoken primarily in southern Peru and Bolivia) and Guarani (centered in Paraguay, where it shares national language status with Spanish), with perhaps six or seven million speakers apiece (including many of European descent in the case of Guarani). Only half a dozen others have more than a million speakers; these are Aymara of Bolivia and Nahuatl of Mexico, with almost two million each; the Mayan languages Kekchi and K’iche’ of Guatemala and Yucatec of Mexico, with about 1 million apiece; and perhaps one or two additional Quechuan languages in Peru and Ecuador. In the United States, 372,000 people reported speaking an Indigenous language at home in the 2010 census.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In Canada, 133,000 people reported speaking an Indigenous language at home in the 2011 census.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In Greenland, about 90% of the population speaks Greenlandic, the most widely spoken Eskaleut language.

Background

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Template:Further Over a thousand known languages were spoken by various peoples in North and South America prior to their first contact with Europeans. These encounters occurred between the beginning of the 11th century (with the Nordic settlement of Greenland and failed efforts in Newfoundland and Labrador) and the end of the 15th century (the voyages of Christopher Columbus). Several Indigenous cultures of the Americas had also developed their own writing systems,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> the best known being the Maya script.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The Indigenous languages of the Americas had widely varying demographics, from the Quechuan languages, Aymara, Guarani, and Nahuatl, which had millions of active speakers, to many languages with only several hundred speakers. After pre-Columbian times, several Indigenous creole languages developed in the Americas, based on European, Indigenous and African languages.

The European colonizing nations and their successor states had widely varying attitudes towards Native American languages. In Brazil, friars learned and promoted the Tupi language.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In many Spanish colonies, Spanish missionaries often learned local languages and culture in order to preach to the natives in their own tongue and relate the Christian message to their Indigenous religions. In the British American colonies, John Eliot of the Massachusetts Bay Colony translated the Bible into the Massachusett language, also called Wampanoag, or Natick (1661–1663); he published the first Bible printed in North America, the Eliot Indian Bible.

The Europeans also suppressed use of Indigenous languages, establishing their own languages for official communications, destroying texts in other languages, and insisted that Indigenous people learn European languages in schools. As a result, Indigenous languages suffered from cultural suppression and loss of speakers. By the 18th and 19th centuries, Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, and Dutch, brought to the Americas by European settlers and administrators, had become the official or national languages of modern nation-states of the Americas.

Many Indigenous languages have become critically endangered, but others are vigorous and part of daily life for millions of people. Several Indigenous languages have been given official status in the countries where they occur, such as Guaraní in Paraguay. In other cases official status is limited to certain regions where the languages are most spoken. Although sometimes enshrined in constitutions as official, the languages may be used infrequently in de facto official use. Examples are Quechua in Peru and Aymara in Bolivia, where in practice, Spanish is dominant in all formal contexts.

In the North American Arctic region, Greenland in 2009 elected Kalaallisut<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as its sole official language. In the United States, the Navajo language is the most spoken Native American language, with more than 200,000 speakers in the Southwestern United States. The US Marine Corps recruited Navajo men, who were established as code talkers during World War II.

Origins

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Template:See also In American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America (1997), Lyle Campbell lists several hypotheses for the historical origins of Amerindian languages.<ref>Template:Cite book.</ref>

  • A single, one-language migration (not widely accepted)
  • A few linguistically distinct migrations (favored by Edward Sapir)
  • Multiple migrations
  • Multilingual migrations (single migration with multiple languages)
  • The influx of already diversified but related languages from the Old World
  • Extinction of Old World linguistic relatives (while the New World ones survived)
  • Migration along the Pacific coast instead of by the Bering Strait

Roger Blench (2008) has advocated the theory of multiple migrations along the Pacific coast of peoples from northeastern Asia, who already spoke diverse languages. These proliferated in the New World.<ref>Template:Cite web Paper presented at the Archaeology Research Seminar, RSPAS, Canberra, Australia.</ref>

Numbers of speakers and political recognition

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Countries like Mexico, Bolivia, Venezuela, Guatemala, and Guyana recognize most Indigenous languages. Bolivia and Venezuela give all Indigenous languages official status. Canada, Argentina, and the U.S. allow provinces and states to decide. Brazil limits recognition to localities.

  • Bolivia: Official status for all Indigenous languages.
  • Venezuela: Official status for all Indigenous languages.
  • Mexico: Recognizes all Indigenous languages.
  • Guatemala: Recognizes all Indigenous languages.
  • Guyana: Recognizes most Indigenous languages.
  • Colombia: Local recognition at the department level.
  • Canada: Bill C-91 Indigenous Languages Act and Indigenous languages recognition in Parliament.
  • Argentina: Provincial determination of language policies.
  • United States: State determination of language policies.
  • Brazil: Local recognition of Indigenous languages.

Canada

Bill C-91, passed in 2019, supports Indigenous languages through sustainable funding and the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages. The first Commissioner of Indigenous languages in Canada is Ronald E. Ignace.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>https://lop.parl.ca/staticfiles/PublicWebsite/Home/ResearchPublications/HillStudies/PDF/2015-131-E.pdf Template:Bare URL PDF</ref><ref>https://www.canlii.org/en/commentary/doc/2019CanLIIDocs3786#!fragment/zoupio-_Toc3Page3/BQCwhgziBcwMYgK4DsDWszIQewE4BUBTADwBdoAvbRABwEtsBaAfX2zgGYAFMAc0I4BKADTJspQhACKiQrgCe0AORLhEQmFwIZcxSrUatIAMp5SAIUUAlAKIAZGwDUAggDkAwjeGkwAI2ik7IKCQA Template:Bare URL inline</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Colombia

Colombia delegates local Indigenous language recognition to the department level according to the Colombian Constitution of 1991.

  • Bullet points represent minority language status. Political entities with official language status are highlighted in bold.
List of Widely Spoken and Officially Recognized Languages
Language Number of speakers Official Recognition Area(s) Language is spoken Source
Guaraní Template:Sigfig Paraguay (Official Language)

Bolivia

Corrientes, Argentina

Tacuru, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Mercosur

Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil <ref name="Ethnologue 2021">Ethnologue (2021)</ref>
Southern Quechua Template:Sigfig (outdated figure)Template:When Bolivia (Official Language)

Peru (Official Language)

Jujuy, Argentina

  • Chile

Comunidad Andina

Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, Chile <ref name="Ethnologue 2021"/>
Nahuatl Template:Sigfig Mexico Mexico <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Aymara Template:Sigfig Bolivia (Official Language)

Peru (Official Language)

  • Chile

Comunidad Andina

Bolivia, Peru, Chile <ref name="Ethnologue 2021"/>
Qʼeqchiʼ Template:Sigfig Guatemala

Belize

Mexico

Guatemala, Belize, Mexico <ref name="Ethnologue 2021"/>
Kʼicheʼ Template:Sigfig Guatemala

Mexico

Guatemala & Mexico <ref name="Ethnologue 2021"/>
Yucatec Maya Template:Sigfig Mexico

Belize

Mexico & Belize <ref name="auto2">Template:Cite web</ref>
Ancash Quechua Template:Sigfig (outdated figure) Peru <ref name="Ethnologue 2021"/>
Mam Template:Sigfig Guatemala

Mexico

Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities (De facto), Mexico

Guatemala & Mexico
Tzeltal Template:Sigfig Mexico

Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities (De facto), Mexico

Mexico <ref name="auto2"/>
Mixtec Template:Sigfig Mexico Mexico <ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref>
Tzotzil Template:Sigfig Mexico

Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities (De facto), Mexico

Mexico <ref name="auto2"/>
Zapotec Template:Sigfig Mexico Mexico <ref name="auto"/>
Kichwa Template:Sigfig Ecuador

Colombia (Cauca, Nariño, Putumayo)

Ecuador & Colombia (Cauca, Nariño, Putumayo) <ref name="Ethnologue 2021"/>
Wayuu (Guajiro) Template:Sigfig Venezuela

La Guajira, Colombia

Venezuela & Colombia
Kaqchikel Template:Sigfig Guatemala

Mexico

Guatemala & Mexico <ref name="Ethnologue 2021"/>
Otomi Template:Sigfig Mexico Mexico <ref name="auto"/>
Totonac Template:Sigfig Mexico Mexico <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Mapuche Template:Sigfig Cautín Province, La Araucanía, Chile (Galvarino, Padre Las Casas) Cautín Province, La Araucanía, Chile (Galvarino, Padre Las Casas) <ref name="Ethnologue 2021"/>
Ch'ol Template:Sigfig Mexico

Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities (De facto), Mexico

Mexico <ref name="auto2"/>
Mazateco Template:Sigfig Mexico Mexico <ref name="auto"/>
Qʼanjobʼal Template:Sigfig Guatemala

Mexico

Guatemala & Mexico
Huasteco Template:Sigfig Mexico Mexico <ref name="auto2"/>
Navajo Template:Sigfig Navajo Nation, United States Southwestern United States <ref name="Ethnologue 2021"/>
Mazahua Template:Sigfig Mexico Mexico <ref name="auto"/>
Miskito Template:Sigfig (outdated figure) North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, Nicaragua

Honduras (Gracias a Dios)

Nicaragua, Honduras
Chinanteco Template:Sigfig Mexico Mexico <ref name="auto"/>
Mixe Template:Sigfig Mexico Mexico <ref name="auto1">Template:Cite web</ref>
Tlapaneco Template:Sigfig Mexico Mexico <ref name="auto"/>
Poqomchiʼ Template:Sigfig Guatemala Guatemala
Purepecha/Tarasco Template:Sigfig Mexico Mexico <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Achí Template:Sigfig Guatemala Guatemala
Ixil Template:Sigfig Guatemala

Mexico

Guatemala & Mexico
Yaru Quechua 100,000 (circa; outdated figure) Peru <ref name="Ethnologue 2021"/>
Cree Template:Sigfig [incl. Naskapi, Montagnais] Northwest Territories, Canada Canada <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Tarahumara Template:Sigfig Mexico Mexico
Tz'utujil Template:Sigfig Guatemala Guatemala
Guna Template:Sigfig Colombia (Chocó & Antioquia) Colombia (Chocó & Antioquia), Panama (Guna Yala)
Paez 60,000 Colombia (Cauca, Huila, Valle del Cauca) Colombia (Cauca, Huila, Valle del Cauca)
Chuj 59,000 Guatemala

Mexico

Guatemala & Mexico
Kalaallisut (Greenlandic) 57,000 Greenland Greenland <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Amuzgo 55,588 Mexico Mexico
Tojolabʼal 51,733 Mexico

Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities (De facto), Mexico

Mexico
Garífuna 50,000 (circa; outdated figure) Guatemala

Belize

North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, Nicaragua

Honduras (Atlántida, Colón, Gracias a Dios)

Guatemala, Belize, Nicaragua, Honduras <ref name="Ethnologue 2021"/>
Ojibwe Template:Sigfig Canada

United States

Canada & United States <ref name="Ethnologue 2021"/>
Tikuna 47,000 Colombia (Leticia, Puerto Nariño, Amazonas) Amazonas regions of Brazil and Colombia <ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>
Chatino 45,000 Mexico Mexico
Huichol 44,800 Mexico Mexico
Mayo 39,600 Mexico Mexico
Inuktitut 39,475 Nunavut, Canada

Northwest Territories, Canada

Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Quebec and Labrador, Canada <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Chontal Maya 37,072 Mexico Mexico
Wichi 36,135 Chaco, Argentina Chaco, Argentina
Tepehuán 36,000 Mexico Mexico
Soteapanec 35,050 Mexico Mexico
Shuar 35,000 Ecuador Ecuador <ref>Shuar at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)</ref>
Blackfoot 34,394 Alberta, Canada & Montana, United States <ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>
Sikuani 34,000 Colombia (Meta, Vichada, Arauca, Guainía, Guaviare) Colombia (Meta, Vichada, Arauca, Guainía, Guaviare)
Jakaltek Template:Sigfig Guatemala

Mexico

Guatemala & Mexico
Kom 31,580 Chaco, Argentina Chaco, Argentina
Poqomam 30,000 Guatemala Guatemala
Ch'orti' 30,000 Guatemala Guatemala
Kaiwá 26,500 Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil <ref name=":0" />
Sioux 25,000 South Dakota, United States US <ref name="Ethnologue 18th ed., 2015">Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)</ref>
Oʼodham 23,313 Tohono Oʼodham Nation, United States

Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community, United States

Mexico

Arizona, United States
Kaigang 22,000 Brazil <ref name=":0" />
Guambiano 21,000 Cauca Department, Colombia Cauca Department, Colombia
Cora 20,100 Mexico Mexico
Yanomamö 20,000 Venezuela Brazil & Venezuela <ref name=":0" />
Nheengatu 19,000 São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Amazonas, Brazil

Venezuela

Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela <ref name="Ethnologue 18th ed., 2015"/>
Yup'ik (Central Alaskan) & (Siberian) 18,626 Alaska, United States Alaska, United States
Huave 17,900 Mexico Mexico <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Yaqui 17,546 Mexico Mexico
Piaroa 17,000 Vichada, Colombia Vichada, Colombia
Sakapultek 15,000 Guatemala Guatemala
Western Apache 14,012 San Carlos Apache Nation, United States

Fort Apache Indian Reservation, United States

Arizona, United States
Xavante 13,300 Mato Grosso, Brazil <ref name=":0" />
Keresan 13,073 New Mexico, United States
Cuicatec 13,000 Mexico Mexico
Awa Pit 13,000 Nariño Department, Colombia Nariño Department, Colombia
Karu 12,000 Venezuela

Guaviare Department, Colombia

São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Amazonas, Brazil, (Baníwa language)

Guaviare, Colombia & Amazonas, Brazil, (Baníwa language)
Awakatek 11,607 Guatemala

Mexico

Guatemala

Mexico

Chipewyan 11,325 Northwest Territories, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Pame 11,000 Mexico Mexico
Wounaan 10,800 Colombia (Chocó, Cauca, Valle del Cauca) Colombia (Chocó, Cauca, Valle del Cauca)
Choctaw 9,600 Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, United States Oklahoma & Mississippi, United States <ref name="Ethnologue 21st ed., 2018">Ethnologue (21st ed., 2018)</ref>
Moxo 10,000 Bolivia Bolivia
Kogi 9,900 Magdalena, Colombia Magdalena, Colombia
Zuni 9,620 New Mexico, United States <ref>Ethnologue (19th ed., 2016)</ref>
Guajajara 9,500 Maranhão, Brazil <ref name=":0" />
Sumo 9,000 North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, Nicaragua North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, Nicaragua
Mopán 9,000–12,000 Guatemala

Belize

Guatemala & Belize <ref>Hofling, Mopan Maya–Spanish–English Dictionary, 1.</ref>
Tepehua 8,900 Mexico Mexico
Mawé 8,900 Brazil (Para & Amazonas) <ref name=":0" />
Terêna 8,200 Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil <ref name=":0" />
Sipakapense 8,000 Guatemala Guatemala
Ika 8,000 Colombia (Cesar & Magdalena) Colombia (Cesar & Magdalena)
Mi'kmaq 7,140 Canada and United States
Tukano 7,100 São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Amazonas, Brazil
Mitú, Vaupés, Colombia 		Amazonas, Brazil & Vaupés, Colombia <ref name=":1" />
Minica Huitoto 6,800 Amazonas, Colombia Amazonas, Colombia
Hopi 6,780 Arizona, United States <ref name="Ethnologue 18th ed., 2015"/>
Piapoco 6,400 Colombia (Guainía, Vichada, Meta) Colombia (Guainía, Vichada, Meta)
Cubeo 6,300 Vaupés, Colombia Vaupés, Colombia
Kayapo 6,200 Brazil (Pará & Mato Grosso) <ref name=":1" />
Yukpa 6,000 Venezuela

Cesar, Colombia

Venezuela, Colombia
Chiquitano 5,900 Bolivia Brazil & Bolivia
Guarayu 5,900 Bolivia Bolivia
Macushi 5,800 Venezuela

Guyana

Brazil, Venezuela, Guyana <ref name=":1" />
Chimané 5,300 Bolivia Bolivia
Tewa 5,123 New Mexico, United States
Timbira 5,100 Brazil (Maranhão, Tocantins, Pará) <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Sanumá 5,100 Venezuela Brazil & Venezuela <ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref>
Muscogee 5,072 Muscogee (Creek) Nation, OK, United States United States (Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida) <ref name="Ethnologue 21st ed., 2018"/>
Chontal of Oaxaca 5,039 Mexico Mexico <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Tektitek 5,000 Guatemala Guatemala
Barí 5,000 Colombia (Cesar & Norte de Santander) Colombia (Cesar & Norte de Santander)
Camsá 4,000 Putumayo, Colombia Putumayo, Colombia
Kulina 3,900 Brazil (Amazonas) & Peru <ref name=":2" />
Crow 3,862 Montana, United States
Mohawk 3,875 Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne, Canada Canada (Ontario & Quebec) and United States (New York) <ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="census">Template:Cite web</ref>
Kashinawa 3,588 Brazil & Peru
Munduruku 3,563 Pará & Amazonas, Brazil <ref name=":2" />
Tunebo/Uwa 3,550 Boyacá, Colombia Boyacá, Colombia
Ayoreo 3,160 Bolivia Bolivia
Desano 3,160 Bolivia Bolivia
Wapishana 3,154 Bonfim, Roraima, Brazil

Guyana

Bonfim, Roraima, Brazil

Guyana

<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":2" />
Yaminawa 3,129 Bolivia Bolivia
Mocoví 3,000 Chaco, Argentina Chaco, Argentina
Iñupiaq 3,000 Alaska, United States

Northwest Territories, Canada

Alaska, United States & Northwest Territories, Canada
Puinave 3,000 Guainía, Colombia

Venezuela

Guainía, Colombia & Venezuela
Cuiba 2,900 Colombia (Casanare, Vichada, Arauca) Colombia (Casanare, Vichada, Arauca)
Tupi-Mondé 2,886 Rondônia, Brazil <ref name=":2" />
Yuracaré 2,700 Bolivia Bolivia
Wanano 2,600 Vaupés, Colombia Vaupés, Colombia
Shoshoni 2,512 US
Bora 2,400 Amazonas, Colombia Amazonas, Colombia
Cofán 2,400 Colombia (Nariño, Putumayo) Colombia (Nariño, Putumayo)
Kanamari 2,298 Amazonas, Brazil <ref name=":2" />
Fox (Mesquakie-Sauk-Kickapoo) 2,288 Sac and Fox Nation, United States

Mexico

US & Mexico
Cherokee 2,320 Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, North Carolina, United States

Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, United States

US (Oklahoma & North Carolina)
Waiwai 2,217 Guyana Brazil, Guyana
Karajá 2,137 Brazil <ref name=":2" />
Huarijio 2,136 Mexico Mexico
Slavey 2,120 Northwest Territories, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada
Chichimeca 2,100 Mexico Mexico
Koreguaje 2,100 Caquetá, Colombia Caquetá, Colombia
Tiriyó 2,100 Brazil, Suriname
Xerente 2,051 Tocantins, Brazil <ref name=":2" />
Uspanteko 2,000 Guatemala Guatemala
Fulniô 1,871 Pernambuco, Brazil <ref name=":2" />
Pakaásnovos (wari) 1,854 Rondônia, Brazil <ref name=":2" />
Wiwa 1,850 Cesar, Colombia Cesar, Colombia
Weenhayek 1,810 Bolivia Bolivia
Matlatzinca 1,800 Mexico Mexico
Tacana 1,800 Bolivia Bolivia
Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì 1,735 Northwest Territories, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada
Cavineña 1,700 Bolivia Bolivia
Jupda 1,700 Amazonas, Colombia Amazonas, Colombia
Zacatepec Mixtec 1,500 Mexico Mexico
Seneca 1,453 Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation, Ontario, Canada Ontario, Canada <ref name="Ethnologue 18th ed., 2015"/>
Movima 1,400 Bolivia Bolivia
Tlingit 1,360 Alaska, United States Alaska, United States
Inuinnaqtun 1,310 Nunavut, Canada

Northwest Territories, Canada

Alaska, United States & Northwest Territories& Nunavut, Canada
Kiowa 1,274 Oklahoma, United States
Ka'apor 1,241 Maranhão, Brazil <ref name=":2" />
Aleut 1,236 Alaska, United States Alaska, United States
Gwichʼin 1,217 Alaska, United States

Northwest Territories, Canada

Alaska, United States & Northwest Territories, Canada
Inuvialuktun 1,150 Nunavut, Canada

Northwest Territories, Canada

Nunavut, Canada & Northwest Territories, Canada
Arapaho 1,087 US
Macuna 1,032 Vaupés, Colombia Vaupés, Colombia
Guayabero 1,000 Colombia (Meta, Guaviare) Colombia (Meta, Guaviare)
Chocho 810 Mexico Mexico
Maricopa/Piipaash 800 Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community, AZ, United States Arizona, United States
Rama 740 North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, Nicaragua North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, Nicaragua
Seri 729 Mexico Mexico <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Ese Ejja 700 Bolivia Bolivia
Nukak 700 Guaviare, Colombia Guaviare, Colombia
Pima Bajo 650 Mexico Mexico
Cayuvava 650 Bolivia Bolivia
Chácobo-Pakawara 600 Bolivia Bolivia
Lacandon 600 Mexico Mexico
Oneida 574 Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation, Ontario, Canada

Oneida Nation of the Thames, Ontario, Canada

Ontario, Canada <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Cocopah 515 Mexico Mexico <ref>Cocopah at Ethnologue (19th ed., 2016)

</ref>

Sirionó 500 Bolivia Bolivia
Siona 500 Putumayo, Colombia Putumayo, Colombia
Havasupai–Hualapai 445 Havasupai Indian Reservation, AZ, United States Arizona, United States <ref>Havasupai‑Walapai‑Yavapai at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)</ref>
Kumeyaay 427 (525 including Ipai and Tiipai languages) Mexico Baja California, Mexico & California, United States <ref name="ReferenceA">INALI (2012) México: Lenguas indígenas nacionales</ref><ref>"Kumiai". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-04-14.</ref>
Tembé 420 Maranhão, Brazil <ref name=":2" />
Yurok 414 California, United States
Alutiiq/Sugpiaq 400 Alaska, United States Alaska, United States
Tatuyo 400 Vaupés, Colombia Vaupés, Colombia
Andoque 370 Caquetá, Colombia Caquetá, Colombia
Guajá 365 Maranhão, Brazil
Chimila 350 Magdalena, Colombia Magdalena, Colombia
Koyukon 300 Alaska, United States Alaska, United States
Hitnü 300 Arauca, Colombia Arauca, Colombia
Mikasuki 290 United States (Florida, Georgia (Historical), Alabama (Historical), Oklahoma (Historical) <ref name="Ethnologue 21st ed., 2018"/>
Quechan 290 California & Arizona, United States <ref>Quechan at Ethnologue (19th ed., 2016)</ref>
Cabiyari 270 Colombia (Mirití-Paraná & Amazonas) Colombia (Mirití-Paraná & Amazonas)
Reyesano 250 Bolivia Bolivia
Achagua 250 Meta, Colombia Meta, Colombia
Kakwa 250 Vaupés, Colombia Vaupés, Colombia
Yavapai 245 Arizona, United States <ref>Yavapai at Ethnologue (19th ed., 2016)</ref>
Siriano 220 Vaupés, Colombia Vaupés, Colombia
Mojave 200 Arizona, United States <ref>Mojave language at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)</ref>
Paipai 200 Mexico Mexico <ref name="ReferenceA"/>
Toromono 200 Bolivia Bolivia
Ixcatec 190 Mexico Mexico
Ocaina 190 Amazonas, Colombia Amazonas, Colombia
Haida 168 Alaska, United States

Council of the Haida Nation, Canada

Alaska, United States and British Columbia, Canada
Muinane 150 Amazonas, Colombia Amazonas, Colombia
Deg Xinag 127 Alaska, United States Alaska, United States
Warázu 125 Bolivia Bolivia
Araona 110 Bolivia Bolivia
Upper Tanana 100 Alaska, United States Alaska, United States
Itene 90 Bolivia Bolivia
Ahtna 80 Alaska, United States Alaska, United States
Tsimshian 70 Alaska, United States Alaska, United States
Tanacross 65 Alaska, United States Alaska, United States
Cayuga 61 Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation, Ontario, Canada

Cattaraugus Reservation, New York, United States

Ontario, Canada, and New York, United States <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Denaʼina 50 Alaska, United States Alaska, United States
Onondaga 50 Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation, ON, Canada Ontario, Canada <ref name="Ethnologue 18th ed., 2015"/>
Bauré 40 Bolivia Bolivia
Upper Kuskokwim 40 Alaska, United States Alaska, United States
Tanana 30 Alaska, United States Alaska, United States
Ayapaneco 24 Mexico Mexico <ref name="auto1"/>
Leco 20 Bolivia Bolivia
Xincan 16 Guatemala Guatemala
Hän 12 Alaska, United States Alaska, United States
Holikachuk 12 Alaska, United States Alaska, United States
Comanche 9 US
Carijona 6 Colombia (Amazonas, Guaviare) Colombia (Amazonas, Guaviare)
Itonama 5 Bolivia Bolivia
Kiliwa 4 Mexico Mexico
Selkʼnam 1 Tierra del Fuego, Chile/Argentina (Extinct) <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Nonuya 0 Amazonas, Colombia Colombia, Peru
Yahgan 0 Tierra del Fuego, Chile/Argentina (Extinct)
Taíno languages 0 Formerly all of the Caribbean
Cochimí 0 Mexico (Extinct, but retains recognition)
Kallawaya 0 Bolivia (Extinct, but retains recognition)
Eyak 0 Alaska, United States (Extinct, but retains recognition)
Tuscarora 0 Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation, Ontario, Canada
Tuscarora Reservation, New York, United States 		Ontario, Canada, and New York, United States <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Language families and unclassified languages

[edit]

Template:Further

Notes:

  • Extinct languages or families are indicated by: †.
  • The number of family members is indicated in parentheses (for example, Arauan (9) means the Arauan family consists of nine languages).
  • For convenience, the following list of language families is divided into three sections based on political boundaries of countries. These sections correspond roughly with the geographic regions (North, Central, and South America) but are not equivalent. This division cannot fully delineate Indigenous culture areas.

Template:AnchorNorthern America

[edit]

Template:Infobox language family

File:Cherokee stop sign.png
Bilingual stop sign in English and the Cherokee syllabary (transcription: ᎠᎴᏫᏍᏗᎭ – "alehwisdiha"), Tahlequah, Oklahoma

There are approximately 296 spoken (or formerly spoken) Indigenous languages north of Mexico, 269 of which are grouped into 29 families (the remaining 27 languages are either isolates or unclassified).Template:Citation needed The Na-Dené, Algic, and Uto-Aztecan families are the largest in terms of number of languages. Uto-Aztecan has the most speakers (1.95 million) if the languages in Mexico are considered (mostly due to 1.5 million speakers of Nahuatl); Na-Dené comes in second with approximately 200,000 speakers (nearly 180,000 of these are speakers of Navajo), and Algic in third with about 180,000 speakers (mainly Cree and Ojibwe). Na-Dené and Algic have the widest geographic distributions: Algic currently spans from northeastern Canada across much of the continent down to northeastern Mexico (due to later migrations of the Kickapoo) with two outliers in California (Yurok and Wiyot); Na-Dené spans from Alaska and western Canada through Washington, Oregon, and California to the U.S. Southwest and northern Mexico (with one outlier in the Plains). Several families consist of only 2 or 3 languages. Demonstrating genetic relationships has proved difficult due to the great linguistic diversity present in North America. Two large (super-) family proposals, Penutian and Hokan, look particularly promising. However, even after decades of research, a large number of families remain.

North America is notable for its linguistic diversity, especially in California. This area has 18 language families comprising 74 languages (compared to five families in Europe: Indo-European, Uralic, Turkic, Kartvelian, and Afroasiatic and one isolate, Basque).<ref>If the Caucasus is considered to be a part of Europe, Northwest Caucasian and Northeast Caucasian would be included resulting in five language families within Europe. Other language families, such as the Turkic, Mongolic, Afroasiatic families have entered Europe in later migrations.</ref>

Another area of considerable diversity appears to have been the Southeastern Woodlands;Template:Citation needed however, many of these languages became extinct from European contact and as a result they are, for the most part, absent from the historical record.Template:Citation needed This diversity has influenced the development of linguistic theories and practice in the US.

Due to the diversity of languages in North America, it is difficult to make generalizations for the region. Most North American languages have a relatively small number of vowels (i.e. three to five vowels). Languages of the western half of North America often have relatively large consonant inventories. The languages of the Pacific Northwest are notable for their complex phonotactics (for example, some languages have words that lack vowels entirely).<ref>Nater 1984, pg. 5</ref> The languages of the Plateau area have relatively rare pharyngeals and epiglottals (they are otherwise restricted to Afroasiatic languages and the languages of the Caucasus). Ejective consonants are also common in western North America, although they are rare elsewhere (except, again, for the Caucasus region, parts of Africa, and the Mayan family).

Head-marking is found in many languages of North America (as well as in Central and South America), but outside of the Americas it is rare. Many languages throughout North America are polysynthetic (Eskaleut languages are extreme examples), although this is not characteristic of all North American languages (contrary to what was believed by 19th-century linguists). Several families have unique traits, such as the inverse number marking of the Tanoan languages, the lexical affixes of the Wakashan, Salishan and Chimakuan languages, and the unusual verb structure of Na-Dené.

The classification below is a composite of Goddard (1996), Campbell (1997), and Mithun (1999).

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Central America and Mexico

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File:Pre-contact distribution language families Mexico.svg
Pre-contact distribution of native American languages in New Spain (Mexico, United States southwest, Central America).
File:Map of the languages of Mexico.png
The Indigenous languages of Mexico that have more than 100,000 speakers today.
File:Chibcha lang.png
The Chibchan languages

In Central America the Mayan languages are among those used today. Mayan languages are spoken by at least six million Indigenous Maya, primarily in Guatemala, Mexico, Belize and Honduras. In 1996, Guatemala formally recognized 21 Mayan languages by name, and Mexico recognizes eight more. The Mayan language family is one of the best documented and most studied in the Americas. Modern Mayan languages descend from Proto-Mayan, a language thought to have been spoken at least 4,000 years ago; it has been partially reconstructed using the comparative method. Template:See also

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South America and the Caribbean

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File:SouthAmerican families 03.png
Some of the greater families of South America: dark spots are language isolates or quasi-isolate, grey spots unclassified languages or languages with doubtful classification. (Note that Quechua, the family with most speakers, is not displayed.)
File:Urarina shaman B Dean.jpg
A Urarina shaman, 1988

Although both North and Central America are very diverse areas, South America has a linguistic diversity rivalled by only a few other places in the world with approximately 350 languages still spoken and several hundred more spoken at first contact but now extinct. The situation of language documentation and classification into genetic families is not as advanced as in North America (which is relatively well studied in many areas). Kaufman (1994: 46) gives the following appraisal:

Since the mid 1950s, the amount of published material on SA [South America] has been gradually growing, but even so, the number of researchers is far smaller than the growing number of linguistic communities whose speech should be documented. Given the current employment opportunities, it is not likely that the number of specialists in SA Indian languages will increase fast enough to document most of the surviving SA languages before they go out of use, as most of them unavoidably will. More work languishes in personal files than is published, but this is a standard problem.

It is fair to say that SA and New Guinea are linguistically the poorest documented parts of the world. However, in the early 1960s fairly systematic efforts were launched in Papua New Guinea, and that areaTemplate:Spaced ndashmuch smaller than SA, to be sureTemplate:Spaced ndashis in general much better documented than any part of Indigenous SA of comparable size.

As a result, many relationships between languages and language families have not been determined and some of those relationships that have been proposed are on somewhat shaky ground.

The list of language families, isolates, and unclassified languages below is a rather conservative one based on Campbell (1997). Many of the proposed (and often speculative) groupings of families can be seen in Campbell (1997), Gordon (2005), Kaufman (1990, 1994), Key (1979), Loukotka (1968), and in the Language stock proposals section below.

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Language stock proposals

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Hypothetical language-family proposals of American languages are often cited as uncontroversial in popular writing. However, many of these proposals have not been fully demonstrated, or even demonstrated at all. Some proposals are viewed by specialists in a favorable light, believing that genetic relationships are very likely to be established in the future (for example, the Penutian stock). Other proposals are more controversial with many linguists believing that some genetic relationships of a proposal may be demonstrated but much of it undemonstrated (for example, Hokan–Siouan, which, incidentally, Edward Sapir called his "wastepaper basket stock").<ref>Ruhlen, Merritt. (1991 [1987]). A Guide to the World's Languages Volume 1: Classification, p.216. Edward Arnold. Paperback: Template:ISBN.</ref> Still other proposals are almost unanimously rejected by specialists (for example, Amerind). Below is a (partial) list of some such proposals:

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Good discussions of past proposals can be found in Campbell (1997) and Campbell & Mithun (1979).

Amerindian linguist Lyle Campbell also assigned different percentage values of probability and confidence for various proposals of macro-families and language relationships, depending on his views of the proposals' strengths.<ref>Campbell, Lyle (1997). American Indian languages: the historical linguistics of Native America. Ch. 8 Distant Genetic Relationships, pp. 260–329. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Template:ISBN.</ref> For example, the Germanic language family would receive probability and confidence percentage values of +100% and 100%, respectively. However, if Turkish and Quechua were compared, the probability value might be −95%, while the confidence value might be 95%.Template:Clarify 0% probability or confidence would mean complete uncertainty.

Language Family Probability Confidence
Algonkian–Gulf −50% 50%
Almosan (and beyond) −75% 50%
Atakapa–Chitimacha −50% 60%
Aztec–Tanoan 0% 50%
Coahuiltecan −85% 80%
Eskaleut,
Chukotan<ref>American-Arctic–Paleosiberian Phylum, Luoravetlan – and beyond</ref> 		−25% 20%
Guaicurian–Hokan 0% 10%
Gulf −25% 40%
Hokan–Subtiaba −90% 75%
Jicaque–Hokan −30% 25%
Jicaque–Subtiaba −60% 80%
Jicaque–Tequistlatecan +65% 50%
Keresan and Uto-Aztecan 0% 60%
Keresan and Zuni −40% 40%
Macro-Mayan<ref>Macro-Mayan includes Mayan, Totonacan, Mixe–Zoquean, and sometimes Huave.</ref> +30% 25%
Macro-Siouan<ref>Siouan–Iroquoian–Caddoan–[Yuchi]</ref> −20% 75%
Maya–Chipaya −80% 95%
Maya–Chipaya–Yunga −90% 95%
Mexican Penutian −40% 60%
Misumalpan–Chibchan +20% 50%
Mosan −60% 65%
Na-Dene 0% 25%
Natchez–Muskogean +40% 20%
Nostratic–Amerind −90% 75%
Otomanguean–Huave +25% 25%
Purépecha–Quechua −90% 80%
Quechua as Hokan −85% 80%
Quechumaran +50% 50%
Sahaptian–Klamath–(Molala) +75% 50%
Sahaptian–Klamath–Tsimshian +10% 10%
Takelman<ref>Alternatively Takelma–Kalapuyan</ref> +80% 60%
Tlapanec–Subtiaba as Otomanguean +95% 90%
Tlingit–Eyak–Athabaskan +75% 40%
Tunican 0% 20%
Wakashan and Chimakuan 0% 25%
Yukian–Gulf −85% 70%
Yukian–Siouan −60% 75%
Zuni–Penutian −80% 50%

Pronouns

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Template:Main It has long been observed that a remarkable number of Native American languages have a pronominal pattern with first-person singular forms in n and second-person singular forms in m. (Compare first-person singular m and second-person singular t across much of northern Eurasia, as in English me and thee, Spanish me and te, and Hungarian -m and -d.) This pattern was first noted by Alfredo Trombetti in 1905. It caused Sapir to suggest that ultimately all Native American languages would turn out to be related. Johanna Nichols suggests that the pattern had spread through diffusion.<ref>Nichols & Peterson 1996</ref> This notion was rejected by Lyle Campbell, who argued that the frequency of the n/m pattern was not statistically elevated in either area compared to the rest of the world.<ref name="Campbell 1997">Campbell 1997</ref> Zamponi found that Nichols's findings were distorted by her small sample size. Looking at families rather than individual languages, he found a rate of 30% of families/protolanguages in North America, all on the western flank, compared to 5% in South America and 7% of non-American languages – though the percentage in North America, and especially the even higher number in the Pacific Northwest, drops considerably if Hokan and Penutian, or parts of them, are accepted as language families. If all the proposed Penutian and Hokan languages in the table below are related, then the frequency drops to 9% of North American families, statistically indistinguishable from the world average.<ref name=Zamponi>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Linguistic areas

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Unattested languages

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Several languages are only known by mention in historical documents or from only a few names or words. It cannot be determined that these languages actually existed or that the few recorded words are actually of known or unknown languages. Some may simply be from a historian's errors. Others are of known people with no linguistic record (sometimes due to lost records). A short list is below.

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Loukotka (1968) reports the names of hundreds of South American languages which do not have any linguistic documentation.

Pidgins and mixed languages

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Various miscellaneous languages such as pidgins, mixed languages, trade languages, and sign languages are given below in alphabetical order.

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  1. American Indian Pidgin English
  2. Algonquian-Basque pidgin Template:Small
  3. Broken Oghibbeway Template:Small
  4. Broken Slavey
  5. Bungee Template:Small
  6. Callahuaya Template:Small
  7. Carib Pidgin Template:Small
  8. Carib Pidgin–Arawak Mixed Language
  9. Catalangu
  10. Chinook Jargon
  11. Delaware Jargon Template:Small
  12. Eskimo Trade Jargon Template:Small
  13. Greenlandic Pidgin (West Greenlandic Pidgin)
  14. Guajiro-Spanish
  15. Güegüence-Nicarao
  16. Haida Jargon
  17. Inuktitut-English Pidgin (Quebec)
  18. Jargonized Powhatan
  19. Keresan Sign Language
  20. Labrador Eskimo Pidgin Template:Small
  21. Lingua Franca Apalachee
  22. Lingua Franca Creek
  23. Lingua Geral Amazônica Template:Small
  24. Lingua Geral do Sul Template:Small
  25. Loucheux Jargon Template:Small
  26. Media Lengua
  27. Mednyj Aleut Template:Small
  28. Michif Template:Small
  29. Mobilian Jargon Template:Small
  30. Montagnais Pidgin Basque Template:Small
  31. Nootka Jargon Template:Small
  32. Ocaneechi Template:Small
  33. Pidgin Massachusett
  34. Plains Indian Sign Language

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Writing systems

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While most Indigenous languages have adopted the Latin script as the written form of their languages, a few languages have their own unique writing systems after encountering the Latin script (often through missionaries) that are still in use. All pre-Columbian Indigenous writing systems are no longer used.

Indigenous Writing Systems of the Americas
Writing System Type Language(s) Region(s) Date in usage Status Inventor
Quipu Logogram,
Potentially phonetic (Syllabary) at least during the Colonial Period. Also perhaps also during the Pre-Columbian Era. 		Aymara, Quechua, Puquina, Mapuche and other Andean languages Andean civilizations (Central Andes) 2600s BCE – 1600s Extinct
Olmec hieroglyphs Undeciphered, likely logosyllabary Likely Mixe–Zoque languages, but linguistic status remains debatable Isthmus of Tehuantepec 1500 BCE – 400 BCE Extinct
Zapotec script Likely Zapotecan languages Oaxaca 500 BCE – 700 CE Extinct
Epi-Olmec script Likely Zoque languages Isthmus of Tehuantepec 400 BCE – 500 CE Extinct
Izapan scripts Undeciphered, likely a logosyllabary Likely an unknown Mixe–Zoquean language, Highland Mayan languages Southern Guatemala 300s BCE - 100s CE (Late Preclassic) Extinct
Maya script Logogram
Syllabary 		Mayan languages: Maya civilization: Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, Guatemala, & Belize 200s BCE – 1700 CE Extinct
Teotihua script Undeciphered, likely a logosyllabary Nahuatl, other Central Mexico 100 BCE – 750 CE Extinct
Mixtec script

(Mixteca-Puebla script)

Logogram
Syllabary 		Mixtecan languages Oaxaca, Puebla, Guerrero 1200s–1600s Extinct
Aztec script

(Mixteca-Puebla script)

Logogram
Syllabary 		Classical Nahuatl Central Mexico 1300s–1600 Extinct
Komqwejwi'kasikl (Miꞌkmaw Hieroglyphs) Logogram

Syllabary

Alphabet

Mi'kmaq Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, & New Brunswick 1675-1800s (as codified) Extinct Father Le Clercq (as codified, before Pictographic)
Cherokee syllabary Syllabary Cherokee Cherokee Nation, United States 1820s–present Active Sequoyah ᏍᏏᏉᏯ
Canadian Aboriginal syllabics Abugida Canada
Midwestern United States 		1840s–present Active James Evans ᒉᐃᒻᔅ ᐁᕙᓐᔅ
Blackfoot Syllabics Blackfoot Alberta, Canada
Montana, United States 		1888-present Endangered John Tims
Carrier syllabics Dakelh and some other Athabaskan languages British Columbia, Canada 1885-1920s Endangered Adrien-Gabriel Morice
Great Lakes Algonquian syllabics Alphasyllabary (much like Hangul) Anishinaabemowin, Fox, Ho-Chunk, Potawatomi Iowa, Michigan, & Nebraska, United States
Coahuila, Mexico 		1800s-present Endangered
Yugtun script Syllabary Central Alaskan Yup'ik Alaska 1900–present Endangered Uyaquq
Afaka syllabary Syllabary Ndyuka Suriname, French Guiana 1910–present Endangered Afáka Atumisi
Saanich alphabet Alphabet North Straits Salish (Saanich dialect) Southern Salish Sea Islands: British Columbia & Washington state 1978-present Active Dave Elliott
Osage script Alphabet Osage Osage Nation, United States 2006–present Active Herman Mongrain Lookout

See also

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References

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Bibliography

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North America

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  • Template:Cite book
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  • Goddard, Ives. (1999). Native languages and language families of North America (rev. and enlarged ed. with additions and corrections). [Map]. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press (Smithsonian Institution). (Updated version of the map in Goddard 1996). Template:ISBN.
  • Template:Cite journal
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  • Nater, Hank F. (1984). The Bella Coola Language. Mercury Series; Canadian Ethnology Service (No. 92). Ottawa: National Museums of Canada.
  • Powell, John W. (1891). Indian linguistic families of America north of Mexico. Seventh annual report, Bureau of American Ethnology (pp. 1–142). Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. (Reprinted in P. Holder (Ed.), 1966, Introduction to Handbook of American Indian languages by Franz Boas and Indian linguistic families of America, north of Mexico, by J. W. Powell, Lincoln: University of Nebraska).
  • Powell, John W. (1915). Linguistic families of American Indians north of Mexico by J. W. Powell, revised by members of the staff of the Bureau of American Ethnology. (Map). Bureau of American Ethnology miscellaneous publication (No. 11). Baltimore: Hoen.
  • Sebeok, Thomas A. (Ed.). (1973). Linguistics in North America (parts 1 & 2). Current trends in linguistics (Vol. 10). The Hauge: Mouton. (Reprinted as Sebeok 1976).
  • Sebeok, Thomas A. (Ed.). (1976). Native languages of the Americas. New York: Plenum.
  • Sherzer, Joel. (1973). Areal linguistics in North America. In T. A. Sebeok (Ed.), Linguistics in North America (part 2, pp. 749–795). Current trends in linguistics (Vol. 10). The Hauge: Mouton. (Reprinted in Sebeok 1976).
  • Sherzer, Joel. (1976). An areal-typological study of American Indian languages north of Mexico. Amsterdam: North-Holland.
  • Sletcher, Michael, 'North American Indians', in Will Kaufman and Heidi Macpherson, eds., Britain and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History, (2 vols., Oxford, 2005).
  • Sturtevant, William C. (Ed.). (1978–present). Handbook of North American Indians (Vol. 1–20). Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution. (Vols. 1–3, 16, 18–20 not yet published).
  • Vaas, Rüdiger: 'Die Sprachen der Ureinwohner'. In: Stoll, Günter, Vaas, Rüdiger: Spurensuche im Indianerland. Hirzel. Stuttgart 2001, chapter 7.
  • Voegelin, Carl F.; & Voegelin, Florence M. (1965). Classification of American Indian languages. Languages of the world, Native American fasc. 2, sec. 1.6). Anthropological Linguistics, 7 (7): 121–150.
  • Template:Cite encyclopedia

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South America

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  • Adelaar, Willem F. H.; & Muysken, Pieter C. (2004). The languages of the Andes. Cambridge language surveys. Cambridge University Press.
  • Fabre, Alain. (1998). "Manual de las lenguas indígenas sudamericanas, I-II". München: Lincom Europa.
  • Kaufman, Terrence. (1990). Language history in South America: What we know and how to know more. In D. L. Payne (Ed.), Amazonian linguistics: Studies in lowland South American languages (pp. 13–67). Austin: University of Texas Press. Template:ISBN.
  • Kaufman, Terrence. (1994). The native languages of South America. In C. Mosley & R. E. Asher (Eds.), Atlas of the world's languages (pp. 46–76). London: Routledge.
  • Key, Mary R. (1979). The grouping of South American languages. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag.
  • Loukotka, Čestmír. (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages. Los Angeles: Latin American Studies Center, University of California.
  • Mason, J. Alden. (1950). The languages of South America. In J. Steward (Ed.), Handbook of South American Indians (Vol. 6, pp. 157–317). Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology bulletin (No. 143). Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.
  • Migliazza, Ernest C.; & Campbell, Lyle. (1988). Panorama general de las lenguas indígenas en América. Historia general de América (Vol. 10). Caracas: Instituto Panamericano de Geografía e Historia.
  • Rodrigues, Aryon. (1986). Linguas brasileiras: Para o conhecimento das linguas indígenas. São Paulo: Edições Loyola.
  • Rowe, John H. (1954). Linguistics classification problems in South America. In M. B. Emeneau (Ed.), Papers from the symposium on American Indian linguistics (pp. 10–26). University of California publications in linguistics (Vol. 10). Berkeley: University of California Press.
  • Sapir, Edward. (1929). Central and North American languages. In The encyclopædia britannica: A new survey of universal knowledge (14 ed.) (Vol. 5, pp. 138–141). London: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company, Ltd.
  • Voegelin, Carl F.; & Voegelin, Florence M. (1977). Classification and index of the world's languages. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Template:ISBN.
  • Debian North American Indigenous Languages Project

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Template:Indigenous peoples of the Americas Template:North American languages Template:South American languages Template:Americas topic Template:Authority control

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