Editing Comanche (section)

===Language===
{{Main|Comanche language}}
[[File:Charles Chibitty.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Charles Chibitty]], Comanche [[code talker]] in [[World War II]]]]

The language spoken by the [[Comanche people]], ''[[Comanche language|Comanche]]'' (''N<s>u</s>m<s>u</s> tekwap<u><s>u</s></u>''), is a [[Numic languages|Numic language]] of the [[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztecan language group]]. It is closely related to the [[Shoshone language|language of the Shoshone]], from which the Comanche diverged around 1700. The two languages remain closely related, but a few low-level sound changes inhibit mutual intelligibility. The earliest records of Comanche from 1786 clearly show a dialect of Shoshone, but by the beginning of the 20th century, these sound changes had modified the way Comanche sounded in subtle, but profound, ways.<ref>McLaughlin (1992), 158–81</ref><ref>McLaughlin (2000), 293–304</ref> Although efforts are now being made to ensure survival of the language, most of its speakers are elderly, and less than 1% of the Comanches can speak it.

In the late 19th century, many Comanche children were placed in boarding schools with children from different tribes. The children were taught English and discouraged from speaking their native language. Anecdotally, enforcement of speaking English was severe.

Quanah Parker learned and spoke English and was adamant that his own children do the same. The second generation then grew up speaking English, because it was believed{{who|date=June 2014}} that it was better for them not to know Comanche.<ref name="Hämäläinen 2008, p.171">Hämäläinen (2008), p.171</ref>

Comanches were among the Native Americans who were first utilized as [[code talker]]s by the U.S. Army during World War I.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Code Talkers – World War I Centennial|url=https://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/american-indians-in-ww1-code-talkers.html|access-date=2021-05-25|website=www.worldwar1centennial.org}}</ref>

During [[World War II]], a group of 17 young men, referred to as "the Comanche code talkers", were trained and used by the [[U.S. Army]] to send messages conveying sensitive information that could not be deciphered by the Germans.<ref>{{cite book|last=Holm|first=Tom|title=Code Talkers and Warriors: Native Americans and World War II|year=2007|publisher=Chelsea House Publications|isbn=978-0-7910-9340-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/codetalkerswarri00holm_0/page/108 108–120]|chapter=The Comanche Code Talkers|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/codetalkerswarri00holm_0/page/108}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/d-day-70th-anniversary/comanche-indians-honor-d-day-code-talkers-n126216|work=D-Day 70th Anniversary|title=Comanche Indians Honor D-Day Code-Talkers|date=June 9, 2014|publisher=NBC News }}</ref>