Information about the Kiowa-Tanoan languages

Where are the Kiowa-Tanoan languages spoken?

These languages are spoken by indigenous peoples of North America in the states of New Mexico, Kansas and Oklahoma in the United States.

Who speaks these languages?

The speakers of Kiowa-Tanoan languages are members of “First Nations” in North America who inhabited the region long before Europeans arrived and before the creation of the United States.

Total number of speakers (estimated):

7625 according to UNESCO

6500 according to the site ethnologue.com (SIL)

Classification

The Kiowa-Tanoan language family currently includes 6 languages.

Kiowa: 400 speakers according to UNESCO and 1092 according to SIL

Tiwa Branch

Northern Tiwa Group

Picuris: 225 speakers according to UNESCO

Taos: 800 speakers according to UNESCO and SIL

Southern Tiwa: 1600 speakers according to UNESCO

Tewa (all dialects): 1600 speakers according to UNESCO

Towa (alternate name: Jemez): 3000 speakers according to UNESCO and 1300 according to SIL

Comments on the classification of Kiowa-Tanoan languages:

The four main branches Kiowa, Tiwa, Tewa and Towa (the last three being grouped under the name Tanoan languages) have been identified since the 1960s (Hale, 1967). Tewa is a small set of ten dialects spoken mainly in the valley of the Rio Grande north of Santa Fe.

There have been attempts to link the Kiowa-Tanoan family with other families, including the Uto-Aztecan family, but these links remain hypothetical for the moment.

Are Kiowa-Tanoan languages in danger?

Yes, all Kiowa-Tanoan languages are endangered. According to UNESCO, Kiowa, spoken by only a few hundred elderly speakers is probably the most threatened with extinction along with Picuris (which only has about a hundred speakers).

Sources:

Mithun, Marianne The languages of Native North America. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. (1999).

Campbell, Lyle. American Indian languages: the historical linguistics of Native America. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (1997)

Site devoted to American Indian languages:

http://www.native-languages.org/