Where are Misumalpan languages spoken?

These languages are spoken in Central America, on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. There are also some speakers in Honduras.

Who speaks Misumalpan languages ?

The speakers are members of the Amerindian populations who inhabited the region long before the arrival of Europeans and colonisation.

Total number of speakers (estimates) :

135 000 according to UNESCO

207 000 according to ethnologue.com (SIL)

Classification

The Misumalpan group includes 2 active languages at this time.

Miskito (alternative name : Mosquito) (Honduras, Nicaragua) : 125 000 speakers according to UNESCO and over 200 000 according to SIL

Sumu-Cacaopera-Matagalpa Branch

Sumu (alternative name: Sumo) (Nicaragua, Honduras) : (10 000) 7000 speakers according to SIL

Sub branch Cacaopera-Matagalpa

Cacaopera : extinct

Matagalpa : extinct

Comments on the classification of Misumalpan languages :

We have adopted Campbell’s classification (1997).

There is no real consensus concerning the internal classification of Misumalpan languages. According to criteria which enable us to distinguish between languages and dialects, Sumu is perceived as a dialectal group, or as a Sumalpan sub group which would include 3 or 4 languages.

Are Misumalpan languages endangered ?

Yes these two languages are endangered.

Miskito is spoken by over 100 000 speakers, but UNESCO considers it to be « vulnerable ». Its future is not endangered in the short term, but its tranmission is constantly decreasing due to the cultural pressure of Spanish.

Of the 4 Sumo dialects recognised by UNESCO, 3 are considered to be in « great danger », which means that Sumo is threatened to disappear in the next few decades. It is the most endangered language of the family.

Sources

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