These languages are spoken by indigenous peoples of North America on the Pacific Coast north of San Francisco in the state of California in the United States.<\/p>\n
The speakers of Pomoan languages are members of the Pomo “First Nations” of North America who inhabited the region long before Europeans arrived and before the creation of the United States and Canada.<\/p>\n
Approximately 30 according to UNESCO<\/p>\n
The Pomoan language family currently includes 4 living languages.<\/p>\n
Eastern Pomo<\/strong>: extinct<\/p>\n Northeastern Pomo<\/strong>: extinct<\/p>\n Southeastern Pomo<\/strong>: extinct<\/p>\n Western Branch<\/p>\n Northern Pomo<\/strong>: 3 speakers by UNESCO<\/p>\n South Group<\/p>\n Kashaya<\/strong> (alternate names: Kashia; Southwestern Pomo): 24 speakers according to UNESCO<\/p>\n Central Pomo<\/strong>: 3 speakers according to UNESCO<\/p>\n Southern Pomo<\/strong>: 1 to 3 speakers according to UNESCO<\/p>\n The term “Hokan\u201d describes a hypothetical set of language families that would include the Pomoan languages, but also Yuman-Cochimis languages and some isolated languages of the western United States (primarily from California and north-western Mexico). The lack of data on many of these languages makes the exact delineation of this proposed family difficult to establish. Mithun (1999) notes that the “Hokan” group is “not yet considered to be a valid language family” (p 304). We follow Mithun\u2019s classification here, and therefore present the Pomoan language family independently.<\/p>\n Yes, Pomoan languages are extremely endangered. Of the seven languages of this family, three are already considered extinct and three others (Northern Pomo, Southern Pomo, and Central Pomo), if not already extinct, are on the brink of extinction with between one and three native speakers – all of whom are very old. The Kashaya language has two dozen speakers who are also all very old. The whole Pomoan language family is in danger of disappearing in the very near future.<\/p>\nComments on the classification of Pomoan languages:<\/h5>\n
Are Pomoan languages in danger?<\/h5>\n
Sources:<\/h5>\n