This article is a list of different language classification proposals developed for the languages indigenous to the Americas. The article is divided into North, Central, and South America sections; however, the classifications do not always neatly correspond to these continent divisions.

(See: Native American languages for the main article about these languages.) Native American languages are the indigenous languages of the Americas, spoken by Native Americans from the southern tip of South America to Alaska and Greenland. ...

North America

Gallatin (1836)

(Current terminology is indicated parenthetically in italics.)

Families

1. Algonkin-Lenape  (=Algonquian)
2. Athapascas  (=Athabaskan)
3. Catawban  (=Catawba + Woccons)
4. Eskimaux  (=Eskimoan)
5. Iroquois  (=Northern Iroquoian)
6. Cherokees  (=Southern Iroquoian)
7. Muskogee  (=Eastern Muskogean)
8. Chahtas  (=Western Muskogean)
9. Sioux  (=Siouan)

Languages

Gallatin (1848)

Families

1. Algonquian languages
2. Athabaskan languages
3. Catawban languages
4. Eskimoan languages
5. Iroquoian languages (Northern)
6. Iroquoian languages (Southern)
7. Muskogean languages
8. Siouan languages

Languages

Powell's (1892) "Fifty-eight"

John Wesley Powell's classification of 58 "stocks" was the "cornerstone" of genetic classifications in North America. Powell's classification was influenced by Gallatin to a large extent. (More current names are indicated parenthetically.) John Wesley Powell (March 24, 1834 - September 23, 1902) was a American western explorer. ...

Sapir (1929): Encyclopædia Britannica

Below is Sapir's (1929) famous Encyclopædia Britannica classification. Note that Sapir's classification was controversial at the time and it additionally was an original proposal (unlike encyclopedias in general, including Wikipedia). Sapir was part of a "lumper" movement in Native American language classification. Sapir himself writes of his classification: "A more far-reaching scheme than Powell's [1891 classification], suggestive but not demonstrable in all its features at the present time" (Sapir 1929: 139). Sapir's classifies all the languages in North America into only 6 families: Eskimo-Aleut, Algonkin-Wakashan, Nadene, Penutian, Hokan-Siouan, and Aztec-Tanoan. Sapir's classification (or something derivative) is still commonly used in general language's-of-the-world type surveys. (Note that the question marks in that appear Sapir's list below are present in the original article.)

"Proposed Classification of American Indian Languages North of Mexico (and Certain Languages of Mexico and Central America)"

Voegelin & Voegelin (1965): The "Consensus" of 1964

The Voegelin & Voegelin (1965) classification was the result of a conference of Americanist linguists held at Indiana University in 1964. This classification identifies 16 main genetic units.

Chumashan, Comecrudan, and Coahuiltecan included in Hokan with "reservations". Esselen is included in Hokan with "strong reservations". Tsimshian and Zuni are included in Penutian with reservations.

Campbell & Mithun (1979): The "Black Book"

Campbell & Mithun's 1979 is a more conservation classification where they insist on demonstration of genetic relationship before grouping. Thus, many of the speculative phylums of previous authors are "split".

Greenberg (1987)

Goddard (1996) & Mithun (1999)

(preliminary)

FAMILIES

1. Algic
   1. Algonquian
   2. Wiyot (>Ritwan?)
   3. Yurok (>Ritwan?)
2. Na-Dene
   1. Eyak-Athabaskan
      1. Eyak
      2. Athabaskan
   2. Tlingit
3. Caddoan (>Macro-Siouan?)
4. Chimakuan
5. Chinookan (> Penutian?)
6. Chumashan [chúmash]
7. Comecrudan
8. Coosan [kus] (> Coast Penutian?)
9. Eskimo-Aleut
   1. Eskimoan
   2. Aleut = Unangan
10. Iroquoian
11. Kalapuyan [kalapúyan]
12. Kiowa-Tanoan
13. Maiduan
14. Muskogean [m^sk^djían]
15. Palaihnihan (Achumawi-Atsugewi)
16. Pomoan [pómo, pomóan]
17. Sahaptian
18. Salishan [sélish]
19. Shastan
20. Siouan-Catawban
    1. Siouan
    2. Catawban
21. Tsimshianic
22. Utian
    1. Miwok
    2. Costanoan
23. Utaztecan
    1. Numic = Plateau
    2. Tübatulabal = Kern
    3. Takic = Southern California
    4. Hopi = Pueblo
    5. Tepiman = Pimic
    6. Taracahitic
    7. Tubar
    8. Corachol
    9. Aztecan
24. Wakashan
    1. Kwakiutlan
    2. Nootkan
25. Wintuan (>Coast Penutian?)
26. Yokutsan
27. Yuman-Cochimi
    1. Yuman
    2. Cochimi

ISOLATES

1. Adai
2. Alsea [alsi] (> Coast Penutian?)
3. Atakapa (>Tunican?)
4. Beothuk (unclassifiable?)
5. Cayuse
6. Chimariko [chimáriko]
7. Chititmacha [shitimashá] (>Tunican?)
8. Coahuilteco
9. Cotoname = Carrizo de Camargo
10. Esselen
11. Haida
12. Karankawa
13. Karuk
14. Keres
15. Klamath-Modoc
16. Kootenai [kúteni]
17. Molala
18. Natchez
19. Salinan
20. Siuslaw (>Coast Penutian?)
21. Takelma [takélma]
22. Timucua
23. Tonkawa [tónkawa]
24. Tunica (>Tunican?)
25. Wappo (>Yuki-Wappo)
26. Washo
27. Yana
28. Yuchi (>Siouan)
29. Yuki (>Yuki-Wappo)
30. Zuni

STOCKS

Yuki-Wappo supported by Elmendorf (1981, 1997)

• Yuki-Wappo

Penutian outside Mexico considered probably by many

• Penutian

1. Tsimshianic
2. Chinookan
3. Takelma
4. Kalapuya (not close to Takelma: Tarpent & Kendall 1998)
5. Maidun
6. Oregon Coast-Wintu (Whistler 1977, Golla 1997)
   1. Alsea
   2. Coosan
   3. Siuslaw
   4. Wintuan
7. Plateau
   1. Sahaptian
   2. Klamath
   3. Molala
   4. Cayuse ? (poor data)
8. Yok-Utian ?
   1. Yokuts
   2. Utian

Siouan-Yuchi "probable"; Macro-Siouan likely

• Macro-Siouan

1. Iroquoian-Caddoan
   1. Iroquoian
   2. Caddoan
2. Siouan-Yuchi
   1. Siouan-Catawban
   2. Yuchi

Natchez-Muskogean most likely of the Gulf hypothesis

• Natchez-Muskogean

1. Natchez
2. Muskogean

Hokan: most promising proposals

• Hokan

1. Karuk
2. Chimariko
3. Shastan
4. Palaihnihan
5. Yana
6. Washo
7. Pomoan
8. Esselen
9. Salinan
10. Yuman-Cochimi
11. Seri

"Unlikely" to be Hokan:

Chumashan

Tonkawa

Karankawa

Subtiaba-Tlappanec is likely part of Otomanguean (Rensch 1977, Oltrogge 1977)

Aztec-Tanoan is "undemonstrated"; Mosan is a Sprachbund

South America

Kaufman (1990)

Families & isolates

Terrence Kaufman's classification is meant to be a rather conservative genetic grouping of the languages of South America (and a few in Central America). He has 118 "genetic units". Kaufman believes for these 118 units "that there is little likelihood that any of the groups recognized here will be broken apart". Kaufman uses more specific terminology than only language family, such language area, emergent area, and language complex, where he recognizes issues such as partial mutual intelligibility and dialect continuums. The list below collapses these into simply families. Kaufman's list is numbered and grouped by "geolinguistic region". The list below is presented in alphabetic order. A final note is that Kaufman uses his own nomenclature for his genetic units, which is mostly used only by himself (this unfortunately makes comparison with other classifications slightly more complicated). His names have been retained below. A pair of languages is said to be mutually intelligible if speakers of one language can readily understand the other language. ... A dialect continuum is a range of dialects spoken across a large geographical area, differing only slightly between areas that are geographically close, and gradually decreasing in mutual intelligibility as the distances become greater. ...

Stocks

In addition to his conversative list, Kaufman list several larger "stocks" which he evaluates. The names of the stocks are often an obvious hyphenation of two members, for instance, the Páes-Barbakóa stock consists of the Páesan and Barbakóan families. If the composition is not obvious, it is indicated parenthetically. Kaufman puts question marks by Kechumara and Mosetén-Chon stocks.

"Good" stocks:

• Awaké-Kaliana
• Chibcha-Misumalpa
• Ezmeralda-Jaruro
• Jurí-Tikuna
• Kechumara (=Kechua + Haki) (good?)
• Lule-Vilela
• Mosetén-Chon (good?)
• Páes-Barbakóa
• Pano-Takana
• Sechura-Katakao
• Wamo-Chapakúra

"Probable" stocks:

• macro-Je (=Chikitano + Boróroan + Aimoré + Rikbaktsá + Je + Jeikó + Kamakánan + Mashakalían + Purían + Fulnío + Karajá + Ofayé + Guató)
• Mura-Matanawí

"Promising" stocks:

• Kaliánan (=Awaké + Kaliana + Maku)

"Maybe" stocks:

• Bora-Witoto
• Hívaro-Kawapana
• Kunsa-Kapishaná
• Pukina-Kolyawaya
• Sáparo-Yawa

Clusters & networks

Kaufman's largest groupings are what he terms clusters and networks. Clusters are equivalent to macro-families (or phyla or superfamilies). Networks are composed of clusters. Kaufman views all of these larger groupings to be hypothetical and his list is to be used as a means to identify which hypotheses most need testing.

Bibliography

See: Native_American_languages#Bibliography Native American languages are the indigenous languages of the Americas, spoken by Native Americans from the southern tip of South America to Alaska and Greenland. ...