Native American languages are the indigenous languages of the Americas, spoken by Native Americans from Alaska and Greenland to the southern tip of South America. The Native American languages consist of dozens of distinct language families as well as many language isolates. Many proposals to group these into higher-level families have been made by some linguists, but several of these have not been generally accepted. The Americas (sometimes referred to as America) is the area including the land mass located between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, generally divided into North America and South America. ... Native Americans (also Indians, Aboriginal Peoples, American Indians, First Nations, Alaskan Natives, Amerindians, or Indigenous Peoples of America) are the indigenous inhabitants of The Americas prior to the European colonization, and their modern descendants. ... State nickname: The Last Frontier, The Land of the Midnight Sun Other U.S. States Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Governor Frank Murkowski Official languages English Area 1,717,854 km² (1st)  - Land 1,481,347 km²  - Water 236,507 km² (13. ... Greenland (Greenlandic: Kalaallit Nunaat, The Land of the Greenlanders (Kalaallit); Danish: Grønland) is a self-governed Danish territory and an Arctic island nation located in North America with shores on the North Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... A language isolate is a natural language with no demonstrable genetic relationship with other living languages; that is, one that has not been proved to descend from a common ancestor to any other language. ...

Background

Archeological and DNA evidence suggests that the Americas were peopled by migrants from Siberia about 17,000-10,000 years ago. From Alaska, the descendants of those first migrants went on to people the rest of North and South America. The language or languages spoken by these early migrants, and the process by which the current diversity of Native American languages emerged, are a matter of speculation. Some evidence suggests that the ancestors of the Na-Dene and Eskimo-Aleut speakers arrived separately from Siberia some time after the earliest settlers. Siberian federal subjects of Russia Siberia ( Russian: Сиби́рь, common English transliterations: Sibir, Sibir; possibly from the Mongolian for the calm land) is a vast region of Russia and northern Kazakhstan constituting almost all of northern Asia. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Na-Dené or Na-Dene is a Native American language family which includes the Athabaskan languages, Eyak, and Tlingit. ... Eskimo-Aleut (also called Inuit-Aleut, but both names are considered offensive by some) is a language family native to Greenland, the Canadian Arctic, Alaska, and parts of Siberia. ...

Several Native American languages have developed their own writing systems, including the Mayan languages and Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. These and many other Native American languages later adapted the Roman alphabet or Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics. Aleut was first written by missionaries the Cyrillic Alphabet, and later in the Roman alphabet. A writing system, also called a script, is used to visually record a language with symbols. ... The Mayan languages are a family of related languages spoken from South-Eastern Mexico through northern Central America as far south as Honduras. ... Nahuatl is a native language of central Mexico. ... The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th century. ... The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world. ... Canadian aboriginal syllabic writing (often syllabics for short) is a family of writing schemes which are used to write a number of aboriginal Canadian languages from the Algonquian, Athabaskan and Inuit language families. ... Aleut is a language of the Eskimo-Aleut language phylum. ... The Cyrillic alphabet (or azbuka, from the old name of the first letters) is an alphabet used to write six natural Slavic languages ( Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, and Ukrainian) and many other languages of the former Soviet Union, Asia and Eastern Europe. ... The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world. ...

Subsequent to the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492, Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, and Dutch were brought to the Americas by European settlers and administrators, and constitute the official languages of the independent states of the Americas, although Bolivia, Paraguay and Peru have one or more Native American languages as an official language in addition to Spanish. Several indigenous creole languages developed in the Americas from European languages. No authentic contemporary portrait of Columbus has been found; this late 19th-century engraving is one of many conjectural images For information about the director, see the article on Chris Columbus. ... This article is about the international language known as Spanish. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Portuguese (português) is a Romance language predominantly spoken in Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, and East Timor. ... French (français, langue française) is one of the most important Romance languages, outnumbered in speakers only by Spanish and Portuguese. ... Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... The Republic of Bolivia is a landlocked country in central South America. ... The Republic of Paraguay is a landlocked republic in South America. ... The Republic of Peru (Spanish: Perú; Quechua, Aymara: Piruw) is a country in western South America, bordering Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil to the east, Bolivia to the east, south-east and south, Chile to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ... A creole is a language descended from a pidgin that has become the native language of a group of people. ...

The attitudes of the most of the European colonizers and their successor states toward Native American languages ranged from benign neglect to active suppression.

However, the Spanish missionaries preached to the natives in local languages. They actually spread Quechua beyond its original geographic area. Native American languages vary greatly in the number of speakers, from Quechua, Aymara, Guarani, and Nahuatl with millions of active speakers to a number of languages with only a handful of elderly speakers. Many Native American languages are endangered, and many others are extinct, with no living native speakers. Quechua (Quechua, Runa Simi) is an American Indian language native to South America and related to Aymará, both members of the Quechumaran linguistic stock. ... Help wikipedia by translating [Spanish article] into this article. ... Guaraní (gwah-rah-nee) [gwarani] (local name: avañeẽ) is a language spoken in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and southwestern Brazil. ... Nahuatl is a native language of central Mexico. ...

Language families & isolates by region

South America

South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ...

Families (south)

1. Alacalufan languages (2)
2. Arauan languages (8)
3. Araucanian languages (2)
4. Arawakan languages (South America & Caribbean) (60)
5. Arutani-Sape languages (2)
6. Aymaran languages (incl. Aymara language) (3)
7. Barbacoan languages (7)
8. Cahuapanan languages (2)
9. Carib languages (29)
10. Chapacura-Wanham languages (3-4)
11. Chibchan languages (Central America & South America) (22)
12. Choco languages (10)
13. Chon languages (2)
14. Harakmbet languages (2)
15. Jivaroan languages (4)
16. Katukinan languages (3)
17. Lule-Vilela languages (1)
18. Macro-Ge languages (32)
19. Maku languages (6)
20. Mascoian languages (5)
21. Mataco-Guaicuru languages (11)
22. Mosetenan languages (1)
23. Mura languages (1)
24. Nambiquaran languages (5)
25. Paezan languages (1)
26. Panoan languages (30)
27. Peba-Yaguan languages (2)
28. Quechuan languages (including Quechua) (46)
29. Salivan languages (2)
30. Tacanan languages (6)
31. Tucanoan languages (25)
32. Tupi languages (70)
33. Uru-Chipaya languages (2)
34. Witotoan languages (6)
35. Yanomam languages (4)
36. Zamucoan languages (2)
37. Zaparoan languages (7)

The Araucanian languages are an indigenous language family of central Chile and west central Argentina in South America. ... The Arawakan languages are an indigenous language family of South America and the Caribbean. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. ... The Aymaran languages are a South American language family. ... Help wikipedia by translating [Spanish article] into this article. ... The Carib languages are an indigenous language family of South America. ... The Chapacura-Wanham languages are a nearly extinct Native American language family of South America. ... Chibchan languages are a language family indigenous to Colombia and Central America. ... Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... The two Chon languages are Selknan which died out two years ago and Tehuelche. ... The Mura language family is a language family of Brazil. ... The Quechuan languages are a family of related languages in South America. ... Quechua (Standard Quechua, Runasimi Language of People) is an Native American language of South America. ... The Tupi languages are a language family of 70 languages which are spoken by Indian tribesmen in South America. ...

Isolates or unclassified (south)

1. Aikaná (Brazil: Rondônia)
2. Andoque language (Colombia, Peru)
3. Baenan (Brazil)
4. Betoi (Columbia)
5. Camsá language (Colombia)
6. Canichana (Bolivia)
7. Cayubaba language (Bolivia)
8. Cofán (Colombia, Ecuador)
9. Culle (Peru)
10. Gamela (Brazil: Maranhão)
11. Gorgotoqui (Bolivia)
12. Huamoé (Brazil: Pernambuco)
13. Irantxe (Brazil: Mato Grosso)
14. Itonama language (Bolivia)
15. Jotí (Venezuela)
16. Karirí (Brazil: Paraíba, Pernambuco, Ceará)
17. Koayá (Brazil: Rondônia)
18. Kukurá (Brazil: Mato Grosso)
19. Mapudungu (Chile, Argentina)
20. Movima (Bolivia)
21. Munichi (Peru)
22. Nambiquaran (Brazil: Mato Grosso)
23. Natú (Brazil: Pernambuco)
24. Omurano (Peru)
25. Otí (Brazil: São Paulo)
26. Pankararú language (Brazil: Pernambuco)
27. Puquina (Bolivia)
28. Sabela (Ecuador, Peru)
29. Tarairiú (Brazil: Rio Grande do Norte)
30. Taushiro (Peru)
31. Tequiraca (Peru)
32. Ticuna (a.k.a. Magta, Tikuna, Tucuna, Tukna, or Tukuna) (Colombia, Peru, Brazil)
33. Tuxá language (Brazil: Bahia, Pernambuco)
34. Warao language (Guyana, Surinam, Venezuela)
35. Xokó (Brazil: Alagoas, Pernambuco)
36. Xukurú (Brazil: Pernambuco, Paraíba)
37. Yámana (a.k.a Yagan or Yaghan) (Chile)
38. Yuracare language (Bolivia)
39. Yuri (Colombia, Brazil)
40. Yurumanguí (Colombia)

Ticuna is a language spoken by approximately 21,000 people in Brazil, Peru, and Colombia. ... The Yaghan or Yamana were an indigenous people of Tierra del Fuego. ...

Central America & Mexico

(Central America here includes countries from Mexico to Panama) Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... The United Mexican States or Mexico (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos or México; regarding the use of the variant spelling Méjico, see section The name below) is a country located in North America, bordered to the north by the United States of America, to the southeast by Guatemala and Belize, to...

Families (central)

1. Algic languages (North America & Central America) (29)
2. Chibchan languages (Central America & South America) (22)
3. Comecrudan languages (North America & Central America) (3)
4. Guacurian languages (a.k.a. Waikurian) (8)
5. Jicaquean languages
6. Lencan languages
7. Mayan languages (31)
8. Misumalpan languages
9. Mixe-Zoquean languages (19)
10. Na-Dené languages (North America & Central America) (40)
11. Oto-Manguean languages (North America & Central America) (27)
12. Tequistlatecan languages (3)
13. Totonacan languages (2)
14. Uto-Aztecan languages (North America & Central America) (31)
15. Xincan languages
16. Yuman-Cochimi languages (North America & Central America) (11)

The Algic languages are an indigenous language family of North America. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... Chibchan languages are a language family indigenous to Colombia and Central America. ... Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... The Mayan languages are a family of related languages spoken from South-Eastern Mexico through northern Central America as far south as Honduras. ... Na-Dené or Na-Dene is a Native American language family which includes the Athabaskan languages, Eyak, and Tlingit. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... The Uto-Aztecan languages are a Native American language family. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ...

Isolates or unclassified (central)

1. Alagüilac (Guatemala)
2. Coahuilteco (US: Texas; northeast Mexico)
3. Cotoname (northeast Mexico; US: Texas)
4. Cuitlatec (Mexico: Guerrero)
5. Huave (Mexico: Oaxaca)
6. Maratino (northeastern Mexico)
7. Naolan (Mexico: Tamaulipas)
8. Quinigua (northeast Mexico)
9. Seri (Mexico: Sonora)
10. Solano (northeast Mexico; US: Texas)
11. Tarascan (a.k.a. Purépecha) (Mexico: Michoacán)

Coahuilteco (also Pajalate) was a language isolate that was spoken in southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. ... Solano County is a county located in central California, about halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento. ... Tarascan men reeling cord for nets & making nets, 1899. ...

Canada & U.S.

(includes Canada and the USA) Canada is a sovereign state in northern North America, the northern-most country in the world, and the second largest in total area. ... The word Usa has more than one meaning: U.S.A. - The United States of America The United States Army Usa, Oita - A city in Japan The USA cable network USA Today national daily newspaper The University of Southern Alabama goes by the initials U.S.A. The patriotic cheer...

Families (north)

1. Algic languages (incl. Algonquian languages) (29)
2. Alsean languages (2)
3. Caddoan languages (5)
4. Chimakuan languages (2)
5. Chinookan languages (3)
6. Chumashan languages (6)
7. Comecrudan languages (North America & Central America) (3)
8. Coosan languages (2)
9. Eskimo-Aleut languages (7)
10. Guacurian languages (a.k.a. Waikurian) (8)
11. Iroquoian languages (11)
12. Kalapuyan languages (3)
13. Kiowa-Tanoan languages (7)
14. Maiduan languages (4)
15. Mayan languages (North America & Central America) (31)
16. Muskogean languages (6)
17. Na-Dené languages (North America & Central America) (40)
18. Oto-Manguean languages (North America & Central America) (27)
19. Palaihnihan languages (2)
20. Plateau Penutian (a.k.a. Shahapwailutan) (4)
21. Pomoan languages (7)
22. Salishan languages (23)
23. Shastan languages (4)
24. Siouan languages (16)
25. Tequistlatecan languages (3)
26. Totonacan languages (2)
27. Tsimshianic languages (2)
28. Utian languages (12)
29. Uto-Aztecan languages (31)
30. Wakashan languages (6)
31. Wintuan languages (4)
32. Yokutsan languages (3)
33. Yukian languages (2)
34. Yuman-Cochimi languages (11)

Hokan and Penutian are two macro-families that are currently undemonstrated. The Algic languages are an indigenous language family of North America. ... The Algonquian languages are a subfamily of Native American languages that includes most of the languages in the Algic language family (others are Wiyot and Yurok of northwestern California). ... The Caddoan languages are a family of Native American languages. ... Interior of a Chinookan plankhouse in the 1850s Chinookan refers to several groups of Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. ... Rafael, a Chumash in the 1800s The Chumash Indians, a Native American tribe, mainly inhabited the southern coastal regions of California, in the vicinity of what is now Santa Barbara and Ventura, extending as far south as Malibu. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... Eskimo-Aleut (also called Inuit-Aleut, but both names are considered offensive by some) is a language family native to Greenland, the Canadian Arctic, Alaska, and parts of Siberia. ... The Iroquoian languages are a Native American language family. ... The Kalapuya (also spelled Calapooya or Calapooia) are a Native American ethnic group that once inhabited the area present-day western Oregon in the United States. ... The Kiowa-Tanoan languages are a Native American language family. ... The Maidu are a group of Native Americans who lived in Northern California. ... The Mayan languages are a family of related languages spoken from South-Eastern Mexico through northern Central America as far south as Honduras. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... The Muskogean languages make up a group of North American Indian languages of the Hokan-Siouan family. ... Na-Dené or Na-Dene is a Native American language family which includes the Athabaskan languages, Eyak, and Tlingit. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... The Salishan languages are a group of languages of western Canada and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. ... The Siouan languages are a Native American language family of North America. ... The Tsimshian, translated as People Inside the Skeena River, are Native Americans who live around Terrace, Prince Rupert, and Kitimat, on the north coast of British Columbia and the southernmost corner of Alaska on Annette Island. ... The Uto-Aztecan languages are a Native American language family. ... The Wintu were Native Americans who lived in what is now Northern California. ... The Hokan languages are a group of languages spoken in North America by Native Americans. ... The Penutian is a phylum (or stock) of language families that include many Native American languages of western North America, predominantly spoken at one time in Washington, Oregon, and California. ...

Isolates or unclassified (north)

1. Adai (US: Louisiana, Texas)
2. Aranama-Tamique (US: Texas)
3. Atakapa (US: Louisiana, Texas)
4. Beothuk (Canada: Newfoundland)
5. Calusa (US: Florida)
6. Cayuse (US: Oregon, Washington)
7. Chimariko (US: California)
8. Chitimacha (US: Lousiania)
9. Coahuilteco (US: Texas; northeast Mexico)
10. Cotoname (northeast Mexico; US: Texas)
11. Esselen (US: California)
12. Haida (Canada: British Columbia; US: Alaska)
13. Karankawa (US: Texas)
14. Karok (a.k.a. Karuk) (US: California)
15. Keres (US: New Mexico)
16. Konomihu (US: California)
17. Kootenai (Canada: British Columbia; US: Idaho, Montana)
18. Natchez (US: Mississippi, Louisiana)
19. Salinan (US: California)
20. Siuslaw (US: Oregon)
21. Solano (northeast Mexico; US: Texas)
22. Takelma (US: Oregon)
23. Timucua (US: Florida, Georgia)
24. Tonkawa (US: Texas)
25. Tunica (US: Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas)
26. Washo (US: California, Nevada)
27. Yana (US: California)
28. Yuchi (US: Georgia, Oklahoma)
29. Zuni (a.k.a. Shiwi) (US: New Mexico)

Adai (also Adaizan, Adaizi, Adaise, Adahi, Adaes, Adees, Atayos) is the name of a people and language that was spoken in eastern Louisiana. ... Atakapa is the name of a group of small bands and the language of Native Americans that lived along the Gulf of Mexico. ... The Beothuk language was the language spoken by the Beothuk indigenous people of Newfoundland. ... The Calusa, sometimes spelled Caloosa or Calosa, were a Native American group that lived on the coast and along the inner waterways of Floridas southwest coast. ... Sahaptin Tribal Representatives to Washington D.C. (1890) Cayuse is a Native American group in the state of Oregon in the United States. ... The Chitimacha are a Native American group that lives in the U.S. state of Louisiana, mainly in St. ... Coahuilteco (also Pajalate) was a language isolate that was spoken in southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. ... The Esselen were the Native American inhabitants of what is now known as Big Sur on the Central Coast of California. ... One of the First Nations of Canada, the Haida live on islands off the west coast of North America. ... The Karankawa Indian tribes played a pivotal part in early Texas history. ... Categories: Native American tribes | Native American languages | Languages of North America | Stub ... The Natchez Nation was a powerful Native American people in the early days of European colonisation. ... The Salinan Native Americans lived in what is now Northern California, in the Salinas Valley. ... Siuslaw is one of the three Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw located on the southwest Oregon Pacific coast in the United States. ... Solano County is a county located in central California, about halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento. ... Timucua The Timucua were a Native American tribe that lived in North Central Florida, mainly around the St. ... The Tonkawa are a people native to eastern Texas. ... The Washoe language is a Native American language spoken by the Washoe. ... Yana is a Sanskrit word meaning vehicle. ... The Yuchi language is the language of the Yuchi people originally native to various areas of the southeastern United States. ... Zuni, or Shiwi, is a language isolate spoken by over 4500 people in New Mexico and much smaller numbers in parts of Arizona, and is now generally considered a language isolate. ...

Pidgins, mixed languages, & trade languages

1. Labrador Eskimo Pidgin (a.k.a. Labrador Inuit Pidgin)
2. Hudson Strait Pidgin
3. Greenlandic Eskimo Pidgin
4. Eskimo Trade Jargon (a.k.a. Herschel Island Eskimo Pidgin, Ship's Jargon)
5. Mednyj Aleut (a.k.a. Copper Island Aleut, Medniy Aleut, CIA)
6. Haida Jargon
7. Chinook Jargon
8. Nootka Jargon
9. Broken Slavey (a.k.a. Slavey Jargon, Broken Slavé)
10. Kutenai Jargon
11. Loucheux Jargon (a.k.a. Jargon Loucheux)
12. Inuktitut-English Pidgin
13. Michif (a.k.a. French Cree, Métis, Metchif, Mitchif, Métchif)
14. Broken Oghibbeway (a.k.a. Broken Ojibwa)
15. Basque-Algonquian Pidgin (a.k.a. Micmac-Basque Pidgin, Souriquois)
16. Montagnais Pidgin Basque (a.k.a. Pidgin Basque-Montagnais)
17. American Indian Pidgin English
18. Delaware Jargon (a.k.a. Pidgin Delaware)
19. Pidgin Massachusett
20. Jargonized Powhatan
21. Ocaneechi
22. Lingua Franca Creek
23. Lingua Franca Apalachee
24. Mobilian Jargon (a.k.a. Mobilian Trade Jargon, Chickasaw-Chocaw Trade Language, Yamá
25. Güegüence-Nicarao
26. Carib Pidgin (a.k.a. Ndjuka-Amerindian Pidgin, Ndjuka-Trio)
27. Carib Pidgin-Arawak Mixed Language
28. Guajiro-Spanish
29. Media Lengua
30. Catalangu
31. Callahuaya (a.k.a. Machaj-Juyai, Kallawaya)
32. Nheengatú (a.k.a. Lingua Geral Amazônica, Lingua Boa, Lingua Brasílica, Lingua Geral do Norte)
33. Lingua Geral do Sul (a.k.a. Lingua Geral Paulista, Tupí Austral)

Chinook Jargon was a trade language (or pidgin) of the Pacific Northwest, which spread quickly up the West Coast as far as Alaska. ... Michif is the indigenous language of the Métis people of Canada. ...

Linguistic areas

The languages of the Americas often can be grouped together into linguistic areas or Sprachbunds (also known as convergence areas). The linguistic areas identified so far deserve more research to determine their validity, and also to help differentiate between shared areal traits and true genetic relationship. The following tentative list of linguistic areas is based on primarily Campbell (1997): A Sprachbund (German for language union) is a group of languages that have become similar in some way because of geographical proximity. ...

• Northern Northwest Coast
• Northwest Coast
• Plateau
• Northern California
• Clear Lake
• South Coast Range
• Southern California-Western Arizona
• Great Basin
• Pueblo
• Plains
• Northeast
• Southeast
• Mesoamerican
• Colombian-Central American
• Venezuelan-Antillean
• Andean
  • Ecduadoran-Columbian (subarea)
• Orinoco-Amazon
• Amazon (a.k.a. Amazonia)
• Lowland South America
• Southern Cone

For alternate uses of the term, see Plateau (disambiguation). ... Northern California (sometimes NorCal) refers to the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, roughly covering all of those counties except for the eight counties which make up Southern California. ... For other places of this name, see Clear Lake (disambiguation). ... The Great Basin is a large, arid region of the western United States, commonly defined as the contiguous watershed region, roughly between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, that has no natural outlet to the sea. ... For the town in Colorado, see Pueblo, Colorado Pueblos are traditional Native American communities of the Southwest. ... Plains is the name of several places in the United States of America and one in Scotland: Plains, Georgia Plains, Kansas Plains, Montana Plains, Pennsylvania Plains, Texas Plains, North Lanarkshire There are also The Plains, Ohio; Plainsboro, New Jersey; and Plainsville, Kansas You might also be looking for the geographical... Northeast is the ordinal direction halfway between north and east. ... Southeast is the ordinal direction halfway between south and east. ... Mesoamerica is the region extending from central Mexico south to the northwestern border of Costa Rica that gave rise to a group of stratified, culturally related agrarian civilizations spanning an approximately 3,000-year period before the European discovery of the New World by Columbus. ... The word Andean refers to the geographic area in and around the Andes Mountains of South America, and to the indigenous peoples that inhabit the area, such as the Inca. ... The name Amazon may refer to several concepts: The legendary Amazons, women renowned in antiquity for their prowess in battle. ... The term Southern Cone (Cono Sur) refers to the southernmost countries of South America. ...

Links

• First People's Language Resources (http://www.yvwiiusdinvnohii.net/language.html) (Online, Offline, Commercial & Non-Commercial)
• The Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas (http://www.ssila.org/) (SSILA)
• The Yinka Déné Language Institute (http://www.ydli.org/ydindex.htm) (YDLI)
• The First Nations Languages of British Columbia (http://www.ydli.org/fnlgsbc.htm) (YDLI)
  • Index of Variant Language Names (in British Columbia) (http://www.ydli.org/synindex.htm) (YDLI)
• Southern Oregon Digital Archives First Nations Tribal Collection (http://soda.sou.edu/tribal.html) (beautiful collection of ethnographic, linguistic, & historical material)
• Handbook of the North American Indians (http://www.nmnh.si.edu/anthro/handbook.htm)
• Map of languages in the US - William C. Sturtevant. (1967). Early Indian tribes, culture areas, and linguistic stocks.:
  • Alaska & Hawai‘i (http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/united_states/early_indian_alaska.jpg)
  • Western US (http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/united_states/early_indian_west.jpg)
  • Eastern US (http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/united_states/early_indian_east.jpg)
• Native Languages of the Americas (http://www.native-languages.org/)

Previous classifications can be seen here: Native American languages/Previous classifications.

See also: Language families and languages, Classification of Native Americans, Native American. Human Language Families Most languages are known to belong to language families (families hereforth). ... Classification of Native Americans: United States and Canada Ethnographers commonly classify the native peoples of the United States and Canada into ten geographical regions with shared cultural traits. ... Native Americans (also Indians, Aboriginal Peoples, American Indians, First Nations, Alaskan Natives, Amerindians, or Indigenous Peoples of America) are the indigenous inhabitants of The Americas prior to the European colonization, and their modern descendants. ...

Bibilography

• Boas, Franz. (1911). Handbook of American Indian languages (Vol. 1). Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 40. Washington: Government Print Office (Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology).
• Boas, Franz. (1922). Handbook of American Indian languages (Vol. 2). Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 40. Washington: Government Print Office (Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology).
• Boas, Franz. (1933). Handbook of American Indian languages (Vol. 3). Native American legal materials collection, title 1227. Glückstadt: J.J. Augustin.
• Campbell, Lyle. (1997). American Indian languages: The historical linguistics of Native America. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-509427-1.
• Campbell, Lyle; & Mithun, Marianne (Eds.). (1979). The languages of native America: Historical and comparative assessment. Austin: University of Texas Press.
• Goddard, Ives (Ed.). (1996). Languages. Handbook of North American Indians (W. C. Sturtevant, General Ed.) (Vol. 17). Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution. ISBN 0-1604-8774-9.
• Goddard, Ives. (1999). Native languages and language families of North America (rev. and enlarged ed. with additions and corrections). [Map]. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press (Smithsonian Institute). (Updated version of the map in Goddard 1996). ISBN 0-8032-9271-6.
• Grimes, Barbara F. (Ed.). (2000). Ethnologue: Languages of the world, (14th ed.). Dallas, TX: SIL International. ISBN 1-55671106-9. (Online edition: http://www.ethnologue.com/).
• Mithun, Marianne. (1999). The languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23228-7 (hbk); ISBN 0-521-29875-X.
• Sturtevant, William C. (Ed.). (1978-present). Handbook of North American Indians (Vol. 1-20). Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution. (Vols. 1-3, 16, 18-20 not yet published).