Numic is a branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. It includes seven languages spoken by Native American peoples traditionally living in the Great Basin, Colorado River basin and southern Great Plains. The word Numic comes from the cognate word in all Numic languages for "Person". For example, in Shoshone the word is "neme", in Panamint it is "nümü", and in Southern Paiute the word is "nuwuvi". The Uto-Aztecan languages are a Native American language family. ... 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. ... Map showing the Great Basin in orange 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. ... // Colorado River in the Grand Canyon from Desert View For other uses, see Colorado River (disambiguation). ... The Great Plains states. ...

These languages are classified in three groups:

• Central Numic languages
  • Comanche language
  • Timbisha language
  • Shoshone language
• Southern Numic languages
  • Kawaiisu language
  • Ute-Southern Paiute language
• Western Numic languages
  • Mono language (Native American)
  • Northern Paiute language

Disregarding the Comanche language, each of these groups contains one language spoken in a small area just east of the Sierra Nevada (Mono, Timbisha and Kawaiisu), and one language spoken in large area further to the east (Northern Paiute, Ute-Southern Paiute and Shoshone). Some linguists have taken this pattern as an indication that Numic speaking peoples expanded from a small core, perhaps near the Owens Valley, into their current range very recently. This view is supported by glottochronological studies, but that methodology is highly controversial. There is no physical archaeological evidence that supports or refutes this view. Jump to: navigation, search The Comanche language is a member of the Numic branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. ... The Timbisha language (also called Panamint and spelled Tümpisa) is the language of the Native American people who inhabited the region in and around Death Valley, California in late prehistoric times. ... Shoshone is a Native American language. ... The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range that is mostly in eastern California. ... The following is a list of linguists, those who study linguistics. ... Owens Valley is the arid ranching valley of the Owens River in southeastern California in the United States. ... In linguistics, the technique of glottochronology was used to estimate the time of divergence of two related languages. ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ...

The Comanche split off from the Shoshone soon after they acquired horses around 1700. The Comanche language and the Shoshone language are therefore quite similar. Events January 1 - Russia accepts Julian calendar. ...