Languages of the Southwestern United States

[vijayjohn]

Apart from English, Spanish, and Plautdietsch (Platt), the (indigenous) languages of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico fall into at least twelve language families, including the language isolates Washo on the state border between California and Nevada and Zuni in New Mexico. California in particular is diverse as there are Algic, Athabaskan, Palaihnihan, Maiduan, Pomoan, Uto-Aztecan, Yokutsan, Utian, and Yuman-Cochimí languages spoken there in addition to English, Plautdietsch, and Washo. Of these, only Algic, Athabaskan, Uto-Aztecan, and Yuman-Cochimí languages are also spoken outside California.

There are also Uto-Aztecan languages spoken in all of these states, Yuman-Cochimí languages spoken in Arizona, Athabaskan languages spoken in all of these states except Nevada, and Tanoan languages spoken in New Mexico.

[Sarabi]

Ahéhee'. Ikke glem Navajo. Jeg husker ikke hvilke familie det er medlem til.

[Linguaphile]

Apart from English, Spanish, and Plautdietsch (Platt), the (indigenous) languages of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico fall into at least twelve language families, including the language isolates Washo on the state border between California and Nevada and Zuni in New Mexico. California in particular is diverse as there are Algic, Athabaskan, Palaihnihan, Maiduan, Pomoan, Uto-Aztecan, Yokutsan, Utian, and Yuman-Cochimí languages spoken there in addition to English, Plautdietsch, and Washo. Of these, only Algic, Athabaskan, Uto-Aztecan, and Yuman-Cochimí languages are also spoken outside California.

There are also Uto-Aztecan languages spoken in all of these states, Yuman-Cochimí languages spoken in Arizona, Athabaskan languages spoken in all of these states except Nevada, and Tanoan languages spoken in New Mexico.

Also for language families California has Chumashan and Wintuan in addition to the ones you mentioned.
I'm curious about your inclusion of Plautdietsch here (your post about Paraguay just now, which also mentions Plautdietsch, reminded me). It's one of three non-indigenous languages you've mentioned. The other two are English and Spanish which have the most speakers, but why Plautdietsch? Yes, it's spoken in California (I know a couple of speakers here), but if you're going to include non-indigenous languages, there are certainly lots of others as well - many of which have way more speakers in California than Plautdietsch has. (I mean, you mentioned Spanish just once but Plautdietsch twice, and there are dozens and dozens, if not hundreds, of other immigrant languages spoken in California as well.) So this has got me curious.

[vijayjohn]

Also for language families California has Chumashan and Wintuan in addition to the ones you mentioned.

Are you sure there are still speakers of either language family? There seems to be at most a vague report of one speaker of Patwin still being alive, and that was from 18 years ago.

I'm curious about your inclusion of Plautdietsch here (your post about Paraguay just now, which also mentions Plautdietsch, reminded me). It's one of three non-indigenous languages you've mentioned. The other two are English and Spanish which have the most speakers, but why Plautdietsch? Yes, it's spoken in California (I know a couple of speakers here), but if you're going to include non-indigenous languages, there are certainly lots of others as well - many of which have way more speakers in California than Plautdietsch has. (I mean, you mentioned Spanish just once but Plautdietsch twice, and there are dozens and dozens, if not hundreds, of other immigrant languages spoken in California as well.) So this has got me curious.

I included it because Ethnologue did. EDIT: Oh, and I forgot to mention Spanish a second time.
I'm guessing Ethnologue has it because of its particularly long history in the Americas.

[Linguaphile]

I'm curious about your inclusion of Plautdietsch here (your post about Paraguay just now, which also mentions Plautdietsch, reminded me). It's one of three non-indigenous languages you've mentioned. The other two are English and Spanish which have the most speakers, but why Plautdietsch? Yes, it's spoken in California (I know a couple of speakers here), but if you're going to include non-indigenous languages, there are certainly lots of others as well - many of which have way more speakers in California than Plautdietsch has. (I mean, you mentioned Spanish just once but Plautdietsch twice, and there are dozens and dozens, if not hundreds, of other immigrant languages spoken in California as well.) So this has got me curious.

I included it because Ethnologue did. I'm guessing Ethnologue has it because of its particularly long history in the Americas.

Ah, I see. For Plautdietsch Ethnologue says "California: Reedley" which is really specific and also small; the entire population of Reedley itself is about 25,000 and Plautdietsch speakers are a fraction of that, so.... Plautdietsch speakers came to the area in the 1930s from what I understand but there were, for example, already larger Spanish-speaking and Armenian-speaking communities in the area since the 1800s.
If Ethnologue is accurate there are more speakers of Plautdietsch in Kazakhstan (39,000) than in the U.S. (12,000)!

Also for language families California has Chumashan and Wintuan in addition to the ones you mentioned.

Are you sure there are still speakers of either language family? There seems to be at most a vague report of one speaker of Patwin still being alive, and that was from 18 years ago.

Ethnologue says there is (or was in 2011) one speaker of Nomlaki too, and there are also ongoing revitalization efforts for many of these languages.
I was looking for this video* and found this quote from an article; the "he" referred to in the quote is Cody Pata, who describes himself as "one of the first of the new generation of speakers" (his grandmother was also a Nomlaki speaker):

What has most surprised him though is the fact that many people don’t realize native languages are not extinct. “I have even received comments which expressed that people thought the Nomlaki language was extinct or gone,” he said. “We would beg to differ.”

Nomlaki is a Wintuan language. As for Chumashan languages, they have no native speakers but their communities are pretty active in language revitalization. There are classes, language schools, and L2 speakers.

*Here's the text of the song he is singing in Nomlaki:
‘Ēy qʻolci til senēnaha–
Sāyih hilāya cʻāwin;
Cali col bōhemabēm
‘Ełi dawpomum ‘olqēli.
Yē bōheh pōm! Yē bōheh pōm!
Calumāhēlebōm Sāltun;
Calumāhēle net winesahēt
Seletin bōheh pōm.

Translation:

► Show Spoiler

Oh, how the clear skies are so vast–
The ripe grains and seeds wave across the fields;
The fertile mountains have risen in grandeur
Clearly outlined above the productive valleys.
Oh great land! Oh great land!
May you be blessed by the Creator;
My relations will be blessed
On both sides of this great land.

[vijayjohn]

That is all very interesting information, thanks!