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Numic language spoken in western US From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Northern Paiute /ˈpaɪuːt/,[2] endonym Numu,[3] also known as Paviotso, is a Western Numic language of the Uto-Aztecan family, which according to Marianne Mithun had around 500 fluent speakers in 1994.[4] It is closely related to the Mono language.
Northern Paiute | |
---|---|
Paviotso | |
Numu | |
Native to | United States |
Region | Nevada, California, Oregon, Idaho |
Ethnicity | 6,000 Northern Paiute and Bannock (1999)[1] |
Native speakers | 700 (2007)[1] |
Uto-Aztecan
| |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | pao |
Glottolog | nort2954 |
ELP | Northern Paiute |
Map showing the traditional geographic distribution of Northern Paiute and Mono | |
Northern Paiute is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Northern Paiute's phonology is highly variable, and its phonemes have many allophones.[5]
In 2005, the Northwest Indian Language Institute of the University of Oregon formed a partnership to teach Northern Paiute and Kiksht in the Warm Springs Indian Reservation schools.[7] In 2013, Washoe County, Nevada became the first school district in Nevada to offer Northern Paiute classes, offering an elective course in the language at Spanish Springs High School.[8] Classes have also been taught at Reed High School in Sparks, Nevada.[9]
Elder Ralph Burns of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation worked with University of Nevada, Reno linguist Catherine Fowler to help develop a spelling system. The alphabet uses 19 letters. They have also developed a language-learning book, “Numa Yadooape,” and a series of computer disks of language lessons.[9]
Northern Paiute is an agglutinative language, in which words use suffix complexes for a variety of purposes with several morphemes strung together.
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