the indigenous languages of the native peoples of North, Middle, and South America. The precise number of American Indian languages is unknown; estimates are that about 200 distinct languages are still spoken in North America (that is, north of Mexico). Perhaps 300 to 400 more were spoken at the time of first European contact. In Middle America (Mexico and Central America) about 350 languages are known. South America has been the least studied, linguistically. About 450 languages are in use there today; information survives for 120 extinct languages, and another 1500 to 2000 languages are mentioned in documents.

For the number of past and present speakers of these languages, only rough estimates can be given, useful for comparison. It is believed that when Europeans arrived in the Americas, about 1.5 million people spoke Indian languages in North America (down to about 200,000 today), about 5 million in Middle America (up to about 6 million today), and about 10 to 20 million in South America (about 11 to 12 million today).

Major Languages.

In present-day North America the indigenous languages with the most speakers are Navajo (about 80,000), Ojibwa (about 40,000), and Inupiaq, or Inuktitut (see INUIT,). Inupiaq has more than 60,000 speakers and its Greenlandic variety serves as a national language. In Middle America, Nahuatl (Aztec) is spoken by more than 1 million people, the various Mayan languages by about 2 million, and a number of other languages by several hundred thousand each. In South America, Quechua, with more than 8 million speakers, is the most widely used of all American Indian tongues today. Guaraní is the only Indian language to have become a national and literary language spoken by large numbers of non-Indians (half of its 2 million speakers are Paraguayans of European descent). In the Andes, Aymara has about 800,000 speakers, and in Chile, Araucanian has about 200,000. The vast majority of American Indian languages, however, have from a few hundred to a few thousand speakers; many have fewer than 50 or 100 speakers; still many other languages have only 2 or 3 surviving speakers.

Linguistic Borrowings.

Indian and European colonial languages have borrowed words from one another; Indian languages have taken words from Dutch (in the Antilles), English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian (in Alaska), and French (in Canada and Louisiana). In turn, many of the European languages took over Indian place names and terms for plants and animals; examples include Alaska, from the Aleut name for the Alaskan Peninsula; Connecticut, from Mohegan (Algonquian-Ritwan), “long river”; Minnesota, from Dakota, or Sioux, “cloudy water”; Mexico and Guatemala, from Nahuatl; and Nicaragua, from an Aztec dialect, Pipil. English has many loanwords from American Indian languages, among them kayak (Eskimo); chipmunk, opossum, raccoon, tomahawk, moccasin, squash (Algonquian); abalone (Costanoan); tomato, coyote, chili, chocolate, peyote (Nahuatl); puma, condor, jerky (beef), pampa, llama, alpaca (Quechua); canoe, maize, tobacco, potato (Taino—Arawakan stock; see chart). In Latin America, the Spanish language has influenced and been influenced by Quechua, Guaraní, and Nahuatl, in particular.

CLASSIFICATION

The classification of American Indian languages into families is not without controversy. By the mid–20th century, many scholars classified the North American languages into roughly 60 different language families, recognizing no demonstrable genetic relationships among them. In Middle America they proposed 19 different families, and in South America, perhaps 80 families. Other scholars proposed fewer families, claiming to see genetic relationships among most of the Indian languages. Although it is believed that the original population of the Americas came from Asia via the Bering Strait, the great genetic diversity of American languages suggests that the New World may have been populated by multiple migrations.

A major aim of linguistic work with American Indian languages is their genetic classification—the organization of this vast diversity into manageable family schemes. The immensity of the body of data, coupled with the steady disappearance of language after language, makes the task awesome. In 1891 the American ethnographer, geologist, and linguist John Wesley Powell proposed 58 families for North America, mainly on the basis of superficial resemblances. About the same time, the American linguist Daniel Brinton (1837–99) proposed 80 families for South America. Although methods of classification have since become more rigorous, these two schemes form the basis of all subsequent classifications. In 1929 the American anthropologist Edward Sapir (1884–1939) grouped the families into 6 superstocks, or phyla, in North America and 15 in Middle America. Recently, however, areal studies—investigations of the borrowings of grammatical and other traits from one family to another, within a given geographic area—have shown that many remote relationships proposed earlier must now be reconsidered. The U.S. linguist Joseph Greenberg (1915–    ) and others have proposed that the native languages of the Americas can be classified into just three families—Eskimo-Aleut, Na-Dene, and Amerind (with 11 branches). The classification presented in the accompanying chart, however, is conservative; in most cases, families have not been assigned to superstocks (the names of rejected superstock groupings are shown in footnotes), nor are Greenberg’s families indicated.

LINGUISTIC TRAITS

Given their extreme genetic diversity, it is not surprising that American Indian languages differ greatly from one another in their phonology (sound systems) and grammar. No linguistic trait exists, however, that is the exclusive property of American Indian languages. This diversity is illustrated by the broad range of traits listed below, which show the structural characteristics of American Indian languages.

Phonology.

American Indian languages show great variety in their sound systems.

Consonants.

Glottalized consonants are produced by closing the vocal cords while articulating the sound under increased pressure. Such sounds are found in North America in the Athabascan, Siouan, and Salishan languages, among others; in Middle America in Mayan and other languages; and in South America in Quechua, Aymara, and others.

Aspirated consonants are produced with a puff of air after the release of the consonant (the t in English tip, for example). The Siouan, Pomoan, and Yuman families have such sounds in North America, as do Tarascan and the Otomanguean languages in Middle America and Island Carib (Arawakan stock), Quechua, and others in South America.

Retroflexed consonants are produced by curling the tip of the tongue up and back toward the hard palate; examples include certain d and t sounds heard in the English spoken by natives of India. Pomoan, Yuman, and various California languages have such consonants in North America; they also occur in the Mamean and Kanjobalan branches of Mayan in Middle America and in the Panoan and Tacanan families, Araucanian, and other languages in South America.

Uvular consonants are produced even farther back in the mouth than k or g; they are also found in Hebrew and Arabic (the stop transliterated as q). They occur in the Eskimo-Aleut family, the northern Uto-Aztecan languages, and California Athabascan in North America; in Totonacan and Mayan in Middle America; and in Toba (Opayé-Guaicurú family), Quechua, and Aymara in South America.

The velar nasal consonant is the ng sound of English song. It occurs in Eskimo, Haida, Yuman, the California Athabascan languages, and the northern Uto-Aztecan languages in North America; in Mayan and Zoque in Middle America; and in Araucanian, Jívaro, and other languages in South America.

Voiceless nasals and glides are sounds similar to whispered m, n, w, and y. In North America they occur in eastern Pomo dialects and in Tuscarora (Iroquoian); in Middle America in Nahuatl, in the Otomanguean languages, and as final consonants in Quiché Maya and Totonac; and in South America as final consonants in Toba and as nasals in Zamuco.

Voiceless I (like a whispered I) is found in some Yupik Eskimo, in various California languages, and in the Athabascan, Salishan, and Muskogean families in North America; in Tequistlatec in Middle America; and in Araucanian, Itonama, and others in South America.

Lateral affricates resemble a forcefully aspirated tl sound. The Athabascan, Sahaptian, and Wakashan families have such sounds in North America, as do Nahuatl and Totonac in Middle America.

Vowels.

Voiceless, or whispered, vowels are found in North America in Zuni, Hopi, and Keresan (all spoken by Pueblo Indians), in the Plateau Shoshoni languages (Uto-Aztecan), and in Cheyenne (Algonquian-Ritwan); in Middle America in Totonacan and some Otomanguean languages; and in South America in the Ticuna and others.

Nasalized vowels (as in Fr. bon) occur in North America in the Athabascan, eastern Algonquian, Iroquoian, Siouan, Muskogean, and Kiowa-Tanoan groups. They are also found in Middle America in the Otomanguean languages and in South America in various languages, notably in the Macro-Gê, Tupian, and Panoan groups.

The vowel i, a high, central, unrounded sound, occurs in North America in Comanche (Plateau Shoshoni) and Coast Tsimshian, and in Middle America in the Mixe-Zoquean family, Cholan and Yucatecan Mayan, Otomí (Otomanguean), and others. It is common in South America, occurring in Araucanian, Guaraní, Guaymí (Chibchan), the Panoan and Tucanoan families, and elsewhere.

Tonal accent.

In tonal or pitch accent, a difference in pitch distinguishes words that would otherwise sound the same. Tonal accent is found in North America in the Athabascan languages; Mohawk and Cherokee (Iroquoian); Crow (Siouan); Cheyenne, Arapaho, Penobscot (Algonquian-Ritwan); and some Pomo dialects. In Middle America it occurs in Yucatec and Uspantec Mayan, the Otomanguean languages, and others, and in South America in Tucano and in the Panoan, Chibchan, and Huitotoan families.

Grammar.

American Indian languages display striking differences in grammatical structure. Following are some common grammatical traits.

Word order.

Languages are often classified into basic word-order types because word order often correlates with other grammatical characteristics. For example, languages with the basic order subject-verb-object (as in English) also tend to have the orders adjective-noun and preposition-noun. On the other hand, languages having the basic order subject-object-verb tend to place the modifiers after nouns, for example, noun-adjective and noun-postposition.

Although the role of word order may vary in its importance and function from one language to another, the following American Indian languages have distinguishable word orders. The subject-verb-object word order occurs in Totonac and Tarascan in Middle America. The subject-object-verb order is found in Zapotec in Middle America, the Panoan languages in South America, and several California languages. Still other word orders occur: verb-subject-object in Guaraní, verb-object-subject in Quiché Mayan, object-subject-verb in Haida.

Ergative typology.

The concept of ergative typology refers to a case system that is different from the nominative-accusative system found in English, German, and most familiar languages. In such familiar languages, the subject of the sentence is in the nominative case—that is, the subject has the same form and function, whether the sentence is transitive (has a direct object) or intransitive (lacks an object). In ergative-absolutive languages, however, the subject of a transitive verb has one form (called the ergative case), but the subject of an intransitive verb has a different form—the same form as the object of a transitive verb (the absolutive case). In North America, ergative-absolutive case distinctions are made in eastern Pomo, Tsimshian, and a few other languages. The system is found in Mayan and Mixe-Zoquean languages in Middle America and in a few languages in South America.

Switch reference.

Languages that have switch reference indicate whether a subject or object of a clause is the same as or different from the subject or object of an earlier clause. In English, for example, if someone says “Sam met John coming out of his house,” the listener does not know who was coming or whose house was involved, because English lacks switch reference. Algonquian, southern Piute, Papago, and Yuman have this trait in North America, Jicaque in Middle America, and Ecuadorian Quechua in South America.

Grammatical distinctions.

Various grammatical distinctions that are marked (indicated) on a certain word category (such as nouns) in one language may be marked on another category (such as verbs) in another language.

Languages such as Russian and Latin, which distinguish the role of a noun (such as subject, direct object, or indirect object) by case marking are said to have nominal case systems. Eskimo makes this distinction, as do Yuman, Nez Percé (Sahaptian), and various California languages in North America, and the Uto-Aztecan languages in North America and Middle America.

In some languages certain nouns occur only in possessed form. Usually they are kinship terms and names of body parts. This distinction, called inalienable possession, occurs in Eskimo and in the Algonquian, Wakashan, Salishan, Iroquoian, and Siouan language families in North America, in Uto-Aztecan, Mayan, and most other languages in Middle America, and in a few languages in South America.

In languages with dual number, singular (one) is contrasted with dual (two) and with plural (more than two). Dual number is found in Eskimo and in the Athabascan, Siouan, Iroquoian, Muskogean, and Plateau Shoshoni groups in North America, and Araucanian and others in South America. Some languages have dual constructions only with pronouns, as in Tehuelche ma, “you” (sing.), makma, “you two,” and meq[dcl009]ma, “you” (pl.).

Languages with inclusive/exclusive we have different terms for we, according to whether the listener is included. In Quechua, for example, ñuquayku means “we” in the sense of “he, she, or they and I,” and ñuquančis means “we” in the sense of “you and I.” In North America this distinction occurs in the Plateau Shoshoni, Iroquoian, and some Siouan languages, in Blackfoot and Cheyenne (Algonquian-Ritwan), and other languages. It is found in Middle America in Cholan Mayan and some Otomanguean languages, and in South America in the Cariban family, Quechua, and other languages.

Masculine and feminine gender are distinguished in South America in the Arawakan, Huitotoan, and Tucanoan languages, in North America in Coast Salishan and a few other languages, and—for pronouns only—in Pomo and Iroquoian. Animate and inanimate gender are distinguished in Algonquian, Dakota, Kowa, Comanche, and other languages in North America, and in a few languages in South America.

Numeral classifiers are forms of speech occurring with nouns to indicate the number of whatever is being counted as, for example, in English “four loaves of bread.” These numerals are characteristic of the Menominee and Ojibwa (Algonquian-Ritwan), Wakashan, Salishan, Tlingit, and Tsimshian languages in North America; Mayan, Tarascan, Nahuatl, and Totonac in Middle America; and Auca (Peba-Zápara) in South America.

In noun incorporation, some nouns, such as the receiver of an action, are incorporated directly into the verb, as in English to babysit or in Nahuatl ni-tlaq[dcl009]kal-C[dcl003]iwa, “I-tortillas-make.” In North America noun incorporation occurs in northern Athabascan, Tsimshian, some Caddoan, the Iroquoian, Uto-Aztecan, and Tanoan families, and other languages; it is found in Nahuatl, Mayan, and Totonac in Middle America and is common in South America.

A verbal directional is an element incorporated into the verb to indicate the direction of the action (usually toward or away from the speaker or hearer). In Mohawk, tasatáweya‘t means “come in,” but ya‘satáweya‘t means “go in.” Verbal directionals are found in North America in the Uto-Aztecan, Algonquian, Athabascan, Iroquoian, Siouan, and other families; in Middle America in Mayan, Uto-Aztecan, Otomanguean, Tarascan, and Totonacan languages; and in South America in Quechua, Itonama, Toba, and Záparo.

In languages with classificatory verb systems, characteristics of nouns are expressed by distinct verbs, akin to the English use of to drink for liquids and to eat for solids. Such verbs occur in North America in Muskogean, Siouan, Athabascan, Iroquoian, and other families; in Middle America in Mayan and Tarascan; and in South America mainly in the Chibchan and Tucanoan families.

In many American Indian languages, verbal tense (present, past, and future) is more important than verbal aspect (the duration, repetition, or completion of an event); in some languages, such as Tsimshian and the Salishan, Athabascan, and Iroquoian families in North America, most Mayan languages in Middle America, and in Jébero (Jívaroan family), and other languages in South America, the verbal aspect is relatively more important.

Instrumental verb affixes (prefixes, suffixes, infixes) are attached to verbs to indicate the instrument or means by which an action is performed. In Karok, for example, the prefix pa- indicates use of the mouth. Thus páC[dcl003]up means “to kiss” and paxut means “to hold in the mouth.” Such prefixes occur in Haida, Tlingit, and other languages in North America, in Uto-Aztecan, Totonac, and other languages in Middle America, and in Jébero in South America.

Social and Cultural Traits.

In some Indian languages, distinct forms of speech are used by or for women as opposed to men. Such distinctions occur in North America in Yana, Muskogean, and Atsina, and in South America in several languages, including Island and Black Carib (Arawakan), Cocoma (Tupian), and Tacaná. Ritual languages—special forms of speech for ceremonies—exist within Zuni, Iroquoian, Mayan, Nahuatl, Quechua, and some other languages. In a few multilingual regions, trade jargons emerged (see PIDGIN,). These simplified languages include Chinook jargon, Mobilian, and Delaware trade jargon in North America. A few languages developed forms of whistle speech, in which the melody of the whistling parallels the tones of the language. Whistle languages are used for purposes such as courtship. Such languages occur in Kickapoo (Algonquian-Ritwan) in Mexico near Texas; several Otomanguean languages, Nahuatl dialects, and the Totonacan languages in Middle America; and the Aguaruna (Jívaroan) and the Sirionó (Tupian) in South America.

Writing Systems.

The Incas, speakers of Quechua, employed the quipu (a knotted cord used for numerical calculations) as a device for recording information; they also painted on beans and wove into textiles iconographic symbols; but none of these devices are true writing. In North America, due to stimulus from—or, in most cases, direct study of—European writing, several groups developed interesting forms of writing. Examples include the syllabaries (writing systems in which each symbol represents the sound of a different syllable) of the Cherokee, Micmac, Cree, and Inuit.

True pre-Columbian writing systems developed only in Middle America. Mesoamerican writing, linked to an advanced calendar, first appeared on monuments two thousand years before the Spanish conquest. In addition to picture, or pictographic, writing, in which a picture stands for a word or a concept, several peoples such as the Maya, Zapotec, and Mixtec developed what is called a logographic writing system. This system is based on signs, called logograms, each representing an entire word. While signs were the basic unit, the system also contained some phonetic elements to reduce ambiguity of meaning. These signs were augmented by the rebus principle (pictorial punning), in which the sign for one word is used to represent another word that sounds the same (for example, in English, using a picture of an eye to represent both eye and l). In classic Mayan, in addition, phonetic signs were developed that had the syllabic value of a consonant plus a vowel (CV). The typically one-syllable Mayan roots (consisting of a vowel between two consonants) could be “spelled” with two signs (CV-CV), with the last vowel understood to be silent.

The study of American Indian languages has provided rich insights for linguistic theory, language change, the prehistory of the Americas, and the relation of language to culture as well as to modes of thought and perception. Many of these languages will soon become extinct and deserve urgent attention. It is encouraging that, in the 20th century, more and more native speakers have become involved with the formal study of their own languages.        L.Ca., LYLE CAMPBELL, M.A., Ph.D. & M.M., MARIANNE MITHUN, M.A., Ph.D.

For further information on this topic, see the Bibliography, section 364. American Indian languages.