Shastan languages
| Shastan | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution: | Northern California |
| Extinct | by end of 20th century |
| Linguistic classification: |
Hokan ?
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| |
| Glottolog: | shas1238[1] |
|
Pre-contact distribution of Shastan languages | |
The Shastan (or Sastean) family consisted of four languages, spoken in present-day northern California and southern Oregon:
- Konomihu (†)
- New River Shasta (†)
- Okwanuchu (†)
- Shasta (AKA Shastika) (†)
Konomihu appears to have been the most divergent Shastan language. Okwanuchu may have been a dialect of Shasta proper, which is known to have had a number of dialects.
The entire Shastan family is now extinct. Shasta was the last language that was spoken. Three elderly speakers were reported in the 1980s.
Shastan has often been considered to be in the hypothetical Hokan stock.
References
- Mithun, Marianne, ed. The Languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
External links
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