| Algonquian | |
|---|---|
| Algonkian | |
| Geographic distribution | North America |
| Ethnicity | Algonquian peoples |
| Linguistic classification | Algic
|
| Proto-language | Proto-Algonquian |
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 / 5 | alg |
| Glottolog | algo1256 (Algonquian-Blackfoot)algo1257 |
 Pre-contact distribution of Algonquian languages | |
The Algonquian languages (/ælˈɡɒŋk(w)iən/ al-GONG-k(w)ee-ən;[1] also Algonkian) are a family of Indigenous languages of the Americas and most of the languages in the Algic language family are included in the group. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Indigenous Ojibwe language (Chippewa), which is a senior member of the Algonquian language family. The term Algonquin has been suggested to derive from the Maliseet word elakómkwik (pronounced [ɛlæˈɡomoɡwik]), "they are our relatives/allies".[2][3]
Speakers of Algonquian languages stretch from the east coast of North America to the Rocky Mountains. The proto-language from which all of the languages of the family descend, Proto-Algonquian, was spoken around 2,500 to 3,000 years ago.[4] There is no scholarly consensus about where this language was spoken.
- ^ Dictionary.com: Algonquian.
- ^ Campbell 1997, pp. 401, notes 133, 136.
- ^ Bright 2004, p. 32.
- ^ Goddard 1978, p. 587.