| Osage | |
|---|---|
| 𐓏𐒰𐓓𐒰𐓓𐒷 𐒻𐒷 Wažáže ie | |
| Native to | United States |
| Region | Oklahoma |
| Ethnicity | Osage people |
| Extinct | 2005, with the death of Lucille Robedeaux |
| Revival | As of 2009, 15-20 L2 speakers, ongoing revival program |
Siouan
| |
| Latin (Osage alphabet), Osage script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | osa |
| ISO 639-3 | osa |
qlc Kansa-Osage | |
| Glottolog | osag1243 |
| ELP | Osage |
 Map showing the distribution of Oklahoma Indian Languages | |
 Osage is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Osage (/oʊˈseɪdʒ, ˈoʊseɪdʒ/;[1] Osage: 𐓏𐒰𐓓𐒰𐓓𐒷 𐒻𐒷 Wažáže ie) is a Siouan language that is spoken by the Osage people of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Their original territory was in present-day Missouri and Kansas but they were gradually pushed west by European-American pressure and treaties.
Osage has an inventory of sounds very similar to that of Dakota, also a Siouan language, plus vowel length, preaspirated obstruents and an interdental fricative (like "th" in English "then"). In contrast to Dakota, phonemically aspirated obstruents appear phonetically as affricates, and the high back vowel *u has been fronted to [y].
Osage is written primarily with two systems: one using the Latin script with diacritics, and another derived Osage script created in 2006.[2] Osage is among the few indigenous languages in the United States that has developed its own writing system.
- ^ "Osage". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- ^ "Osage". Atlas of Endangered Alphabets. 29 November 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2021.