Miwok languages

Miwok
Miwokan
Geographic
distribution
California, western slopes of Sierra Nevada
EthnicityMiwok
Linguistic classificationYok-Utian ?
Language codes
Glottologmiwo1275

The Miwok or Miwokan languages (/ˈmwɒk/;[1] North Sierra Miwok: [míwːɨːk]), also known as Moquelumnan or Miwuk, are a group of endangered languages spoken in central California by the Miwok peoples, ranging from the Bay Area to the Sierra Nevada. There are seven Miwok languages, four of which have distinct regional dialects.[2] There are a few dozen speakers of the three Sierra Miwok languages, and in 1994 there were two speakers of Lake Miwok. The best attested language is Southern Sierra Miwok, from which the name Yosemite originates.[3] The name Miwok comes from the Northern Sierra Miwok word miw·yk meaning 'people.'[4]

  1. ^ Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student’s Handbook, Edinburgh
  2. ^ Golla, Victor (2011). California Indian Languages. University of California, Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 156.
  3. ^ "Origin of the word Yosemite (and linked references)". Yosemite.ca.us. 2011-07-10. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
  4. ^ Mithun, Marianne (1999). The Languages of Native North America. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 535. ISBN 978-0-521-29875-9.