Tanoan languages

Tanoan
Kiowa–Tanoan
Geographic
distribution
central North America
Native speakers
~5,625
Linguistic classificationOne of the world's primary language families
Subdivisions
Language codes
Linguasphere64-C
Glottologkiow1265
Distribution of Tanoan languages before European contact. The Pueblo languages are at the left; the nomadic Kiowa at right.

Tanoan (/təˈn.ən/ tə-NOH-ən), also Kiowa–Tanoan or Tanoan–Kiowa, is a family of languages spoken by indigenous peoples in present-day New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Historical distribution of Pueblo Tanoan languages
Current distribution of Pueblo Tanoan languages

Most of the languages – Tiwa (Taos, Picuris, Southern Tiwa), Tewa, and Towa – are spoken in the Native American Pueblos of New Mexico (with one outlier in Arizona). These were the first languages collectively given the name of Tanoan. Kiowa, which is a related language, is now spoken mostly in southwestern Oklahoma. The Kiowa historically inhabited areas of modern-day Texas and Oklahoma.