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 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (February 2023) |
| Zuni | |
|---|---|
| Shiwiʼma | |
| Native to | U.S. |
| Region | Western New Mexico |
| Ethnicity | Zuni |
Native speakers | 9,620 (2015)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | zun |
| ISO 639-3 | zun |
| Glottolog | zuni1245 |
| ELP | Zuni |
 Pre-European contact distribution of Zuni | |
Zuni /ˈzuːni/ (also formerly Zuñi, endonym Shiwiʼma) is a language of the Zuni people, indigenous to western New Mexico and eastern Arizona in the United States. It is spoken by around 9,500 people, especially in the vicinity of Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico, and much smaller numbers in parts of Arizona.
Unlike most indigenous languages in the United States, Zuni is still spoken by a significant number of children and, thus, is comparatively less threatened with language endangerment. Edmund Ladd reported in 1994 that Zuni is still the main language of communication in the pueblo and is used in the home (Newman 1996).[2]
The Zuni name for their own language, Shiwiʼma (shiwi "Zuni" + -ʼma "vernacular"; pronounced [ˈʃiwiʔma]) can be translated as "Zuni way", whereas its speakers are collectively known as ʼA꞉shiwi (ʼa꞉(w)- "plural" + shiwi "Zuni").
- ^ Zuni at Ethnologue (19th ed., 2016)
- ^ From "Pueblo of Zuni Head Start Program FY 2018 Annual Report" available on the Zuni Pueblo web site: The Zuni Language and Culture Through the years, the Zuni Head Start Program has seen a decline of the native language spoken by children and their parents The parents of our children are young and speak mostly the English language. The lack of the native language spoken in the home is the primary reason our children do not speak their native language. Most parents are able to understand the native language but unable to speak the language fluently. Families who live with elders such as grandparents, aunts or uncles speak more of their native language and are fluent speakers. The percentage of children speaking their native language has declined over the last 29 years; therefore the Zuni Head Start Program has taken an active stance to incorporate the daily use of the Zuni language in the classrooms, which include the teaching of the Zuni culture. There is a lot of encouragement for everyone in the center to speak the Zuni language in social conversations so that our children will hear the language and become to be [sic] comfortable to speak [sic] their language. Language use of the children enrolled in Head Start: 137 Children spoke English as their primary language 15 Children spoke Zuni as their primary language. This indicates only 16 percent of the Zuni children are able to understand and speak their native language.
