RUBEN BAREIRO SAGIER (Paraguay) - poet and prose writer, former lecturer at the University of Paris. Currently he is participating in research under the program of the French National Center for Scientific Research. His published works include A la vibora de la mar (a collection of poetry), Ojo por Diente (stories), essays on Guaraní literature in Paraguay, and two anthologies in French: La Tete Dedans (myths, poems and stories of the American Indians) and "Anthologie de la Nouvelle Hispano - Americaine".
With the death in April 1983 of "Grandmother Rose" (the last representative of the once prosperous Yagana ethnic group in southern Chile), another "vision of the world" in the refraction of native American culture perished. It was another of many such cultures that disappeared from the face of the earth after the conquest and colonization of this continent began almost five centuries ago.
Research shows that more than 500 languages and dialects have survived in Latin America to date. Based on various criteria - genetic-structural relationships, grammatical-lexical proximity or geographical location - these languages are grouped into 20 families, the diversity and dissimilarity of these languages exacerbates the mystery that shrouds their origin. Indeed, explanations regarding the origins or cultural sources of the American Indians do not yet go beyond hypotheses. Are they indigenous, or are they Asian, Pacific, African, or Runic in origin? Or maybe the answer to this question lies in the merger of all these sources? In any case, serious studies have revealed noteworthy analogies with such geographically distant languages as Finnish and Basque, as well as with others, in particular, the languages of the Turkic-Caucasian and Sino-Tibetan groups.
The Lacondon Indians, living in the south of the Yucatan Peninsula on the border of Mexico and Guatemala, were "discovered" only at the beginning of our century. The fact that they speak a remarkably pure variety of the Mayan language seems to be due to their geographic and cultural isolation.
Characteristic of these languages is the lack of unity within the "families". So, Quechua, the language of the most highly developed empire at the time of the invasion of the Spaniards - the state of the Incas, is divided into a wide range of dialects. In this regard, the Maya group is very typical, in which today there are 28 different language forms.
The difference, for example, between Quiche (Popol Vuh) and another important language, Kaqchikel, is as great as between Russian and French, both of which belong to the Indo-European family.
In order to correctly understand the essential difference between the original languages of America and the languages of the so-called "Western world", it is necessary to point out some of the characteristic features of the former. It is important to make this distinction, since it was the "Western" languages that came into contact with the American Indian languages, marked by cultural conflict and dominance relations. In this regard, the French specialist in this field, Bernard Pottier, pays special attention to "the existence of categories, thoughts that manifest themselves in grammatical categories that are unusual for us." This is the original difference associated with the "vision of the world", that is, with the "relationship between the specifics of life experience and linguistic taxonomies."
"The preaching of the parish priest", illustration by Filipe Guamán Poma de Ayala (1526-1613?) for his book "Nueva Cronica yBuen Gobierno", testifies to the forced conversion to Christianity of the first peoples of America after the conquest. In the manuscript, as, apparently, in the sermons of those times, along with Spanish words from the Quechua language are used. The text reads: “My children, I will preach to you the gospel, the holy scriptures. You must not worship the idols of the sun. Your ancestors did this in the past, but you, my children, have been baptized.”
Further, the predominantly oral nature of the American Indian languages, which do not have an alphabet, should be emphasized. I say mainly because at least two peoples - the Maya and the Nahuatl - had a written language based on a system of pictograms and ideograms - signs carved on stone, wood, alabaster and jade surfaces or drawn on sheets made from amate bark. However, this did not exclude the oral tradition, since writing was available exclusively to the clan of priests, the ruling and aristocratic elite.
Of all these languages, the most widely spoken today is Quechua, which is spoken by about 12 million people (in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, northern Argentina and southern Colombia). The next in terms of the number of speakers of it - 3 million people - is Guarani (in Paraguay, some regions of Argentina, separate enclaves of Brazil and Bolivia). About 1 million speak Mayan languages (in Guatemala, southern Mexico, Belize and parts of Honduras); Aymara (in Bolivia, northern Chile and southern Peru); Nahuatl (in Mexico and El Salvador). The present position of these languages corresponds to the characteristics of the inter-ethnic language or lingua franca that they had before the conquest and during the colonial period, that is, the main language spoken in large areas of the continent.
This brings us to the consequences of the various contact situations that have arisen as a result of the European presence in the Americas. This presence interrupted the development of civilization, opposing each other with two different value systems. This confrontation took on a dramatic character due to the technical superiority of the Europeans and entailed the imposition of both the "Western Christian" model to the detriment of the cultural values of the American Indians, and the language of the conquistadors. The conflict in which the two concepts clashed was basically an ideological confrontation. It, in particular, stemmed from the desire to impose an "undoubted truth" - the idea of the existence of one "true" god, the god of conquerors, and, consequently, Fr. the inevitability of the "destruction of idolatry", the death of "false deities" worshiped by the "infidels". This served as the main pretext for the whole process of cultural substitution and economic exploitation of the colony.
Language, of course, played a significant role in this confrontation, since it served as the material from which the ideological content of the process of "processing" the population was fashioned. But it was also a source of formation of resistance to this process.
The task of "processing" was entrusted to the language of the winners - Castilian, whose dominance in the Iberian Peninsula was finally approved just in the year of the discovery of America. Initially serving as a means of conversion to Christianity, the Castilian language, however, lost this function when it turned out that it was much more effective to use local spoken languages for this purpose. The arguments of the "theologians" in the XVI century. prevailed over the arguments of the "politicians", which was largely facilitated by the Jesuits. This meant that the natives were treated in their native languages, but at the same time, the process of colonization strengthened the position of some languages, such as Guarani, which was standardized in the missions, and contributed to the spread of others, such as Quechua, which became much more widely used after the conquest.
The most notable experiment that influenced the original language was the so-called "Guaranization" undertaken by the Jesuits for a century and a half. The experiment was to create religious literature exclusively in the Guarani language. This, of course, helped to strengthen the position of the original language (which, thanks to the process of ethnic mixing, had already established itself in the province of Paraguay), but at the same time deprived Guarani of its own values, which were mainly religious and mystical in nature.
Until the first decade of our century, not a single record of oral folk art was made, which proves the actual continuation of the “colonial process” after independence (1811). This alienation seems even more serious when you consider that the rich speech of the Guarani was the main manifestation of their culture.
Yet Guarani, in a resemantized, bilingual form, has survived to the present day as the generally accepted spoken language of the national community of Paraguay. This is a unique case in Latin America. 93% of the population speak Guarani, of which 49 also speak Spanish; thus, 50% know only Guarani and 8 only know Spanish. The use of guarani is not limited to the hinterland, it has penetrated the city as well. Its use is not limited to any segments of society, as is the case with native languages in other countries of the continent. However, despite such a widespread use of Guarani, like Spanish, according to article 9 of the country's constitution, it is called only the national language, while Spanish is also elevated to the rank of official by the same article.
Guarani has no literacy programs and is not used as a language of artistic expression. Thus, the Paraguayan man of letters has come to terms with his status as a colonized man of letters, since, though he speaks his native language, he does not write in it. The manifestation of the will of the people finds its expression in Guaraní, however, raising the social and cultural level is possible only if you speak Spanish. All this is evidence that Guarani is the language of a subordinate, albeit predominant, group.
But what is the position of another, the most common autochthonous language on the continent - Quechua? For comparison with the situation described above, that is, in terms of its status in the state, let us turn to the example of Peru. In May 1975, a law was passed declaring Quechua the official language of this country along with Spanish. This was done in order to strengthen the role of Quechua in the national community and combat the social inferiority associated with this original language towards those who speak it. At present, in Peru, with a total population of 16 million, between 6 and 8 million people are bilingual to varying degrees, and approximately 1,600,000 speak only Quechua. Thus, about half of the population is linguistically in the same position as in Paraguay. However, there is one difference: this half of the population is linguistically isolated from the other half due to a clear lack of communication, as well as contempt for those who speak Quechua.
As for the Nahuatl language, which was respected and widely spoken in the pre-Columbian period, the situation is even worse. Each new census shows that the number of its speakers is decreasing, again under the influence of the social contempt of which it has become a victim. And this despite the magnificent principles proclaimed by the policy of "indigenization", which, judging by the results, proved to be inconsistent and ineffective.
There is another approach by which Native American cultures and languages are spread and established in heterogeneous American societies; mainly I mean the mixing of cultures. This approach evokes or suggests the image of an Indian and paints a picture of the world around him. The first incarnation of this approach, called Indianism, appeared in nineteenth-century Latin American romanticism. The alienated, stereotypical, idealized image was nothing more than a borrowing of the type of "noble savage" - a fashionable invention of European literature at that time.
By the turn of the century, there had been a radical change of course, and since then the Indian, appearing in the pages of "indigenist" novels, has symbolized exposure and violent protest against the exploitation to which he is subjected in Latin American society. Such a vision, while expressing sympathy, resentment and determination, is, however, outside the cultures it seeks to protect. Proposing the integration of the Indian into the national or "white" society on the basis of equality, "indigenists": are not aware of the contradictions that arise in this. They lose sight of cultural characteristics, which is fraught with loss of identity.
By the 40s of the XX century. the nature of Latin American literature has changed. The writers overcame the "imposed language" complex and, having freed themselves from the tyranny of "correct" Spanish, enriched the linguistic system of the Castilian language that served them as a means of expression with elements of local everyday dialects. To a large extent, this renewal is due to the fact that a number of writers accepted the fundamental values of the original cultures. And although they write in Spanish, their knowledge of the vernacular languages on which these cultures are based enables them to adopt means and forms that ultimately give a completely different color to what, from the point of view of literature, continues to be the dominant language.
A common misconception is that there was only one Native American language in North America. In fact, about a thousand languages existed in North America before the arrival of Europeans - about 250 in the United States alone. In addition, these languages differed greatly from each other. Three people from three different areas, hundreds of miles apart, very likely could not understand each other at all. However, sign language was used in some areas to provide communication between different tribes. This is detailed in William Clark's book, Indian Sign Language.
Complexity of languages
The spoken languages of the Indians were neither primitive nor simple; the grammar of many of them was as complex as in Russian or Latin. However, with the exception of the ideographic writing system used by the Maya and their neighbors near the Yucatan Peninsula, the other indigenous languages of the Americas were not written before the arrival of Europeans.
language families
As in the case of the Eastern Hemisphere, linguists have found similarities and differences between the languages of the Americas and grouped them into families. A family is a set of languages with a common origin that have split over time into different dialects and languages. The process of formation of new dialects (languages) can be seen to some extent in how the English language acquired some differences depending on the place of use. A clearer and more understandable demonstration in this case can be the Romance languages (Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian and some others), which all originated from the Latin language. The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, the dominant language family in the modern world. English belongs to the Germanic branch of the Indo-European family. Russian belongs to the Slavic branch of the Indo-European family.
The vast majority of languages in Europe belong to the Romance, Germanic and Slavic branches of the languages, while other Indo-European branches are present in Iran and India. In the last 500 years, Indo-European languages, in particular English, Spanish, Portuguese and French, have become the dominant languages in many countries of the world, including almost all of the Americas and Australia. However, in Europe there are also representatives of other language families, for example, the Ural-Altaic family. Hungarian, Finnish and Estonian belong to the Ural-Altaic family of languages, Turkish belongs to the Turkic family of languages. The Basque language in Spain and France has no clear relatives anywhere else in the world.
In North America, therefore, much more linguistic diversity was represented than in Europe at the time of Columbus. On the territory of the modern United States, several language families are distributed, in contrast to Europe, where only two are dominant families.
Indigenous language families of North America
The maps on this page show the nine most important language families that have existed throughout the United States. They have been largely superseded by English over the past few centuries. These include Algonquian, Iroquois, Muscogee, Sioux, Athabaskan, Uto-Aztecan, Saleish, and Eskimo-Aleutian. In addition, there are many other smaller families such as Sahaptinskaya, Miwok-Costanoan, Kiowa-Tanoan, and Caddoan.
Some languages such as Zuni, have no apparent family ties to other languages, which is why they are known as isolates. The maps on this page show those language families that were present in significant numbers throughout the continental United States; although almost all of them were also distributed in Canada and Mexico. Many other language families are represented in South America, where they were probably even more diverse than in North America. The Maya language family of Mexico and neighboring countries is also indicated on the continental map. The US map shows many tribes and languages, although there is not quite enough space to show them all.
Creating such a map with any degree of accuracy involves several insurmountable difficulties. Separately taken political and linguistic unions were not "countries" in the modern sense of the word, and, as a rule, spread over long distances, as if "overlapping" the territory of distribution of other unions. Such clear-cut boundaries, as we see them on maps today, rarely existed. Many populations moved seasonally, adapting to the local climate. Almost all the tribes changed their place of permanent residence, moving west, as they could not withstand the onslaught of the Europeans.
But this movement and settling took place often before colonization began as well. In addition, in many cases there is great uncertainty as to which tribe lived in a particular area of the map at a particular point in time. Based on this, the boundaries on the map should not be taken too literally. They are intended to create a general idea of the regions where each family of languages was distributed at the time when European civilization "crept up" to these places.
It needs to be clarified that the shaded areas on the map are not political areas where the central government ruled over one race, maintaining constant control within the indicated boundaries. Examples of a large area under the control of one authority were rare in pre-Columbian America. In addition, it must be recalled that the languages of the same language family can vary greatly. Although in some cases, a person could go far, far from his place and find people with whom he easily established a connection, but this was rather an exception.
In most cases, two different languages within the same language family will appear very different and mutually incomprehensible to speakers of those languages. To fully appreciate this, just take a look at English, which is part of the Indo-European family of languages, and then shift your gaze to Dutch, Polish or Hindi. Well, how?
Native American languages today
The emergence of European culture had a negative impact on the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. The population of the native civilizations in what is now the United States has declined from 20 million to its current level of less than 2 million. In addition to the reduction in the size of ethnic groups, languages also "suffered" due to the spread of English among the ancestors of those Indians. Most of the Indian languages have ceased to exist, or are only spoken by the aging generation. Obviously, in the coming decades, with the death of these people, these languages will also disappear.
Only 8 indigenous languages, once inhabiting an area equal to the area of the continental United States, currently have populations in the US and Canada the size of an average city. Only in language Navajo today more than 25,000 people speak in the US.
| Language | A family | Region | Number of media |
| Navajo | Athabaskan | Arizona, New Mexico, Utah | 148 530 |
| Cree | Algian | Montana, Canada | 60 000 |
| Ojibwe | Algian | Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Michigan, Canada | 51 000 |
| Cherokee | Iroquois | Oklahoma, North Carolina | 22 500 |
| Dakota | Sioux | Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Canada | 20 000 |
| Apaches | Athabaskan | New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma | 15 000 |
| Blackfoot | Algian | Montana, Canada | 10 000 |
| Choctaw | muskogean | Oklahoma, Mississippi, Louisiana | 9 211 |
Native/local American state names
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, (New) Mexico, (North/South) Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
Links
Sources
Maps are based on maps American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America (Oxford Studies in Anthropological Linguistics, 4) and maps Collier's Encyclopedia.
5. Languages of the North American Indians.
The languages of the North American Indian tribes, especially those belonging to the Algonquian language family, have enriched our vocabulary with many expressions. Most of them, of course, entered the English language. For example, a number of place names in the current United States and Canada are of Native American origin. Of the 48 states (excluding Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands), half - exactly 23 - have Indian names: for example, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakota, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Idaho, Alabama, Delaware, Kansas, Oklahoma, etc. All the most important North American lakes also still bear their original, pre-Columbian names: Huron, Erie, Ontario, Oneida, Seneca, Winnipeg, the famous Michigan and others. And rivers too. Indian names are also the Potomac River, which flows right under the windows of the White House, and Ohio, and Wabash, and the "father of waters" - Mississippi.
And now let's open the "dictionary" of the most famous Indian words.
The word "tomahawk", like most other names for "Indian objects", comes from the Algonquian languages. The tomahawk got into the world dictionary clearly through the first English colonists in Virginia (at the beginning of the 17th century. The predecessor of the real tomahawk, as the first Europeans recognized it, even in the post-Columbian era was a wooden club with a stone head. However, soon after the first contacts with whites, this stone weapon was replaced by real "tomahawks", which had a bronze or more often an iron hat.
Wampum. Wampums were strings with bone or stone beads strung on them, but more often by “wampums” we mean wide belts to which such strings of multi-colored beads were attached. The belts of the Algonquins and especially the Iroquois decorated clothes, served as a currency unit, and most importantly, various important messages were transmitted with their help.
The next famous item of Indian life is the peace pipe, or calumet. This name was given to the peace pipe by French travelers who noticed its resemblance to a flute or reed pipe. The peace pipe has played an important role in the social life of many Native American groups in North America. It was smoked by the members of the "parliament" - the tribal council, the smoking of the peace pipe formed the basis of many religious rites, especially among the Prairie Indians, etc.
Peyote, or peyote, is a small cactus. It was used during ritual, ecstatic dances. The "dance of the spirits" was entirely connected with the previous use of the drug peyote. So a new Indian religion, the Ghost-Dance Religion, arose. Now the former Ghost-Dance Religion of the North American Indians is called the National American Church or the Church of the American Natives. The teaching of this Indian religious society is a mixture of Christian ideas and belief in various supernatural beings of old Indian beliefs.
Pemikan is also a product of the culture of the Indians of the North of America. The word itself comes from the language of screams and roughly means "processed fat". Pemikan serves as a high-calorie and surprisingly long-term food supply, that is, as some kind of Indian "canned food".
Scalp. The Indians had a cruel military custom, according to which the skin along with the hair was removed from the head of a dead enemy (and sometimes even from the head of a living prisoner). Thus, the scalp served as proof that the enemy was killed or rendered harmless, and therefore it was considered a highly respected testament to courage, a valuable war trophy. In addition, the scalper was convinced that, removing the scalp from the enemy, he takes away from him that “universal magical life force”, which, according to legend, was precisely in the hair.
The next well-known word is squaw. It comes from the Narra-Ganseth language and simply means "woman". For example, the very popular combination of Native American and English words Squaw-valley together means "Valley of Women." Americans clearly love these compounds, and we find in their language Squaw-flower (flower), Squaw-fish (fish), etc.
Teepee (the word comes from the Dakota language) is a pyramidal tent made of buffalo skins, found among all prairie tribes. Teepee is the usual home of a prairie Indian. Several dozen conical tips made up the village. The leather walls of the tipi were decorated with drawings. The tent had special devices with which it was possible to regulate the circulation of air and, above all, to remove smoke from the tent. Each tipi also had a hearth. Tipis are often confused with another dwelling of North American Indians - a wigwam. The word comes from the Algonquian languages of the Indian population of the east of the present USA and simply means "building". While the tipis did not differ much from one another, the wigwams of the individual Algonquian tribes were quite heterogeneous. Various climatic conditions of the North American east, the availability of various building materials, etc. played a role here.
Sign language. The Indians of the North American prairies, who spoke dozens of different dialects and even belonged to different language groups (not just the so-called Sioux family of languages), he allowed to understand each other. The message that a prairie Indian wanted to communicate to a member of another tribe was transmitted using gestures of one or both hands. These gestures, movements, the exact meaning of which was known to every Indian not only on the prairies, but also in their neighborhood, helped to convey rather complex information to the partner. Even agreements between individual tribes, whose representatives did not understand each other, were concluded through sign language.
CONCLUSION
Indians are the only original inhabitants of the entire western half of our planet. When the first Europeans arrived in the New World in 1492, this gigantic continent was by no means uninhabited. It was inhabited by peculiar, amazing people.
In Central America and in the Andean region, by the time of European colonization, there was a highly developed artistic culture, destroyed by the conquerors (see Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Aztecs, Incas, Mayans, Mixtecs, Olmec culture, Zapotecs, Toltecs) .
The art of numerous tribes that were at the stage of the primitive communal system was closely connected with everyday life and material production; it reflected the observations of hunters, fishermen and farmers, embodied their mythological ideas and the richness of ornamental fantasy.
The types of Indian dwellings are diverse: sheds, barriers, domed huts (wigwams), conical tents (types of prairie Indians of Canada and the USA) made of poles covered with branches, leaves, mats, skins, etc.; clay or stone huts in the highlands of South America; communal dwellings - plank houses in the northwest of North America; bark-framed "longhouses" in the Great Lakes region; stone or adobe houses-villages (pueblo) in the southwest of North America. Wood carving, especially rich on the northwestern coast of North America (polychrome totem and grave poles with interweaving of real and fantastic images), is also found among a number of South American tribes. Weaving, weaving, embroidery, making ornaments from feathers, ceramic and wooden utensils and figurines were widespread. The murals are known for fantastic images, rich geometric ornamentation, and military and hunting scenes (drawings of prairie Indians on tips, tambourines, shields, and bison skins).
The study of Indian life helps us to look at the present and future of America in a new way. Because it is among the Indians that the most distant past meets the most remarkable and rosy future of the continent.
LIST OF USED LITERATURE
1. Cultural studies. Textbook for students of higher educational institutions. Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix publishing house, 1998. - 576 p.
2. Peoples of the world: historical and ethnographic reference book / Ch. ed. Yu.V. Bromley. Ed. collegium: S.A. Arutyunov, S.I. Brook, T.A. Zhdanko and others - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1988. - 624 p.
...]. The essence of the Indian policy of the current administration is to "do away with reliance on federal payments." Anyone who is at least in general familiar with the history of the struggle of the Indians for their rights in the second half of the current century, it is obvious that we are talking about a veiled resumption by the American government of the policy of "termination", which met in the 50s of the XX century. the sharpest...
Christopher Columbus, who mistakenly turned the wrong way on his sea route and ended up in America instead of India. However, everything is not so simple. Columbus was far from the first foreigner on the American continent. To whom only scientists do not attribute the discovery of the New World: Amerigo Vespucci, the Vikings, and even the Indians! Thanks to many years of research, in which representatives of almost all ...
Native American languages are often divided into 3 parts: North America (USA, Canada), Mesoamerica (Mexico and Central America) and South America. The variety of Indian languages is great, it is difficult to specify their exact number and make an exhaustive list. First, the modern and pre-colonization language pictures differ significantly. It is estimated that before European colonization there were about 400 languages in North America, and at the beginning of the 21st century there were just over 200 left. Many languages disappeared before they were recorded. There are blank spots on the language maps of America about which no information can be obtained. On the other hand, such languages as, for example, the Quechuan languages, over the past centuries have greatly expanded the territorial and ethnic base of their distribution. Second, many languages, especially in Mesoamerica and South America, are poorly documented. Thirdly, in many cases the problem of distinguishing between language and dialect has not been resolved.
The language situation in the regions of distribution of Indian languages differs. North America is dominated by small language groups of several thousand or even hundreds of people. There are only a few languages spoken by tens of thousands of people, including Navajo, Dakota, Cree, Ojibwa, Cherokee. Many Indian tribes in the 18-20 centuries completely disappeared or survived as ethnic groups, but lost their language; there are about 120 such extinct languages. According to the data of American researchers I. Goddard, M. Krauss, B. Grimes and others, 46 indigenous languages have been preserved, which are acquired by a fairly large number of children as native ones. 91 languages are spoken by a fairly large number of adults, 72 languages are spoken by only a few older people. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Native American activists and linguists are making vigorous efforts to revive indigenous languages in several areas of the United States and Canada. It is impossible to say that the process of dying of languages has been stopped, but in some cases it is slowed down and there is a chance of a linguistic revival.
In Mesoamerica there are a number of languages whose speakers number in the hundreds of thousands: the Oto-Manga language of Masaua (250-400 thousand) and the Uto-Astecan language Huastec Nahuatl (about 1 million) in Mexico, the Mayan languages \u200b\u200bof Kekchi (420 thousand people) and Quiche (more than 1 million) in Guatemala, Yucatec (500 thousand) in Mexico. The average number of speakers of a single Mesoamerican language is at least an order of magnitude higher than in North America. However, the social status of Indian languages in Mesoamerica is quite low.
South America is characterized by a polarized linguistic situation. On the one hand, most languages, as in North America, have a very small number of speakers: several thousand, hundreds or even tens of people. Many languages have disappeared (in most of the largest language families, between a quarter and a half of the languages have already become extinct), and this process continues. At the same time, over 20 million people speak indigenous languages. Several South American languages have become inter-ethnic languages, a means of self-identification for Indians (regardless of their specific ethnic origin) or even entire countries. In a number of states, Indian languages have acquired official status (Quechua, Aymara, Guarani).
Due to the huge variety of American languages, the term "Indian languages" is very arbitrary; the expression "languages of Native Americans" is sometimes used instead. In the latter case, not only the Indian proper, but also the Eskimo-Aleut languages are included in the consideration.
The total number of speakers of Indian languages, according to estimates at the beginning of the 21st century, is over 32 million people, including in South America - about 21 million, in Mesoamerica - over 10 million, in North America - over 500 thousand people.
The American linguist R. Austerlitz made the observation that in America the average number of genealogical units per unit area (the so-called genealogical density) is much higher than in Eurasia. According to the American researcher J. Nichols (1990, 1992), the genealogical density in Eurasia is about 1.3, while in North America it is 6.6, in Mesoamerica it is 28.0, and in South America it is 13.6. In America, there are areas with a particularly high genealogical density - the so-called closed language zones. So, in California and on the Northwest coast of North America, squeezed between mountains and the ocean, the genealogical density reaches record values (in California - 34.1). On the contrary, the center of North America (Great Plains) is the so-called extended zone, only a few families are distributed there with a fairly large area, the genealogical density is 2.5.
The major genealogical associations of Native American languages are listed below in the order in which they are located from north to south. No distinction is made between living and dead languages; the number of languages indicated is as close as possible to the situation before colonization.
North America. In total, 34 families, 20 isolated languages, and about 7 unclassified languages are known in North America. The Na-Dene languages include the Tlingit, Eyak, and Athabaskan languages (about 40) spoken in Alaska and western Canada, the US Pacific coast (Washington, Oregon, and northern California), and the North American Southwest. Closely related are the South Athabaskan (Apache) languages, and the largest number of native speakers in North America, Navajo, also belongs to them. E. Sapir attributed the Haida languages to Na-Dene, but after repeated verification, this hypothesis was rejected by most experts, and Haida is considered an isolate. A hypothesis is being developed about the Na-Dene genealogical links with the languages of Eurasia, in particular with the Yenisei languages.
Salish languages (over 20) are distributed compactly in southwestern Canada and the northwestern United States. Their external genealogical connections have not been proven. In the west of their range is the territory of the Chimakums (2), and in the east is the Kutenai isolate.
The area of the Wakasha languages (6) is in the west of Canada and the USA, on the coast of British Columbia and on Vancouver Island.
The main part of the Algic languages \u200b\u200bis made up of the Algonquian languages \u200b\u200b(about 30), the territory of which is almost the entire east and center of Canada, as well as the area around the Great Lakes (except for the range of the Iroquois languages) and the northern part of the Atlantic coast of the USA (to the state of North Carolina in the south). Some Algonquian languages (Blackfoot, Sheyenne, Arapaho) spread especially far west to the Great Plains. According to some researchers, the now extinct Beothuk language (Newfoundland Island) could belong to the Algonquian languages. In addition to Algonquian, the Wiyot and Yurok (Northern California) languages, sometimes referred to as Ritwan, belong to the Alg family. Numerous previously proposed external relations of the Alg family are hypothetical.
The Sioux languages (Siouan; about 20) are compactly distributed in the main part of the Great Plains, and also have several enclaves on the Atlantic coast and in the South-East of North America. Within them, the largest group is the languages of the Mississippi Valley, which include the Dakota dialects. It is probable that the Siouan languages are related to the Iroquoian and Caddoan languages. Other previously proposed associations of the Siouan languages are considered unproven or erroneous; the Yuchi language is classified as an isolate.
The range of the Iroquois languages (about 12) is the region of the Great Lakes Erie, Huron and Ontario and along the St. Lawrence River, as well as to the south - the Atlantic coast of the USA (northern group), the Cherokee language is spread even further to the southwest.
The Caddoan languages (5) have a number of enclaves stretched in a chain from north to south in the area of the Great Plains. Their relationship with the Iroquoian languages is considered practically proven.
The Muscogae language range (about 7) is a compact region in the Southeast of North America (east of the lower Mississippi, including Florida). The hypothesis of M. Haas (USA) about their association with 4 other languages of the same area (Natchez, Atakapa, Chitimasha and Tunic) into the so-called Gulf macrofamily is considered untenable in modern linguistics; these 4 languages are considered as isolates.
The Kiowatanoan languages include the Kiowa language (central Great Plains) and 6 languages in the Southwest of North America representing the culture of the Pueblo peoples (along with the Keresian languages, the Hopi Uto-Astecan languages, and the Zuni isolate).
The allocation of the so-called macrofamily of Penutian languages, proposed at the beginning of the 20th century by Californian anthropologists A.L. Kroeber and R. Dixon, is extremely problematic and is not recognized by most experts. Within this association, the most probable genealogical links are between the Klamath and Molala languages (both in Oregon) and Sahaptine (Oregon, Washington) [the so-called Plateau Penutian languages (4 languages)]. A plausible genealogical connection also exists between the Miwok languages (7 languages) and Costanoan (8 languages) [forming the so-called Utian family (northern California)]. The Penutian languages also included 9 more families: Tsimshian (2 languages), Chinuk (3 languages), Alsei (2 languages), Siuslau language, Kus (2 languages), Takelma-Kalapuyan (3 languages), Vintuan (2 languages), Maiduan (3 languages) and Yokuts (minimum 6 languages). E. Sapir also included the Cayuse language (Oregon) and the so-called Mexican Penutian languages - the Mihe-Soke families of languages and the Uave language - into the Penutian macrofamily.
The Kochimi-Yuman languages (the border region between the United States and Mexico) combine the Kochimi languages (the area is the middle part of Baja California) and the Yuman languages (about 10 languages; western Arizona, southern California and northern Baja California). The latter were previously included in the so-called macrofamily of the Khokan languages. In modern linguistics, the Kochimi-Yuman languages are considered as the core of this hypothetical association. The most probable genealogical links between the Kochimi-Yuman languages and the Pomoan languages (about 7 languages) are common in northern California. According to modern ideas, the Hokan association is even less reliable than the Penutian one; in addition to those already mentioned, it previously included 8 independent families: the Seri language, the Washo language, the Salin (2 languages), the Yana languages (4 languages), the Palainikhan (2 languages), the Shastan (4 languages), the Chimariko language, and the Karok language. E. Sapir also included the Esselen language, the now extinct Chumash family, and 2 languages of the Yukian (Yuki-wappo) family, previously represented in California, among the Hokan languages.
Yuto-Aztec languages (60) are spoken in the Great Basin, California, northwest and central Mexico (including the Aztec languages). There are approximately 22 languages in the United States. The area of the Comanche language is south of the Great Plains. Numerous external links of the Uto-Astek languages, proposed in the linguistic literature, are unreliable. The Kochimi-Yuman and Uto-Astek families are transitional between North America and Mesoamerica.
Another 17 isolated or unclassified languages and small families were distributed along the southern periphery of North America: in the north of Florida - the Timukuan family; along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico - calusa, tunica, natchez, chitimasha, adai, atakapa, karankawa, tonkawa, aranama; further to the southeast - cotoname, coaviltec, solano, naolan, kinigua, maratino; in the very south of the California peninsula lived speakers of the languages of the Guaicurian family (8).
In addition to the Kochimi-Yuman and Uto-Astek families, 9 more families and 3 isolates are represented in Mesoamerica. Otomanguean languages (over 150) are spoken in central and southern Mexico. They include the previously considered separately Subtiaba-Tlapanec languages.
Totonac languages (about 10) are represented in east-central Mexico and include two branches - Totonac and Tepehua.
The Mihe-Soque languages (south of Mexico) comprise about 12 languages; 2 main branches - mihe and juice.
Maya languages (Mayan) - the largest family of the south of Mexico, Guatemala and Belize; According to various classifications, it includes from 30 to 80 languages.
In addition, 4 small families are represented in Mesoamerica - Shinkan (Shinka), Tekistlatek (Oaxacco-Chontal), Lenkan and Khikak (tol), and 3 isolates - Tarasco (Purepecha), Kuitlatek and Uave.
The Chibchan languages (24) are a transitional family between Mesoamerica and South America. Its range is Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela and Colombia. It is possible that the languages of a small Misumalpan family (4 languages; the territory of El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras) are genealogically connected with them.
Further, the families under consideration are distributed almost entirely in South America, although some of them have peripheral representatives in Central America. In total, 48 families, 47 isolates and over 80 unclassified languages are known in South America. The area of the Arawakan languages (Maipur; 65) is a significant part of South America, a number of countries in Central America, formerly also the islands of the Caribbean; their original territory is the western Amazon. The Tukanoan languages (15-25), Chapakura languages (9), Aravan (8 languages), Puinawan (5 languages), Dyapan (Katukin; 5 languages), Tiniguan, Otomak families, 3 isolates, and several unclassified languages are spoken in the western Amazon.
Caribbean languages (25-40) are represented in northern South America. In the same place - Yanomami (4 languages), Saliwan and Guahib families, 2 isolates and several unclassified languages.
Barbacoan (8 languages), Chocoan (5 languages), Hirahara (3 languages), Timothean (3 languages) families, 4 isolates, and several unclassified languages are common in northwestern South America.
In the northern foothills of the Andes (Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and southern Colombia), the Bora Huitot languages (10), Khivaran (4 languages), Yaguan (Peba), Cavapan, Sapar families and 9 isolates are represented.
The Andes region is the area of the Quechuan languages (several dozen) and the languages of the Aymaran (Khaki) family (3 languages, including Aymara). Many experts suggest that these languages are related and form the Kechumara macrofamily, but other linguists attribute the similarities to borrowings. Also in the Andes are the families of Sechura-Katakao (3 languages), Uru-Chipaya and Cholon and 5 isolates.
The southern foothills of the Andes (northern Bolivia, eastern Peru and western Brazil) - the territory of the Pano-Takan languages (33; includes 2 branches - Panoan and Takan), the Chon family (3 languages) and the isolates of Yurakare and Moseten.
In the northeast of Brazil, the Amerindian languages disappeared so rapidly that only about 8 unclassified languages remain.
The same languages (at least 13) are represented mainly in Brazil. There is a hypothesis of a macrofamily of macro-same languages, which, in addition to languages, unites 12-13 more small families (from 1 to 4 languages), including Kamakan, Boror, Mashakali, Botokud, Purian, Kariri, Karazha, Chiquitano, Rikbaktsa and others
Along the periphery of the macro-same range (throughout Brazil and adjacent countries, including the northern part of Argentina), Tupi languages \u200b\u200bare common (more than 70). Their core is made up of Tupi-Guarani languages, which include one of the great languages of South America - Paraguayan Guarani. Tupi-Guarani refers to the once widely used, and now dead language, Tupinamba (old Tupi), or Lingua Geral (“common language”). The Tupi association includes, in addition to Tupi-Guarani, 8 more separate languages, the genealogical status of which has not been finally established. In addition, in the Central Amazon (Brazil, northern Argentina, Bolivia), the Nambiquarian (5 languages), Murano (4 languages), Jabutian (3 languages) families, 7 isolates and several unclassified languages are represented.
In the Chaco region (northern Argentina, southern Bolivia, Paraguay) the Guaikuru languages (7 languages), the Matacoan languages (4 to 7 languages), the Mascoan languages (4), the Samuk and Charruan families and 2 isolates are common. According to some assumptions, they form a single macrofamily.
In the very south of South America (southern Chile and Argentina), the Huarpeian family, 5 isolates (Araucanian, Alakaluf, Yamana, Chono and Puelche) are represented.
As a result of the interaction between unrelated Indian languages, as well as between the languages of Indians and Europeans, a number of contact languages have arisen in America. For example, in the 17th century, at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, a Basque-Algonquian pidgin was formed, which was used by the Mikmaq Indians (see Algonquins) and Basque fishermen crossing the Atlantic. In the 19th century, on the basis of the Chinook language on the Northwest coast of North America (from Oregon to Alaska), the so-called Chinook jargon was widely used, which was used by both Indians of different tribes and Europeans. In the first half of the 19th century, a mixed Michif language arose (and now exists in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and North Dakota), which combines the nominal grammar of French and the verbal grammar of the Algonquian Cree language. Among the Indians of the prairies (who spoke Sioux, Algonquian and other languages), a sign language was common, which was used in interethnic communication.
The prevailing opinion is that the prehistoric settlement of America by man came from Siberia and the Pacific region through Beringia - the zone of the modern Bering Strait. The question of the chronology of the settlement of America is debatable (see Indians). From a linguistic point of view, the hypothesis that the earliest human penetration into America occurred 12,000 years ago seems unlikely. To explain the enormous genealogical diversity of Indian languages, much earlier dates for the settlement of the Americas must be postulated, as well as the possibility of numerous waves of migration from Asia.
Given the genealogical diversity of Indian languages, few generalizations can be made about their structural features. Polysynthesism is usually cited as the constitutive feature of the American language type. Many meanings, often expressed in the languages of the world as part of names and auxiliary parts of speech, in polysynthetic Indian languages are expressed as part of a verb. Long verbal forms appear, containing many morphemes, and other components of the sentence are not as obligatory as in European-type languages (F. Boas spoke about the “word-sentence” in North American languages). For example, the structure of the verb form yabanaumawildjigummaha'nigi 'let us, each [of us], really move west across the stream' (example of E. Sapir) from Californian Yana is as follows: wa'several people are moving' -banauma- 'all' - wil- 'through' -dji- 'to the west' -gumma- 'really' -ha'- 'let' -nigi 'we'. The morpheme analysis of the word ionsahahnekôntsienhte' from the Mohawk Iroquoian language, meaning 'he scooped up water again' (M. Mitun's example), is as follows: i- 'through' -ons- 'again' -a (past tense) -ha- 'he' - hnek- 'liquid' -ôntsien- 'get water' -ht- (causative) -e' (point action). Most of the largest language families in North America and Mesoamerica have a pronounced tendency towards polysyntheism: Na-de-ne, Algonquian, Iroquois, Siouan, Caddoan, Mayan, and others. Some other families, especially in the western and southern parts of the continent, are characterized by moderate synthetism. Polysyntheticism is also characteristic of many South American languages. One of the main polysynthetic features characteristic of Indian languages is the presence of pronominal indicators in the verb; for example, -nigi 'we' in yana and -ha- 'he' in Mohawk. This phenomenon can also be considered as the so-called vertex marking - the designation of the relationship between the predicate and its arguments at the vertex, that is, in the verb. Many Indian languages are characterized by the incorporation into the verb not only of pronominal morphemes, but also of nominal roots, especially those corresponding to the semantic roles of patient, instrument, and place.
On the material of the Indian languages, the active construction of the sentence was discovered for the first time. It is characteristic of such families as the Pomoan, Siouan, Caddoan, Iroquoian, Muscogean, Keresian, and others in North America, and of the Tupian languages in South America. The concept of languages of the active system is largely built on these Indian languages.
G. A. Klimova.
The data of Indian languages significantly influenced the development of word order typology. In studies of basic word order, facts from South American languages are often cited to illustrate rare orders. Thus, in the Caribbean language of Khishkaryana, according to D. Derbyshire (USA), the basic order “object + predicate + subject” is presented, which is very rare in the languages of the world. The material of the Indian languages also played an important role in the development of the typology of the pragmatic word order. For example, R. Tomlin and R. Rhodes (USA) found that in Algonquian Ojibwa the most neutral order, as opposed to that which is usual for European languages, is the following of thematic information after the non-thematic (see Actual division of the sentence).
In a number of Indian languages, there is a contrast between proximate (near) and obviative (distant) 3 persons. The best-known system of this type is in the Algonquian languages. Nominal phrases are explicitly marked as referring to a proximal or obviative person; the proximal is usually a well-known or close to the speaker person. On the basis of the difference between two 3rd persons in a number of Indian languages, the grammatical category of the inverse is built. So, in the Algonquian languages, there is a personal hierarchy: 1st, 2nd person > 3rd proximal person > 3rd obviative person. If in a transitive sentence the agent is higher than the patient in this hierarchy, then the verb is marked as a direct form, and if the agent is lower than the patient, then the verb is marked as inverse.
Before the Spanish conquest, a number of Indian peoples had their own writing systems: the Aztecs used pictography (see Aztec script); The Maya had a highly developed logosyllabic system derived from the earlier writings of Mesoamerica, the only fully functional writing known to be unrelated in origin to the writings of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia (see Mayan writing). In the 1st quarter of the 19th century, the Cherokee Indian, known as Sequoyah, invented an original syllabic writing system for his language, some of whose characters outwardly resemble the letters of the Latin alphabet. In the middle of the 19th century, the American missionary J. Evans invented an original syllabary for the Cree language, which was later applied to other languages of the region (Algonquian, Athabaskan and Eskimo) and is still partially used (see Canadian syllabary). The writing systems for the vast majority of Indian languages are based on the Latin alphabet. In some cases, these systems are used in practical orthography, but for most Indian languages - only for scientific purposes.
The first evidence of Europeans about the Indian languages of North and South America began to appear immediately after the start of colonization. European travelers, starting with H. Columbus, made small lists of words. One of the interesting early publications is a dictionary of the Iroquois language from the St. Lawrence River, compiled with the help of Indians captured by J. Cartier and brought to France; it is assumed that F. Rabelais took part in the creation of the dictionary (published in 1545). Missionaries played an important role in the study of Indian languages; for example, the Spanish Jesuit Domingo Agustín Vaez described the Guale language in the 1560s, which was common on the coast of Georgia and subsequently disappeared. The missionary tradition of studying Indian languages is also important for modern Indian studies (the activities of the Summer Institute of Linguistics in the Americas). Public figures were also interested in Indian languages. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, T. Jefferson organized work on compiling dictionaries of various languages, partly on the advice of the Russian Empress Catherine II. The actual linguistic study of North American languages began in the 19th century. In 1838, P. S. Duponceau (USA) drew attention to the typological similarity of many of them - namely, to their polysyntheticism. K. W. von Humboldt studied a number of Indian languages, his grammar is most widely known in Nahuatl. The work of JW Powell played a major role in the cataloging and documentation of Indian languages. A qualitatively new stage is associated with the activities of F. Boas, who at the end of the 19th - 1st half of the 20th century researched and described dozens of Indian languages of different families, laid the American anthropological and linguistic tradition based on the recording and study of texts, and trained a number of well-known linguists - Americanists (A. Kroeber, L. Frachtenberg, A. Finney and others). Boas's student E. Sapir is the founder of the scientific study of many language families in North America, both synchronously-structural and comparative-historical. He educated linguists who made a great contribution to the study of Indian languages (B. Whorf, M. Swadesh, H. Hoyer, M. Haas, C. F. Woeglin, and many others). American and Canadian linguists and scientists from other countries are studying Indian languages. The languages of Mesoamerica and South America are less documented than those of North America. This is partly due to the absence of a tradition of studying indigenous languages in Latin American linguistics. Only individual South American linguists (for example, A. Rodriguez in Brazil) were engaged in the study of Indian languages in the 20th century. However, in modern science, this situation is gradually changing for the better. Researchers of Indian languages are united in a professional association - the Society for the Study of Native Languages of America.
An important trace in the study of Indian languages was left during the time of Russian America by Russian travelers and scientists [N. P. Rezanov, L. F. Radlov, F. P. Wrangel, L. A. Zagoskin, I. E. Veniaminov (Innokenty]), P. S. Kostromitinov and others. I.
The authors of the first genealogical classifications of Indian languages are the American researchers A. Gallaten (1848) and D. H. Trumbull (1876). A truly comprehensive and highly influential classification of 1891 is that of D. W. Powell and his collaborators in the Bureau of American Ethnology. It identifies 58 language families in North America, many of which have retained their status in the modern classification. In 1891, another important classification appeared, which belongs to D. Brinton (USA); it introduces a number of important terms (especially the "Uto-Aztec family"). In addition, it included the languages of not only North but also South America. More recent classifications of North American languages have been based on Powell's, while South American languages have been based on Brinton's.
After the publication of Powell's classification, attempts began to reduce the number of North American families. A. Kroeber and R. Dixon radically reduced the number of families in California and, in particular, postulated the associations of “hawk” and “penuti”. The reductionist tendency of the early 20th century was most clearly manifested in the well-known classification of E. Sapir (1921, 1929), in which the languages of North America were combined into 6 macrofamilies: Eskimo-Aleut, Algonquian-Wakash, Na-Dene, Penutian, Hokan-Siouan and Aztec-Tanoan. Sapir considered his classification as a preliminary hypothesis, but later it was absolutized and reproduced many times without proper reservations. As a result, there has been an erroneous impression among researchers that the Algonquian-Wakashian, Hokan-Siouan associations are established language families. In fact, in the 1920s, none of the Sapir associations had adequate work in the field of comparative studies and reconstruction. The reality of the Eskimo-Aleutian family was later confirmed by such work, and the remaining 5 Sepir macrofamilies were revised or generally rejected by most specialists. Sapir's classification, like a number of later hypotheses about distant kinship, has only historical significance.
Since the 1960s, conservative classifications have dominated, including only reliably proven language families. The book Indigenous Languages of America (eds. L. Campbell and M. Mitun, USA; 1979) provides a list of 62 language families (including some Mesoamerican families) between which there is no reliable relationship. About half of them are genealogically isolated single languages. The 1979 concept is based on a qualitatively new level of knowledge about most North American languages: in the 1960s and 1970s, detailed comparative historical work was carried out on all nuclear families in North America, and the documentation of languages has increased significantly. In the 17th volume (“Languages”) of the fundamental “Handbook of North American Indians” (editor I. Goddard, 1996), a “consensus classification” is published, which, with minor changes, repeats the 1979 classification and also includes 62 language families.
The first detailed classification of South American languages was proposed in 1935 by the Czech linguist C. Loukotka. Includes 113 language families. In the future, a lot of work on the classification of the languages of the Amazon was carried out by A. Rodriguez. One of the most modern classifications belongs to T. Kaufman (USA; 1990, 1994); it contains 118 families, of which 64 are isolate languages. According to the classification of L. Campbell (1997), there are 145 language families in South America.
J. Greenberg proposed in 1987 to unite all Indian languages, except for Na-Dene, into a single macrofamily - the so-called Amerindian. However, the vast majority of experts were skeptical about this hypothesis and the methodology of "mass comparison" of languages behind it. Therefore, the term "Amerindian languages" is not recommended for use.
Lit .: Klimov G. A. Typology of the languages of the active system. M., 1977; The languages of Native America. Historical and comparative assessment / Eds. Campbell L., Mithun M. Austin, 1979; Suärez J. A. The Mesoamerican Indian languages. Camb., 1983; Kaufman T. Language history in South America: What we know and how to know more // Amazonian linguistics: Studies in Lowland South American languages / Ed. Payne D. Austin, 1990; idem. The native languages of South America // Atlas of the world's languages / Eds. Mosley C., Asher R. E. L., 1994; Handbook of North American Indians. Wash., 1996. Vol. 17: Languages / Ed. Goddard I.; Campbell L. American Indian languages: The historical linguistics of Native America. N.Y.; Oxf., 1997; The Amazonian languages / Eds. Dixon R. M. W., Aikhenvald A. Y. Camb., 1997; Mithun M. The languages of Native North America. Camb., 1999; Adelaar W. F. H., Muysken R. C. The languages of the Andes. Camb., 2004.
Indian (Amerindian) the living and dead languages \u200b\u200bof the indigenous population of America are called (with the exception of the Eskimo-Aleut). There are more than 3,000 of them. In general, more than 27 million people speak Indian languages.
Major families of Native American languages in North America(USA, Canada, a large part of Mexico): Na-Dene (75 languages), Salish (38 languages), Algonquian (74 languages), Sioux (more than 10 languages), Iroquois (about 20 languages), Gulf (65 languages), Xocaltec (79 languages).
The Na-Dene languages are sometimes genetically related to the languages of the Old World (primarily Sino-Tibetan).
The Algonquian-Wakash macrofamily (filia or phyla) combines (according to E. Sapir) the Algonquian, Ritwan, isolated Beotuk and Kutene languages, as well as the Salish, Chimakum and Waqash languages combined into the Mosan family.
E. Sapir includes the Hocaltec languages (together with the languages of Caddo, Iroquois, Sioux, Gulf, etc.) in the Hoka-Sioux macrofamily.
Mainly in Central America Tano-Aztec, Otomang, Maya families are represented.
About 1.5 million people speak the Tano-Aztec Filia languages in the south and west of the United States and in northern Mexico. This branch includes the Uto-Aztec family. According to S. Lam's classification, it is subdivided into 8 subfamilies: Numic, Hopi, Tubatiulabal (in 1977 there were 10 speakers). Shoshone, Aztec, Pimic, Tarakait, Korachol.
The total number of speakers of the languages of the Otomang family is about 1.2 million people. Some researchers include this family (together with the Penuti, Uto-Aztecan and Mayasoke-Totonac languages) into the large Macropenuti family. R.E. Longaker divides the Otomang languages into 7 groups: Otopamean, Popolok, Mixteq, Choroteg, Zapotec, Chinanteq, and Amusgo.
The languages of the Maya Quiche family (subfamily Maya with 4 groups and Quiche with 3 groups) are spoken in Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, they are spoken by about 2.3 million people. J.H. Greenberg grouped the Maya-Kiche, Totonac, and Mihe-Soque languages into the Maya-Soke family, which is further included in the hypothetical large Macro-Penutian family.
The largest families of Indian languages in South America: Chibcha, Arawakan, Caribbean, Quechumara, Pano-Tacana, Tupi-Guarani. Many isolated languages and small language groups remain outside the classification.
Most of the Chibchan languages spoken in Central and South America have died out. About 600,000 people speak living languages. According to Ch. Lowkotka, the Chibchan languages are divided into 20 groups.
The Arawakan languages, which are spoken by about 400,000 people from South Florida and the Caribbean islands to Paraguay and from the Pacific coast of Peru to the Amazon Delta, are (according to J. Greenberg) included in the equatorial group of Ando-Equatorial philia.
The Caribbean family has about 100 languages spoken by about 170,000 people (Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Venezuela, northern Brazil, parts of Colombia and the interior of Brazil). J. Greenberg includes these languages (together with the languages of Pano, Nambiquara, Huarpe, Peba, Witoto, etc.) into the Pano-Caribbean macrofamily.
The Quechumara family (more than 16 million speakers) includes the Quechua and Aymara languages (both are official languages in Bolivia, along with Spanish). Genetic links to other languages are unclear.
The languages of the Pano-Takana family (about 40 languages, the Pano and Takano groups) are common in Peru, Bolivia, Brazil (the number of speakers is about 120,000 people). These languages (together with the languages of Chile and Argentina, Chon, Mannequin, Ona, Tehuelche, Tehuesh, Moseten, Yuracare) are included in the wider macro-Pana-Tacan genetic association. A distant relationship with the Kechumara and Kayuvawa languages is assumed. There are common material overlaps with the Tukano languages.
The family includes about 10 languages spoken in the southeast of Brazil (35,000 speakers). It is part of a large macrozhe family (together with the Mashakali and Karazh languages). A distant genetic connection with the Tupi-Guarani and Bororo families is assumed.
The Tupi-Guarani family has more than 50 languages spoken in Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia (about 4 million speakers). It is divided into 7 main groups: actually Tupi-Guarani, Yurun, Arikem, Tupari, Ramamara, Monde, Purubora. A relationship with the Arawakan and Tukano languages is assumed. J. Greenberg refers them, together with the Arawakans, to the equatorial group of the Ando-Equatorial philia. Group on the den
Chipevyan
Koyukon
Hupa
Navajo
Kiowa Apache
Eyak
Tlingit
Haida
Hoka Sioux group
Subtiabatlapanecian
Hoka
Coaviltec
Cherokee (aka Tsalagi)
Other Iroquoian languages
Caddo
Sioux
Lakota
Muskogee (scream)
Algonquian-Ritwan
Arapaho
Blackfoot
Cheyenne
Cree
Eastern Algonquian
Ojibwa (Ojibwe)
Shawnee
Wiyot
Yurok
Penutian
Maidu
Miwok
Oregon
Chinchuk
klamath modoc
Sahaptin
Tsimshian
Mikshe juice
wave
Tano-Aztec
Hopi
Numic (Platoshoshonian)
Taki (Taky)
Aztec
Pymic
Kiowa
Tiva
Indian languages of South America
Araucanian
Chibcha
macro same
Paesian
Quechua
Tucano
Caribbean
Vitoto
Arawak
Jivaro
Nambikwara
Pano
Yanomansky
Takan
Guarani
Saparo
