Tunica language
| Tunica | |
|---|---|
| Luhchi Yoroni | |
| Native to | United States |
| Region | Central Louisiana |
| Extinct | Extinct as a first language in 1948 with the death of Sesostrie Youchigant |
| Revival | 32 L2 speakers (2017) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | tuni1252 |
Pre-contact distribution of the Tunica language.
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The Tunica (or Tonica, or less common form Yuron) language is a language isolate that was spoken in the Central and Lower Mississippi Valley in the United States by Native American Tunica peoples. There are no native speakers of the Tunica language, but as of 2017[update], there are 32 second language speakers.
The last known native speaker, Sesostrie Youchigant, died in 1948. Linguist Mary Haas worked with Youchigant to describe what he remembered of the language, and the description was published in A Grammar of the Tunica Language in 1941. This was followed by Tunica Texts in 1950 and Tunica Dictionary in 1953.
By the 17th century, the people had suffered a high rate of fatalities due to Eurasian infectious diseases, warfare and social disruption. The reduced Tunica tribe lived close to the Ofo and Avoyelles tribes in present-day Louisiana. They communicated by Mobilian Jargon or French. Due to this circumstance of small population and use of a jargon, Mary Haas noted that the eventual deterioration of the Tunica language was inevitable.
In 2010, the Tunica-Biloxi tribe formed the Tunica Language Project in partnership with the Linguistics Program at Tulane University in a continuing effort to revitalize the Tunica language. Tribal members read from a new children's book in Tunica at a 2010 pow wow. Only about half of the tribal members live within 75 miles (121 km) of Avoyelles Parish, where the reservation is located. For this reason, as of 2014, the Tunica-Biloxi Language & Culture Revitalization Program is planning to use long-distance learning and social media.
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