Algonquian languages
| Algonquian | |
|---|---|
| Algonkian | |
| Geographic distribution: |
North America |
| Linguistic classification: |
Algic
|
| Proto-language: | Proto-Algonquian |
| Subdivisions: | |
| ISO 639-2 / 5: | |
| Glottolog: | algo1256 |
Pre-contact distribution of Algonquian languages
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The Algonquian languages (/ælˈɡɒŋkiən/ or /ælˈɡɒŋkwiən/; also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the indigenous Ojibwe language (Chippewa), which is a senior member of the Algonquian language family. The term "Algonquin" has been suggested to derive from the Maliseet word elakómkwik (pronounced [ɛlæˈɡomoɡwik]), "they are our relatives/allies". A number of Algonquian languages, like many of the Iroquoian languages of the hereditary enemies of the Algonquian peoples, have already become extinct.
Speakers of Algonquian languages stretch from the east coast of North America to the Rocky Mountains. The proto-language from which all of the languages of the family descend, Proto-Algonquian, was spoken around 2,500 to 3,000 years ago. There is no scholarly consensus about where this language was spoken.
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