Chiricahua Apache language

Mescalero-Chiricahua
Ndee bizaa
Native to	USA
Region	Oklahoma, New Mexico
Ethnicity	3,000+ Chiricahua (2007)
Native speakers	1,500 (2007)
Language family	Dené–Yeniseian? Na-Dene Athabaskan Southern Athabaskan Southwestern Apache Western Mescalero-Chiricahua
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Glottolog	mesc1238
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters.

Mescalero-Chiricahua (also known as Mescalero-Chiricahua Apache) is a Southern Athabaskan language spoken by the Mescalero and Chiricahua tribes in Oklahoma and New Mexico. It is related to Navajo and Western Apache. Mescalero-Chiricahua has been described in great detail by the anthropological linguist Harry Hoijer (1904–1976), especially in Hoijer & Opler (1938) and Hoijer (1946). Hoijer & Opler's Chiricahua and Mescalero Apache Texts, including a grammatical sketch and traditional religious and secular stories, has been converted into an online "book" available from the University of Virginia.

Virginia Klinekole, the first female president of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, was known for her efforts to preserve the language.

There is at least one Apache language immersion school for children in Mescalero.

The 31 consonants of Mescalero-Chiricahua:

The 16 vowels of Mescalero-Chiricahua:

Mescalero-Chiricahua has phonemic oral, nasal, short, and long vowels.

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