Lakota language
| Lakota | |
|---|---|
| Lakȟótiyapi | |
| Pronunciation | [la.ˈkχo.ti.ja.pi] |
| Native to | United States, with some speakers in Canada |
| Region | Primarily North Dakota and South Dakota, but also northern Nebraska, southern Minnesota, and northern Montana |
| Ethnicity | Teton Sioux |
|
Native speakers
|
6,000 (1997) |
|
Siouan
|
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | lako1247 |
Lakota (Lakȟótiyapi), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of the Sioux tribes. Though generally taught and considered by speakers as a separate language, Lakota is mutually intelligible with the other two languages (cf. Dakota language), and is considered by most linguists one of the three major varieties of the Sioux language. The Lakota language represents one of the largest Native American language speech communities in the United States, with approximately 2,000 speakers living mostly in northern plains states of North Dakota and South Dakota. There is a Lakota language program online available for children to use. There is also a Lakota Language Program with classes for children at Red Cloud Indian School.
The language was first put into written form by missionaries around 1840 and has since evolved to reflect contemporary needs and usage.
The Lakota people's creation stories say that language originated from the creation of the tribe.
Lakota has five oral vowels, /i e a o u/, and three nasal vowels, /ĩ ã ũ/ (phonetically [ɪ̃ ə̃ ʊ̃]). Lakota /e/ and /o/ are said to be more open than the corresponding cardinal vowels, perhaps closer to [ɛ] and [ɔ]. Orthographically, the nasal vowels are written with a following ⟨ƞ⟩, ⟨ŋ⟩, or ⟨n⟩; historically, these were written with ogoneks underneath, ⟨į ą ų⟩. No syllables end with consonantal /n/.
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