Taos dialect
| Taos | |
|---|---|
| Native to | United States |
| Region | Taos Pueblo, New Mexico |
| Ethnicity | 1,600 (2007) |
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Native speakers
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1,000 (2007) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 |
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| Glottolog |
taos1236 (Taos)nort1550 (Northern Tiwa)
|
| Linguasphere | 64-CAA-a |
Location of city of Taos ("Taos village") in Taos County New Mexico. Taos Pueblo is about two miles north of the city of Taos.
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The Taos language of the Northern Tiwa language branch of the Tanoan language family is spoken in Taos Pueblo, New Mexico.
In data collected in 1935 and 1937, George L. Trager (1946) notes that Taos was spoken by all members of the Taos Pueblo community. Additionally, most speakers were bilingual in either Spanish or English: speakers over 50 years of age were fluent in Spanish, adult speakers younger than 50 spoke Spanish and English, children around 5 years old could speak English but not Spanish—generally a decrease in age correlated with a decrease in Spanish fluency and an increase in English fluency. Pre-school children and a few very old women were monolingual Taos speakers.
A more recent report by Gomez (2003) notes that the language "until a few years ago remained viable only in age groups of thirty and older", a sign that Taos is being affected by language endangerment pressures. Nonetheless, it is one of 46 languages in North America that are being spoken by significant numbers of children as of 1995 (Goddard 1996). The most recent estimate is from 1980 with about 800 native speakers out of 1600 ethnic population (50% of the population).
Taos speakers have historically been reluctant to provide linguists with language data to work with and have preferred to keep their language secret from outsiders. G. Trager had to work with his consultants in private and keep their identities in confidence. The tendency for secrecy is a continuing general Pueblo reaction starting in the 17th century in large part due to the oppressive persecution (including public executions and torture) of Pueblo religious practices by the colonial Spanish. The Taos community has been particularly guarded about revealing their language (and culture) to outsiders when compared with other eastern pueblos in New Mexico. Due to secrecy practices, the details of language preservation are not known outside of the community.
G. Trager found no dialectal variation in the 1930-1940s.
Taos belongs to a northern sub-grouping on the Tiwa branch of the Tanoan language family. It is closely related to and partly mutually intelligible with Picurís (spoken at Picuris Pueblo). It is slightly more distantly related to Southern Tiwa (spoken at Isleta Pueblo and Sandia Pueblo).
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