Survival of Native American Languages Today
The arrival of European culture was not kind to the indigenous cultures of the Americas. The population of the native civilizations of the current territory of the United States fell from about 20 million to the present level of less than 2 million. Beyond the shrinking size of the ethnic populations, the languages have also suffered due to the prevalence of English among those of Native American ancestry. Most Native American languages have ceased to exist, or are spoken only by older speakers, with whom the language will die in the coming decades.
Only 8 indigenous languages of the area of the continental United States currently have a population of speakers in the U.S. and Canada large enough to populate a medium-sized town. Only Navajo still has a population of greater than 25,000 within the U.S.
Only 8 indigenous languages of the area of the continental United States currently have a population of speakers in the U.S. and Canada large enough to populate a medium-sized town. Only Navajo still has a population of greater than 25,000 within the U.S.
Navajo
Athabaskan AZ, NM, UT 148,530 |
Cree
Algic MT, Canada 60,000 |
Ojibwa
Algic MN, ND, MT, MI, Canada 51,000 |
Cherokee
Iroquoian OK, NC 22,500 |
Dakota
Siouan NE, ND, SD, MN, MT, Canada 20,000 |
Apache
Athabaskan NM, AZ, OK 15,000 |
Apache
Athabaskan NM, AZ, OK 15,000 |
Choctaw
Muskogean OK, MS, LA 9,211 |