[Indigenous languages of the Americas] An introduction

Satellite photo of American continent, NASA [Public domain]

Before European invasion, the American continent was rich with thousands of diverse indigenous languages. Despite the enormous loss of knowledge, there is still sufficient evidence to identify hundreds of distinct indigenous languages in the Americas.

 

History of the indigenous peoples of America

It is thought that the American continent was first settled by humans migrating from Asia. They likely crossed the Beringia land bridge between Russia and Canada, settling first in Alaska and the Yukon. Evidence suggests human habitation from at least 20,000 years ago, possibly up to 40,000 years ago. It is believed that further immigration occured after this.

Satellite photo of Beringia, NASA [Public domain]

The continent was eventually rediscovered by European explorers and colonists in 1492 CE.

Unfortunately, the European colonists brought death, destruction, and competition. The settlers carried diseases like smallpox, both accidentally and deliberately. They used weapons to kill and bully natives out of desirable lands. The indigenous populations shrank in number very rapidly and were forced to resettle in small territories. The designated tribal lands usually lacked any natural wealth and well-known examples include freezing tundras and humid swamps. Any time useful resources were discovered in tribal lands, the indigenous people were moved again to new lands.

The new American societies enforced the teaching of European languages, particularly English, Spanish, Portuguese, French and Dutch. Religious conversions were enforced. Americans destroyed records of native languages, histories, religions, and culture. Rapid population growth and societal development consumed the natural resources of the lands and forced native populations to integrate into American society or live in poverty.

Even in recent times, these lands are polluted by the scavenging of useful resources (such as uranium) and the dumping of waste from American cities and industries. Today the remaining tribal societies struggle with the loss of their identities and lifestyles. Crime, drug addiction and other social problems plague these modern indigenous societies.

 

History of the indigenous languages of the Americas

There are some linguistic theories which speculate that Asian immigration waves carried forth the ancestors of the Indigenous American languages.

There is a 1923 proposal that Yeniseian, a language family of Central Siberia (modern Russia, Kazakhstan) is related to the Na-Dené language family of North America. After many years of research, this proposal has found credibility among many modern linguists. This shows a relationship between many languages in America (the 'New' world) and Eurasia (the 'Old' world). This language family is known as the Dené–Yeniseian languages. Navajo is a well-known example of an indigenous American language in this family.

Language family

Sadly, Ket is the only surviving language of the Yeniseian language family. Even this faces imminent extinction, with fewer than 210 native speakers in a population of 1,220 ethnic Ket people (2010 census). All modern Ket speakers are also fluent in Russian, since this is the official language of the Russian Federation. 

glottolog.org

Satellite photo of Yensei gulf and river (center-right), Siberia, NASA [Public domain]

Satellite photo of Yensei gulf (center-left), where the river meets the Kara sea, NASA [Public domain]

 

Famous indigenous languages of the Americas

Canada and North America

• Na-Dené languages (170,000 speakers)
• Navajo (167,000 speakers)
• Algic languages (130,000 speakers)
• Ojibwa (89,160 speakers)
• Cree (10,875 speakers)
• Iroquoian languages (25,000 speakers)
• Cherokee (12,300 speakers)
• Mohawk (4,090 speakers)
• Siouan languages (31,000 speakers)
• Crow (4,160 speakers)
• Sioux (25,000 speakers)
• Lakota (2,200 speakers)

Mesoamerica

• The Mayan languages  (5,800,000 speakers)
• Yucatec (762,520 speakers)
• Q'eqchi' (733,600 speakers)
• Nahuatl (Aztec) (1,740,000 speakers)
• Nahuatl, Central (40,000 speakers)

South America

• Quechuan languages (Inca Empire) (7,735,620 speakers)
• Classical Quechua (extinct)

See more

• Youtube: Westworld, Lakota dialogue
• Actors with recent indigenous ancestry:
• IMDB: Zahn McClarnon (Lakota)
• IMDB:  Julia Jones (Choctaw, Chickasaw)
• IMDB: Amber Midthunder (Sioux)

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this article.