Chochenyo language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Chochenyo |
|
|---|---|
| Čočeño | |
| Native to | United States (California) |
| Ethnicity | Chochenyo people |
| Extinct | 1934, with the death of José Guzmán |
| Language family | |
| Writing system | Latin |
Chochenyo (also called Chocheño) is a language once spoken by the Chochenyo people. These people are a Native American group from the San Francisco Bay Area in California. Chochenyo is part of the larger Ohlone languages family. This family belongs to the even bigger Utian language family.
Experts believe that Chochenyo, along with Tamyen and Ramaytush, were different ways of speaking the same language. Sadly, we don't have many records of Tamyen and Ramaytush. The last two people who spoke Chochenyo as their first language were recorded in the 1920s. A linguist named John Peabody Harrington wrote down their words. The very last native speaker, José Guzmán, passed away in 1934 in Niles, California.
Bringing the Language Back
The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe is working hard to bring the Chochenyo language back to life. As of 2007, this tribe was asking the U.S. government for official recognition.
- By 2004, the tribe had created a database with between 1,000 and 2,000 basic Chochenyo words.
- By 2009, many students were able to have conversations in Chochenyo.
- The Chochenyo dictionary has grown a lot in the 21st century. This happened by creating new words and adding more details to existing ones.
- On September 23, 2015, something special happened. During the canonization (making someone a saint) of Saint Junípero Serra, a member of the Muwekma Ohlone tribe, Vincent Medina, read the first reading at Mass in Chochenyo. This showed how far the language revival efforts had come.
See also
In Spanish: Idioma chocheño para niños
