Northern Valley Yokuts facts for kids

Northern Valley Yokuts is a group of closely related ways of speaking, called dialects. These dialects are part of the larger Valley Yokuts language family. All of these languages belong to the even bigger Yokutsan language family. People have spoken these dialects in the Central Valley area of California for a very long time.

What is Northern Valley Yokuts?

Northern Valley Yokuts is a "dialect network." This means it's a collection of different dialects that are all connected. Think of it like different versions of the same language. People who speak one dialect can usually understand speakers of another dialect, even if there are small differences in words or sounds.

Where is it Spoken?

These dialects were traditionally spoken by Native American communities in the Central Valley of California. This area is a long, flat valley in the middle of the state.

Different Ways of Speaking: Dialects

Many different dialects make up the Northern Valley Yokuts network. Each one was spoken by a specific community or tribe. Some of these dialects include:

• Chawchila
• Nopṭinṭe
• Kechayi
• Dumna
• Dalinchi
• Toltichi
• Chukchansi

Northern Hill Dialects

Some of these dialects are often grouped together because they are very similar. These are called the Northern Hill dialects. This group includes Kechayi, Dumna, Dalinchi, Toltichi, and Chukchansi. They are called "Hill" dialects because the communities who spoke them lived in the foothills near the Central Valley.