Shastan languages facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Shastan |
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| Geographic distribution: |
Northern California |
| Linguistic classification: | Hokan ?
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| Subdivisions: |
Konomihu †
Shasta †
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 Pre-contact distribution of Shastan languages
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The Shastan (or Sastean) family was a group of four languages. People spoke these languages in what is now northern California and southern Oregon. Sadly, all of these languages are now extinct.
Contents
What Were the Shastan Languages?
The Shastan family included four main languages. They are all marked with a dagger symbol (†) to show they are no longer spoken.
- Konomihu (†)
- New River Shasta (†)
- Okwanuchu (†)
- Shasta (also called Shastika) (†)
The Konomihu language seemed to be the most different from the others. Okwanuchu might have been a special way of speaking Shasta, like a dialect. The Shasta language itself had several different dialects.
Why Are These Languages Extinct?
All the languages in the Shastan family are now extinct. This means no one speaks them anymore. The Shasta language was the last one to be spoken. In the 1980s, only three older people were known to still speak it.
How Are Shastan Languages Related to Others?
Experts often think Shastan languages might be part of a bigger group. This larger group is called the Hokan language family. However, this connection is still a theory and not fully proven.
Images for kids
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Map showing where Shastan languages were spoken long ago.
See also
- Extinct language
- Indigenous languages of California
