Chickasaw language

Chickasaw
Chikashshanompaꞌ
Native toUnited States
RegionSouth central Oklahoma, from Byng or Happyland (near Ada) north, and from Davis or Ardmore west to Fillmore and Wapanucka in east.
Ethnicity35,000 (1999)[1]
Native speakers
75 (2017)[1]
Muskogean
  • Western Muskogean
    • Chickasaw
Language codes
ISO 639-3cic
Glottologchic1270
ELPChickasaw
Historical (blue) Chickasaw territory and current (teal) Chickasaw territory (Chickasaw Nation), where the language was and is currently spoken
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.
PeopleChikashsha
LanguageChikashshanompaꞌ
CountryChikashsha Yaki

The Chickasaw language (Chikashshanompaꞌ, IPA: [tʃikaʃːanompaʔ]) is a Native American language of the Muskogean family. It is agglutinative and follows the word order pattern of subject–object–verb (SOV).[2] The language is closely related to, though perhaps not entirely mutually intelligible with, Choctaw. It is spoken by the Chickasaw tribe, now residing in Southeast Oklahoma, centered on Ada.

The language is currently spoken by around 50 people, mostly Chickasaw elders who grew up with the language. Due to boarding schools in the 20th century and Chickasaw removal from their homeland in the 19th century, the widespread knowledge about the language and culture amongst the nation has largely decreased. This being said, there are increasingly more accessible resources for teaching, learning, and preserving this and many other Native American languages, as of the year 2021. There is indeed growing interest in learning, teaching, and preserving this endangered language. The Chickasaw Nation has online resources for teaching this language that are of great utility.

  1. ^ a b Chickasaw at Ethnologue (21st ed., 2018) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Munro, Pamela; Catherine Willmond (2008). Chikashshanompaꞌ Kilanompoliꞌ. University of Oklahoma Press.

© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search