Western Apache language

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Western Apache
Ndee biyati' / Nnee biyati'
Spoken in United States
Region Primarily south-east Arizona
Native speakers 12,693 [1]  (date missing)
Language family
Dené–Yeniseian
Language codes
ISO 639-3 apw

The Western Apache language is a Southern Athabaskan language spoken by over 12,000 of the Western Apache peoples living primarily in east central Arizona. Goodwin (1938) claims that Western Apache can be divided into five dialect groupings:

  • Cibecue,
  • Northern Tonto,
  • Southern Tonto,
  • San Carlos
  • White Mountain

Other researchers do not find any linguistic evidence for five groups, but rather three main varieties with several subgroupings:

Western Apache is most closely related to other Southern Athabaskan languages like Navajo, Chiricahua Apache, Mescalero Apache, Lipan Apache, Plains Apache, and Jicarilla Apache.

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[edit] References and recommended reading

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