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Native American languages of Utah

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Utah, a state in the western United States that straddles the intersection of the Colorado Plateau, the Great Basin, and the Rocky Mountains, has been the traditional home of several Uto-Aztecan bands from a few tribes that are considered Paiute and Shoshone. The Shoshone in Utah belong to the Goshute and Northern Shoshone linguistic group, while the various Paiute peoples either belong to the Ute or Southern Paiute linguistic classifications. As such, in total, there are two Native American languages spoken in Utah: Shoshone and Colorado River Numic.

Distribution

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There are two Native American languages currently spoken in Utah. Population estimates are based on figures from Ethnologue and U.S. Census data, as given in sub-pages below. The two languages are shown in the table below:

Language Classification Number of Speakers Total Ethnic Population Tribe(s) Included Location(s) in Utah Significant External Populations
Shoshone Uto-Aztecan: Numic: Central Numic 2,000 12,300 Goshute, Northern Shoshone Skull Valley Indian Reservation, Goshute Indian Reservation, Washakie Indian Reservation Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada
Colorado River Numic Uto-Aztecan: Numic: Southern Numic 2,000 5,000 Ute, Southern Paiute Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation, Ute Mountain Indian Reservation, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah (Cedar Band Indian Reservation, Indian Peaks Band Indian Reservation, Kanosh Band Reservations, Koosharem Band Reservations, Shivwits Indian Reservation) Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, California

Minority Languages

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See also

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References

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