Native American languages: Aztec-Tanoan

The two principal branches of the Aztec-Tanoan linguistic stock are Uto-Aztecan and Tanoan, and their languages are spoken in areas extending from the NW United States to Mexico and Central America. Uto-Aztecan has such subdivisions, or groups, as Nahuatlan, whose languages are spoken in Mexico and parts of Central America, and Shoshonean, to which Comanche, Hopi, Paiute, Shoshone, and Ute belong. Ute and Paiute are found in Utah, Nevada, California, and Arizona; Comanche and Shoshone are spoken in Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, California, and Oklahoma; Hopi is found in Arizona. The languages of the Tanoan branch of Aztec-Tanoan are spoken in the Rio Grande valley, New Mexico, and Arizona. Zuñi (found in New Mexico) may be connected with Tanoan. The Aztec-Tanoan languages show a degree of polysynthesism.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Influence and Survival
• Writing and Sign Language
• Languages of South America and the West Indies
• Languages of Mexico and Central America
• Aztec-Tanoan
• Hokan-Siouan
• Nadene and Penutian
• Algonquian-Wakashan
• Languages of North America
• Characteristics
• Classification
• Bibliography

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