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Nevada, a state in the western region of the United States of America, hosts a large number of Native Americans who have traditionally lived in the Great Basin, a large geographic feature of Nevada. There are four Native American languages that are spoken by recognized tribes of Nevada, three of which fall under the Uto-Aztecan languages classification (Ute, Paiute, and Shoshone),[1][a] while the other is an isolate. A minority language is also spoken in Nevada.

Distribution

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

Language Classification Number of Speakers Total Ethnic Population Tribe(s) Included Location(s) in Nevada Significant External Populations
Washo Language Isolate 20 1,100 Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, Carson Colony, Dresslerville Colony, Stewart Community, Washoe Ranch, Woodfords Community, Reno-Sparks Indian Colony California
Northern Paiute Uto-Aztecan: Numic: Western Numic 700 5,000 Northern Paiute Lovelock Indian Colony, Fallon Reservation and Colony, Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation, Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, Duck Valley Indian Reservation, Summit Lake Indian Reservation, Walker River Indian Reservation, Winnemucca Indian Colony, Yerington Colony and Campbell Ranch, Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation Idaho
Shoshone Uto-Aztecan: Numic: Central Numic 2,000 12,300 Western Shoshone, Goshute, Shoshone (unspecified for Ely I.R.) Duckwater Reservation, Ely Shoshone Indian Reservation, Fallon Reservation and Colony, Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, Duck Valley Indian Reservation, Battle Mountain Indian Reservation, Elko Indian Colony, South Fork and Odgers Ranch Indian Colony, Wells Indian Colony, Winnemucca Indian Colony, Yomba Indian Reservation, Goshute Indian Reservation, Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation Idaho, Wyoming, Utah
Colorado River Numic Uto-Aztecan: Numic: Southern Numic 2,000 5,000 Southern Paiute, Ute Las Vegas Indian Colony, Moapa River Indian Reservation Utah, Colorado, Arizona, California

Minority languages

See also

Notes

  1. ^ According to the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Comanche is also spoken in Nevada.

References

  1. ^ "Native American Languages". Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia (6th ed.). 2021. Retrieved 2024-02-09 – via EBSCOHost.
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