Keresan Language Family
The Keresan language family is a group of indigenous languages spoken primarily by the Keres Pueblo people in northwestern New Mexico. It is divided into two main subfamilies: Western Keresan, which includes the Acoma and Laguna dialects, and Eastern Keresan, covering the remaining dialects. These dialects are so closely related that they can often be treated as variations of a single language, with speakers of geographically adjacent dialects able to understand one another. As of 1977, estimates indicated approximately 4,500 speakers of Western Keresan and 4,000 speakers of Eastern Keresan.
Keresan is unique in that it has no confirmed linguistic relatives, though there have been various proposals for its connections to other language families, including Zuni and Aztec-Tanoan, which have not been substantiated. The language features a subject-object-verb (SOV) structure, and its complex sound system includes elements such as glottalized consonants, tones, and a distinction between dual and plural numbers. Over time, Keresan has also incorporated elements from Spanish due to bilingualism among speakers. The vitality of Keresan varies significantly, with Eastern dialects still robustly spoken among younger generations, while Western dialects face a risk of extinction as younger speakers increasingly prefer English.
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Keresan Language Family
- CULTURE AREA: Southwest
- TRIBES AFFECTED: Acoma, Cochiti, Laguna, Santa Ana, Santo Domingo, Zia
The Keresan language family consists of a group of languages spoken in the northwestern portion of New Mexico and is generally considered to fall into two subfamilies: Western Keresan, consisting of Acoma and Laguna, and Eastern Keresan, comprising the rest of the languages. The varieties of Keresan are so closely related that they can be regarded as dialects of a single language rather than as separate languages. The Keresan dialects form a chain in which geographically contiguous varieties are mutually intelligible. The Summer Institute of Linguistics estimated that in 1977, there were 4,500 speakers of the Western Keresan dialects and 4,000 speakers of the Eastern Keresan dialects. In the twenty-first century, the Keresan dialects are considered endangered languages, although through education and cultural programs, the number of speakers has risen slightly.
Keresan has no known linguistic relatives, although several relationships have been proposed. John Powell and Morris Swadesh both unsuccessfully attempted to relate Keresan to the Zuni language, while John Harrington put forth some evidence that Keresan is part of the Aztec-Tanoan stock (which is itself not unequivocally accepted). Edward Sapir placed Keresan in the now-defunct Hokan-Siouan phylum. Swadesh also suggested a relationship between Keresan and Caddoan. There is insufficient evidence to demonstrate any of these long-distance relationships.
Franz Boas was the first to record Keresan in the 1920s. In later years, Robert Spencer, J. R. Fox, Irvine Davis, and Wick Miller (among others) also carried out research on the various dialects. Keresan is an “SOV language” (the order of the constituents of the sentence is subject-object-verb) with a complex sound system that includes glottalized consonants and tones. Other traits include voiceless vowels and nasals, reduplication, noun incorporation (in which the object is incorporated into the verb), and a dual versus plural number distinction.
Cultural diffusion was common among the Pueblo Indigenous Americans, and there is some evidence of linguistic diffusion from other Pueblo languages into Keresan (notably from Zuni). In the more recent past, Keresan speakers were often bilingual in Spanish, leading to the introduction of Spanish loan words into Keresan. The vitality of these languages varies from community to community. For example, the use of the Eastern Keresan dialects is still strong among adults and children; as most children in the Western pueblos prefer English, however, those dialects are in danger of extinction.
Bibliography
“The Keres Language: A Language Family Fighting for Survival.” Atomic Scribe, 9 June 2022, atomicscribe.com/the-keres-language-a-language-family-fighting-for-survival. Accessed 27 Dec. 2024.
“Keres.” Omniglot, 14 Apr. 2024, www.omniglot.com/writing/keres.htm. Accessed 27 Dec. 2024.
“Rio Grande Keresan.” Endangered Language Project, endangeredlanguages.com/lang/6511. Accessed 27 Dec. 2024.