Kutenai, also known as Ktunaxa, is a language isolate native to the Kootenay region spanning Montana and Idaho in the United States and British Columbia in Canada. It is typically considered unrelated to the neighboring Salishan languages, and proposed groupings within a broader Macro-Algonquian or Macro-Salishan family are not generally accepted. As of 2012 only about 24 fluent speakers remained, all over the age of 65, though later census counts report higher numbers of people claiming some knowledge of the language; UNESCO classifies Kutenai as severely endangered. The Ktunaxa people pursue active revitalization efforts, including digital archives, community language apps and programs at institutions such as Salish Kootenai College.
Facts
RegionKootenay region: Montana and Idaho, United States, and British Columbia, Canada 1 Proto-Language StatusLanguage isolate; typically considered unrelated to the neighboring Salishan family of languages. 1 In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Kutenai Language
Wikimedia FoundationLead section: location
Kutenai, also Kootenai, Kootenay, Ktunaxa, and Ksanka, is the native language of the Kutenai people of Montana and Idaho in the United States and British Columbia in Canada.
Lead section: classification
It is typically considered a language isolate, unrelated to the Salishan family of languages spoken by neighboring tribes on the coast and in the interior Plateau.
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