Yana is the language of the Yana people, who lived in north-central California between the Feather and Pit rivers in what is now Shasta and Tehama counties. It was often classified within the proposed Hokan superstock, though contemporary linguists generally consider it a language isolate. The last speaker of its southernmost dialect, called Yahi, was Ishi, who died in 1916, and the language is now extinct.
Facts
RegionNorth-central California, United States, between the Feather and Pit rivers, in what is now Shasta and Tehama counties. 1 Speaker CountExtinct; the last speaker of the southernmost dialect, Yahi, was Ishi, who died in 1916. Proto-Language StatusNo Proto-Yana reconstruction has been published; Yana is generally considered a language isolate, despite Sapir's earlier grouping of it within a proposed Northern Hokan sub-family with Karuk, Chimariko, Shastan, Palaihnihan and Pomoan. 1 Connections
Associated With
Hokan, Language Families Why this is disputed. Sapir suggested grouping Yana within a Northern Hokan sub-family with Karuk, Chimariko, Shastan, Palaihnihan and Pomoan; contemporary linguists generally reject this and treat Yana as an isolate.
Source Wikipedia: Yana Language
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Yana Language
Wikimedia FoundationLead paragraph
The last speaker of the southernmost dialect, which is called Yahi, was Ishi, who died in 1916.
Classification section
Contemporary linguists generally consider Yana to be a language isolate.
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