Washo is an endangered Native American language, usually considered a language isolate, spoken by the Washo on the California-Nevada border in the drainages of the Truckee and Carson Rivers, especially around Lake Tahoe. It is sometimes classified as a Hokan language, though this proposed family is not universally accepted among specialists. As of 2011 only about 20 elderly native speakers remained, though a language immersion school running since 1994 has produced a number of moderately fluent younger speakers, and revitalization efforts continue through the Washoe Tribe's Cultural Resource Department.
Facts
RegionCalifornia-Nevada border, in the drainages of the Truckee and Carson Rivers, especially around Lake Tahoe. 1 Speaker CountAs of 2011 only about twenty elderly speakers remained who had learned Washo as children. A tribal immersion school running since 1994 has since produced additional moderately fluent younger speakers, not included in this figure. Proto-Language StatusWasho is a language isolate with no demonstrated genetic relatives, so no proto-language has been reconstructed for it. A proposed inclusion in a wider Hokan family, which would imply a Proto-Hokan ancestor, is not accepted by most specialists. 1 In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Washo Language
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
in the drainages of the Truckee and Carson Rivers, especially around Lake Tahoe
Lead section, speaker figure sentence
there were only 20 elderly native speakers of Washo as of 2011
Classification section, first sentence
Washo is usually considered a language isolate. That is, it shares no demonstrated link with any other language
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