Salinan is the historical Indigenous language of the Salinan people of the central coast of California, extinct since the death of its last speaker in 1958. It is considered a language isolate, though it may be part of the proposed Hokan family; Edward Sapir proposed including it in a Hokan subfamily alongside Chumash and Seri. Documentation comes chiefly from colonial-era sources and from linguist John Alden Mason's 1918 fieldwork.
Facts
RegionCentral coast of California, United States, around the missions of San Antonio and San Miguel. 1 Speaker CountExtinct since the death of the last speaker in 1958. Proto-Language StatusNo Proto-Salinan reconstruction has been published; Salinan is considered a language isolate, though Edward Sapir once grouped it with Chumash and Seri in a Hokan subfamily now fairly well established despite earlier skepticism. 1 Connections
Associated With
Hokan, Language Families Why this is disputed. Sapir grouped Salinan with Chumash and Seri in a Hokan subfamily; the hypothesis had many skeptics before much supporting evidence existed.
Source Wikipedia: Salinan Language
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Salinan Language
Wikimedia FoundationLead paragraph
It has been extinct since the death of the last speaker in 1958.
Classification section
Edward Sapir included it in a subfamily of Hokan, along with Chumash and Seri.
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