Caddoan is a family of Native American languages historically spoken across the Great Plains from present-day North Dakota south to Oklahoma, comprising five languages: Caddo, Wichita, Pawnee, Arikara and the extinct Kitsai. The family splits into a Southern Caddoan branch, Caddo, and a Northern Caddoan branch containing Wichita and the closely related Pawnee-Kitsai group. As of a 2007 count only two languages retained living native speakers, Pawnee and Arikara, each with about ten; Wichita's last native speaker died in 2016, Caddo's in 2025, and Kitsai had already ceased to be spoken by the 19th century.
Facts
RegionThe Great Plains of the central United States, from present-day North Dakota south to Oklahoma 1 Speaker CountAs of 2007, the only living speakers were about 10 each of Pawnee and Arikara; the other three Caddoan languages, Caddo, Kitsai and Wichita, have since died out entirely (Wichita in 2016, Caddo in 2025). Proto-Language StatusFive languages, of which only two, Pawnee and Arikara, retain any speakers; a proposed Macro-Siouan connection linking Caddoan, Iroquoian and Siouan-Catawban remains hypothetical, and a similar proposed Algonquian connection is considered inconclusive. 1 In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Caddoan Languages
Wikimedia FoundationIntroduction, first sentence
The Caddoan languages are a family of languages native to the Great Plains spoken by tribal groups of the central United States, from present-day North Dakota south to Oklahoma.
External relations section
Some linguists believe that the Caddoan, Iroquoian, and Siouan-Catawban languages may be connected in a Macro-Siouan language family, but their work is suggestive and the theory remains hypothetical.
Family division section
As of 2007, both the Pawnee and Arikara languages only had 10 speakers.
View the Source Wikidata: Caddoan
Wikidata Q1025090, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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