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Lakota

Lakȟótiyapi

Lakota is a Siouan language spoken in United States and Canada, by about 2,000 people. Glottolog rates it shifting.

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Lakota · 46.4°N 104.0°W

The Lakota language (Lakȟótiyapi [laˈkˣɔtɪjapɪ]), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of the Sioux tribes. Lakota is mutually intelligible with the two dialects of the Dakota language, especially Western Dakota, and is one of the three major varieties of the Sioux language.

Speakers of the Lakota language make up one of the largest Native American language speech communities in the United States, with approximately 2,000 speakers, who live mostly in the northern plains states of North Dakota and South Dakota. Many communities have immersion programs for both children and adults.

Like many indigenous languages, the Lakota language did not have a written form traditionally. However, efforts to develop a written form of Lakota began, primarily through the work of Christian missionaries and linguists, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The orthography has since evolved to reflect contemporary needs and usage.

From Wikipedia · Lakota language · CC BY-SA 4.0

Words in Lakota

MeaningWordRomanization
motheriná
manwičháša
womanwíŋyaŋ
eyeištá
earnúŋǧe
toothhi
heartchaŋté
watermní
moonhaŋwí
starwičháȟpi
snowwá
seable
treečháŋ
leafwahpe
nighthaŋhépi
dogšúŋka
birdziŋtkála
horsetȟašúŋke
snakezuzeca
lousehitka la
onewaŋží
twonúŋpa
threeyámni
fourtópa
fivezáptaŋ
tenwikčémna
hundredopáwiŋǧe
Iwa-
whotuwé
diet'Á

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Vocabulary

Vocabulary compares 40 basic words (ASJP); grammar compares 195 features (Grambank). Similar is not always related.

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Glottolog · lako1247 · Wikipedia (English) · Ethnologue · lkt