Kiowa-Tanoan Language Family
The Kiowa-Tanoan language family comprises four distinct languages: Kiowa, Tiwa, Tewa, and Towa. The Kiowa language is primarily associated with the Kiowa people, a Plains tribe residing in southwestern Oklahoma. Conversely, the Tanoan languages, which include Tiwa (spoken in various forms such as Isleta, Picuris, Sandia, and Taos) and Tewa (with dialects in communities like Hano, Nambe, and San Juan), are predominantly found in New Mexico. Towa, represented solely by the Jemez language, is also part of this family. Linguistic studies tracing the relationship between Kiowa and Tanoan date back to 1910, with significant contributions from various researchers in subsequent decades, revealing a complex family structure. Internal classifications of the Tanoan languages present challenges, with some scholars viewing Kiowa as the most distinct member, while others argue for its equal standing with the Tanoan languages. The vitality of these languages varies, with Kiowa classified as endangered, while some Tiwa and Tewa dialects show stronger usage, particularly among elder community members. Overall, the Kiowa-Tanoan language family reflects a rich cultural heritage and ongoing linguistic challenges within its speakers.
Subject Terms
Kiowa-Tanoan Language Family
Culture areas: Plains, Southwest
Tribes affected: Hano, Isleta, Jemez, Kiowa, Nambe, Pojoaque, Pecos, Picuris, Sandia, San Juan, San Ildefonso, Santa Clara, Taos, Tesuque
The Kiowa-Tanoan language family consists of four languages: Kiowa, Tiwa, Tewa, and Towa. The Kiowa people are a Plains tribe, currently living in southwestern Oklahoma. The Tanoan languages, which include Tiwa (Isleta, Picuris, Sandia, Taos), Tewa (Hano, Nambe, San Juan, San Ildefonso, Santa Clara, Pojoaque, Tesuque), and Towa (Jemez), are spoken primarily in New Mexico, with the exception of Arizona Tewa, which is spoken on the First Mesa of the Hopi Reservation, in the village of Hano.
John Harrington first proposed the relationship of Kiowa to Tanoan in 1910. Wick Miller and George and Edith Trager later published evidence to support this relationship, and in the 1960’s Kenneth Hale provided sound correspondences and reconstructions which demonstrated that Kiowa and Tanoan indeed form a closely related language family. The internal subgrouping of Tanoan is more problematic. Some researchers have considered the Tanoan languages to form a subgroup, viewing Kiowa as the most divergent member of the family. Others place Kiowa on the same level as Tiwa, Tewa, and Towa, suggesting that Kiowa-Tanoan split directly into four branches. Dialectal variation exists among the Tiwa and Tewa. Tiwa is generally divided into Northern and Southern Tiwa, while Arizona Tewa (Hano) exhibits several differences from the Rio Grande Tewa dialects. Towa is represented solely by Jemez, although the language of the Pecos Pueblo, which was abandoned in 1838, may have been Towa as well.
In 1929 Edward Sapir posited a relationship between Kiowa-Tanoan and the Uto-Aztecan language family. Benjamin Whorf and George Trager later published a list of 102 proposed cognates in support of the Aztec-Tanoan hypothesis; however, this relationship is controversial, and evidence to date is insufficient to support the proposal.
The languages of the Kiowa-Tanoan family vary widely in their viability. In the early 1980’s, Kiowa was spoken by only a few hundred adults, making it an endangered language. The Summer Institute of Linguistics estimated that in 1977 there were about 1,800 speakers of Northern Tiwa, 2,500 speakers of Southern Tiwa, 4,500 speakers of Tewa, and 1,800 speakers of Jemez. The use of native languages is strong in some pueblos (Jemez, Isleta, Taos), while in others the population speaking native languages is composed mainly of older adults.