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Penutian languages

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Image:Proposed_Penutian_langs.png thumb|250px|distribution of proposed Penutian languages (included here: Tsimshianic, Plateau Penutian, Chinookan, Takelma, Kalapuya, Alsean, Siuslaw, Coosan, Wintuan, Maiduan, Utian, Yokutsan) '''Penutian''' is a proposed grouping of language family language families that includes many Native Americans in the United States Native American languages of western North America, predominantly spoken at one time in Washington, Oregon, and California. There a number of varying opinions concerning its validity. The name is based on the words meaning 'two' in the Wintuan languages Wintuan, Maiduan, and Yokutsan languages (which is pronounced something like {{IPA|[pen]}}) and the Utian languages (which is pronounced something like {{IPA|[uti]}}).

Discussion
It is probably best to consider the Penutian grouping as undemonstrated. Not only is Penutian undemonstrated, but many of the lower groupings are also undemonstrated although some of the subgroupings appear to be promising. The initial proposal of Penutian was based on scarce data which was sometimes not entirely reliable. Quite a bit of research has been done and is continuing to be done on investigating the genetic relations between the various subgroupings. Research is still needed to determine many uncertainties, and there remain differences in opinion between linguists. A number of the languages are no longer spoken leaving researchers with no new data to work with. A further complication is due the large amount of borrowing that occurred among neighboring peoples. Mary Haas states the following regarding this borrowing:

Even where genetic relationship is clearly indicated ... the evidence of diffusion of traits from neighboring tribes, related or not, is seen on every hand. This makes the task of determining the validity of the various alleged Hokan languages and the various alleged Penutian languages all the more difficult ... [and] point[s] up once again that diffusional studies are just as important for prehistory as genetic studies and what is even more in need of emphasis, it points up the desirability of pursuing diffusional studies along with genetic studies. This is nowhere more necessary than in the case of the Hokan and Penutian languages wherever they may be found, but particularly in California where they may very well have existed side by side for many millennia. (Haas 1976:359)

Some subgroupings have been convincingly demonstrated. Miwokan and Costanoan languages are grouped into an ''Utian'' language family. There seems to be convincing evidence for the ''Plateau Penutian'' grouping (originally named ''Shahapwailutan'' by J. N. B. Hewitt and John Wesley Powell in 1894) which would consist of Klamath Klamath-Modoc, Molala, and the Sahaptian languages (Nez Percé language Nez Percé and Sahaptin language Sahaptin). The inclusion of Cayuse into Plateau Penutian is questionable due to so little data. The other groupings probably need more research before asserting them as fact. And so, the final status of Penutian is yet to come.

History of proposals

Origin of the 5 core families
The original hypothesis of Penutian consisting of 5 language families was suggested by Roland B. Dixon and Alfred L. Kroeber in 1903 and published in 1913. Evidence for this proposal was published in 1919. This proposal, what has been called alternately ''Core Penutian'', ''California Penutian'', or the ''Penutian Kernel'', is listed below. # Maiduan languages # Miwok Miwokan languages # Costanoan languages # Wintuan languages Wintuan languages # Yokutsan languages The grouping, like many of Dixon & Kroeber's other phylum proposals, was based mostly on shared typological characteristics and not the standard methods used to determine genetic relationships. Starting from this early date, the Penutian hypothesis was controversial. In 1910, Kroeber suggested a relationship between the Miwok Miwokan and Costanoan languages. Previously, in as early as 1877 Albert S. Gatschet grouped Miwokan and Costanoan into a ''Mutsun'' group. This grouping, now termed ''Utian'', was later conclusively demonstrated by Catherine Callaghan. # Maiduan languages # Utian languages (a.k.a. Miwok-Costanoan, Mutsun) # Wintuan languages Wintuan languages # Yokutsan languages

Sapir's expansion
In 1916 Edward Sapir expanded Dixon and Kroeber's California Penutian family with a sister stock, ''Oregon Penutian'' which included the Coosan languages and also the language isolate isolates, Siuslaw and Takelma: :* '''''California Penutian''''' :** Maiduan languages :** Utian languages (a.k.a. Miwok-Costanoan) :** Wintuan languages :** Yokutsan languages :* '''''Oregon Penutian''''' :** Coosan languages Coosan languages :** Siuslaw (tribe) Siuslaw :** Takelma Later Sapir and Leo Frachtenberg added Kalapuyan and Chinookan languages Chinookan languages and then later the Alsean and Tsimshianic languages, culminating in Sapir's 1921 four-branch classification: : '''I. ''California Penutian family''''' ::# Maiduan (Maidu) ::# Utian (Miwok-Costanoan) ::# Wintuan (Wintu) ::# Yokutsan (Yokuts) : '''II. ''Oregon Penutian family''''' ::# Coosan (Coos) ::# Siuslaw ::# Takelma ::# Kalapuyan (Kalapuya) ::# Alsean (Yakonan) : '''III. ''Chinookan languages Chinookan languages''''' (Chinook) : '''IV. ''Tsimshianic languages''''' (Tsimshian) By the time Sapir's 1929 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' article was published, he had added two more branches: :* '''''Plateau Penutian family''''' :** Klamath-Modoc (Lutuami) :** Waiilatpuan :*** Cayuse :*** Molala :** Sahaptian languages Sahaptian (Sahaptin) :* '''''Mexican Penutian family''''' :** Mixe-Zoque languages :** Huave resulting in a six-branch family: # California Penutian # Oregon Penutian # Chinookan # Tsimshianic # Plateau Penutian # Mexican Penutian (Sapir's full 1929 classification scheme including the Penutian proposal can be seen here: Classification schemes for indigenous languages of the Americas#Sapir (1929): Encyclopædia Britannica.)

Further expansions
{{sectstub}} Other linguists have suggested other languages be included within the Penutian grouping. * Macro-Penutian (Whorf) * Greenberg Note: Some linguists link the Penutian hypothesis to the Zuni language.

Recent hypotheses
{{sectstub}} A more recent Penutian grouping that is being investigated is the following: # Alsean family # Chinookan family # Coosan family # Kalapuyan family # Klamath language # Maiduan family # Molala language # Sahaptian family # Takelma language # Tsimshianic family # Utian family # Wintuan family # Yokutsan family # Siuslaw language subgrouping hypotheses: * Takelman = Takelma + Kalapuyan * Plateau Penutian = Molala + Klamath + Sahaptian * Oregon Penutian (following Sapir) * Yok-Utian = Yokuts + Utian California Penutian as a separate branch is no longer accepted by many Penutian researchers.

See also
* Hokan languages (another influential and promising hypothetical language family)

External links

- Penutian (Scott DeLancey's site) (has online papers) *
- Bibliography of comparative Penutian *
- The Bipartite Stem Belt: Disentangling Areal and Genetic Correspondences
- Tribal Language Groups of Northern and Central California *
- California Tribal Linguistics Groups map (.gif) *
- California Indian Tribal Groups Map (.gif)
- Ethnologue: Penutian
- List of proposed Penutian languages in Oregon
- Native Tribes, Groups, Language Families and Dialects of California in 1770 (map after Kroeber)
- Mitochondrial DNA and Prehistoric Settlements: Native Migrations on the Western Edge of North America

Bibilography
* Berman, Howard. (1996). The position of Molala in Plateau Penutian. ''International Journal of American Linguistics'', ''62'', 1-30. * Callaghan, Catherine A. (1967). Miwok-Costanoan as a subfield of Penutian. ''International Journal of American Linguistics'', ''33'', 224-227. * Campbell, Lyle. (1997). ''American Indian languages: The historical linguistics of Native America''. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-509427-1. * DeLancey, Scott; & Golla, Victor. (1997). The Penutian hypothesis: Retrospect and prospect. ''International Journal of American Linguistics'', ''63'', 171-202. * Dixon, Roland R.; & Kroeber, Alfred L. (1903). The native languages of California. ''American Anthropologist'', ''5'', 1-26. * Dixon, Roland R.; & Kroeber, Alfred L. (1913). Relationship of the Indian languages of California. ''Science'', ''37'', 225. * Dixon, Roland R.; & Kroeber, Alfred L. (1913). New linguistic families in California. ''American Anthropologist'', ''15'', 647-655. * Dixon, Roland R.; & Kroeber, Alfred L. (1919). ''Linguistic families of California'' (pp. 47-118) Berkeley: University of California. * Kroeber, Alfred L. (1910). The Chumash and Costanoan languages. ''University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology'', ''9'', 259-263. * Mithun, Marianne. (1999). ''The languages of Native North America''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23228-7 (hbk); ISBN 0-521-29875-X. * Sapir, Edward. (1921). A bird's-eye view of American languages north of Mexico. ''Science'', ''54'', 408. * Sapir, Edward. (1929). Central and North American languages. ''Encyclopaedia Britaannica'' (14th ed.; Vol. 5; pp. 138-141). Category:Penutian languages Category:Indigenous languages of the Americas br:Yezhoù penoutiek ca:Penutià de:Penuti-Sprachen es:Lenguas penutíes pl:Fyla penutiańska {{catmore}} Category:Proposed language families

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