This is a list of different language classification proposals developed for theIndigenous languages of the Americas orAmerindian languages. The article is divided into North, Central, and South America sections; however, the classifications do not correspond to these divisions.
Glottolog 4.1 (2019) recognizes 42 independent families and 31 isolates in North America (73 total).[1] The vast majority are (or were) spoken in the United States, with 26 families and 26 isolates (52 total).
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An early attempt at North American language classification was attempted byA. A. Albert Gallatin published in 1826, 1836, and 1848. Gallatin's classifications are missing several languages which are later recorded in the classifications byDaniel G. Brinton andJohn Wesley Powell. (Gallatin supported the assimilation of indigenous peoples to Euro-American culture.)
Families
Languages
| 11. Straits of Fuca (=Makah) |
Families
Languages
1.Adai | 18.Kutchin |
John Wesley Powell, an explorer who served as director of theBureau of American Ethnology, published a classification of 58 "stocks" that is the "cornerstone" of genetic classifications in North America. Powell's classification was influenced by Gallatin to a large extent.
John Wesley Powell was in a race withDaniel G. Brinton to publish the first comprehensive classification of North America languages (although Brinton's classification also covered South and Central America). As a result of this competition, Brinton was not allowed access to the linguistic data collected by Powell's fieldworkers.
1.Adaizan | 21.Keresan | 40. Shoshonean (=Uto-Aztecan) |
Paul Rivet (1924) lists a total of 46 independent language families in North and Central America. Olive andJanambre are extinct languages ofTamaulipas,Mexico.[2]
Below isEdward Sapir's (1929) famousEncyclopædia Britannica classification. Note that Sapir's classification was controversial at the time and it additionally was an original proposal (unusual for general encyclopedias). Sapir was part of a "lumper" movement in Native American language classification. Sapir himself writes of his classification: "A more far-reaching scheme than Powell's [1891 classification], suggestive but not demonstrable in all its features at the present time" (Sapir 1929: 139). Sapir's classifies all the languages in North America into only 6 families:Eskimo–Aleut,Algonkin–Wakashan,Na-Dene,Penutian,Hokan–Siouan, andAztec–Tanoan. Sapir's classification (or something derivative) is still commonly used in general languages-of-the-world type surveys. (Note that the question marks that appear in Sapir's list below are present in the original article.)
III.Nadene
IV.Penutian
| V.Hokan–Siouan
| VI.Aztec–Tanoan
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The Voegelin & Voegelin (1965)[3] classification was the result of a conference of Americanist linguists held at Indiana University in 1964. This classification identifies 16 main genetic units.
| 6.Penutian phylum
7.Aztec–Tanoan phylum 8.Keres |
Chumashan,Comecrudan, andCoahuiltecan are included in Hokan with "reservations".Esselen is included inHokan with "strong reservations".Tsimshian andZuni are included inPenutian with reservations.
Campbell & Mithun's 1979 classification is more conservative, since it insists on more rigorous demonstration of genetic relationship before grouping. Thus, many of the speculative phyla of previous authors are "split".
(preliminary)
Subtiaba–Tlapanec is likely part ofOtomanguean (Rensch 1977, Oltrogge 1977).
Aztec–Tanoan is "undemonstrated";Mosan is aSprachbund.
Lyle Campbell (2024) proposed the following list of 30 uncontroversial indigenous language families and 24 isolates north of Mexico – a total of 54 independent families and isolates.[4] Language families deemed major are highlighted inbold. The remaining language families all considered small.
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(Consensus conservative classification)
Families
Isolates
Proposed stocks
Notable early classifications of classifications of indigenous South American language families include those byFilippo Salvatore Gilii (1780–84),[5]Lorenzo Hervás y Panduro (1784–87),[6][7]Daniel Garrison Brinton (1891),[8]Paul Rivet (1924),[2]John Alden Mason (1950),[9] andČestmír Loukotka (1968).[10] Other classifications include those ofJacinto Jijón y Caamaño (1940–45),[11]Antonio Tovar (1961; 1984),[12][13] andJorge A. Suárez (1974).[14][15]
Glottolog 4.1 (2019) recognizes 44 independent families and 64 isolates in South America.[1]
Paul Rivet (1924) lists 77 independent language families of South America.[2]
Classification of South American languages byJ. Alden Mason (1950):[9]
Čestmír Loukotka (1968) proposed a total of 117 indigenous language families (calledstocks by Loukotka) and isolates of South America.[10]
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Terrence Kaufman's classification is meant to be a rather conservative genetic grouping of the languages of South America (and a few in Central America). He has 118genetic units. Kaufman believes for these 118 units "that there is little likelihood that any of the groups recognized here will be broken apart". Kaufman uses more specific terminology than onlylanguage family, such aslanguage area,emergent area, andlanguage complex, where he recognizes issues such as partialmutual intelligibility anddialect continuums. The list below collapses these into simplyfamilies. Kaufman's list is numbered and grouped by "geolinguistic region". The list below is presented in alphabetic order. Kaufman uses an anglicized orthography for his genetic units, which is mostly used only by himself. His spellings have been retained below.[16]
In addition to his conservative list, Kaufman list several larger "stocks" which he evaluates. The names of the stocks are often obvious hyphenations of two members; for instance, the Páes-Barbakóa stock consists of the Páesan and Barbakóan families. If the composition is not obvious, it is indicated parenthetically. Kaufman puts question marks by Kechumara and Mosetén-Chon stocks.
"Good" stocks:
"Probable" stocks:
"Promising" stocks:
"Maybe" stocks:
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding missing information.(June 2008) |
Kaufman's largest groupings are what he termsclusters andnetworks. Clusters are equivalent to macro-families (or phyla or superfamilies). Networks are composed of clusters. Kaufman views all of these larger groupings to be hypothetical and his list is to be used as a means to identify which hypotheses most need testing.
Lyle Campbell (2012) proposed the following list of 53 uncontroversial indigenous language families and 55 isolates of South America – a total of 108 independent families and isolates.[15] Language families with 9 or more languages are highlighted inbold. The remaining language families all have 6 languages or fewer.
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Campbell (2012) leaves out the classifications of these languages as uncertain.
Jolkesky (2016) lists 43 language families and 66 language isolates (and/or unclassified languages) in South America – a total of 109 independent families and isolates.[17]: 783–806
Lyle Campbell (2024) proposed the following list of 47 uncontroversial indigenous language families and 53 isolates of South America – a total of 100 independent families and isolates.[18] Language families with more than 6 languages are highlighted inbold. The remaining language families all have 6 languages or fewer.
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Morris Swadesh further consolidated Sapir's North American classification and expanded it to group allindigenous languages of the Americas in just 6 families, 5 of which were entirely based in the Americas.[19]
Joseph Greenberg's classification[20] in his 1987 bookLanguage in the Americas is best known for the highly controversial assertion that all North, Central and South American language families other thanEskimo–Aleut andNa-Dene including Haida, are part of anAmerindmacrofamily. This assertion of only three major American language macrofamilies is supported by DNA evidence,[21] although the DNA evidence does not provide support for the details of his classification.
Amerindmacrofamily proposed by Greenberg |
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InAmerican Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America,Lyle Campbell describes various pidgins and trade languages spoken by the indigenous peoples of the Americas.[22] Some of these mixed languages have not been documented and are known only by name.
Lingua francas
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