Iroquoian languages

The Iroquois languages ​​are related languages ​​that are spoken by members of the Iroquois Confederation and other peoples who originally lived in eastern North America. By 1600 their settlements were V.A. to the Huron and Lake Ontario and a little towards the north-east ( Quebec) spread out.

To language group includes the languages ​​of Cayuga (now 360 speakers), Oneida (250 speakers), Onondaga (about 100 speakers), Seneca (200 speakers), Susquehannock ( extinct in the 1760s ), Tuscarora and Wyandot ( extinct in the 1960s ). Several languages ​​such as Lauren table or the language of Erie, are already extinct, before much was known about them.

The language code from ISO 639-2 is iro.

The major languages ​​are still Cherokee ( 12000-22000 speakers) and Mohawk (ca. 3000 speakers). Most of the approximately 80,000 Iroquois no longer use the old languages ​​, however. Their number has roughly halved from about 20,000 ( in 1600 ) to 1770 and has been rising since 1950 strong again.

Classification of Iroquoian languages

I. Northern Iroquoian languages

  • Huron ( †)
  • Wyandot (†)

II Southern Iroquoian languages

† - extinct

Cayuga people Oneida people Onondaga people Tuscarora language Laurentian language Cherokee language 1976 1979 1970 1988 1996 Language family
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