Shoshoni language

Shoshoni or Shoshone ( Sosoni ' daigwape or newe daigwape ) is an indigenous language of North America, which is spoken by the Shoshone and belongs to the Numic languages ​​, the northernmost branch of the language family of the Uto- Aztec language.

Language area and number of speakers

Speaker of the Shoshoni live in traditional language area in Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Idaho and Montana. The main dialects are Western Shoshoni in Nevada, Gosiute in the western Utah, Northern Shoshoni in southern Idaho and northern Utah and Eastern Shoshoni in Wyoming.

The number of Shoshoni speaking people has been greatly reduced by the transition to English as a spoken language in the 20th century, so that today only a few hundred people dominate the Shoshoni fluently. The UNESCO classified the language as ' critically endangered' ( severely endangered ).