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Shastan languages facts for kids

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Shastan
Geographic
distribution:
Northern California
Linguistic classification: Hokan ?
  • Shasta–Palaihnihan ?
    • Shastan
Subdivisions:
Shasta
Shastan languages-01.svg
Pre-contact distribution of Shastan languages

The Shastan (or Sastean) family consisted of four languages, spoken in present-day northern California and southern Oregon:

  1. Konomihu (†)
  2. New River Shasta (†)
  3. Okwanuchu (†)
  4. Shasta (also known as Shastika) (†)

Konomihu appears to have been the most divergent Shastan language. Okwanuchu may have been a dialect of Shasta proper, which is known to have had a number of dialects.

The entire Shastan family is now extinct. Shasta was the last language that was spoken. Three elderly speakers were reported in the 1980s.

Shastan has often been considered to be in the hypothetical Hokan stock.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Lenguas shastanas para niños

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Shastan languages Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.