| Also Known As: Achomawi,Pitt River
Description:
The Achumawi language (also Achomawi or Pit River language) is the native language spoken by the Pit River people of present-day California. The term Achumawi is an anglicization of the name of the Fall River band, ajúmmááwí, from ajúmmá "river". Originally there were nine bands, with dialect differences among them but primarily between upriver and downriver dialects, demarcated by the Big Valley mountains east of the Fall River valley.
Together, Achumawi and Atsugewi are said to comprise the Palaihnihan language family. The basis of this assertion is weakened by poor quality of data. Olmsted's dictionary depends almost entirely upon de Angulo, and carelessly includes Pomo vocabulary from a manuscript in which he (de Angulo) set out to demonstrate that Achumawi and Pomo are not related. Bright has also pointed out problems with Olmsted's methods of reconstruction. The phenomenon of non-reciprocal intelligibility is a matter of bilingualism more prevalent in one community (Atsuge) than in the other.
Today, the Achumawi language is severely endangered. Out of an estimated 1500 Achumawi people remaining in northeastern California, perhaps ten spoke the language as of 1991, with only 8..... full article at Wikipedia |
