| Description:
Mandan is an endangered Siouan language.
It was initially thought to be closely related to the languages of the Hidatsa and the Crow tribes. However, since the Mandan language has been in contact with Hidatsa and Crow for many years, the exact relationship between Mandan and other Siouan languages (including Hidatsa and Crow) has been obscured and is currently undetermined. For this reason, Mandan is most often considered to be a separate branch of the Siouan family.
Mandan has two main dialects:
Only the Nuptare variety survived into the 20th century, and all speakers were bilingual in Hidatsa. In 1999, there were only six fluent speakers of Mandan still alive. By 2009, there was just one, Dr Edwin Benson (born 1931). There are currently programs in local schools to encourage the use of the language. Linguist Mauricio Mixco of the University of Utah has been involved in fieldwork with remaining speakers since 1993. Along with the Hidatsa and Arikara languages, it is taught at Fort Berthold Community College.
The language received much attention from Euro-Americans because of the supposedly lighter skin color of the Mandan people, which they speculated was due to an ultimate..... full article at Wikipedia |
