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Hopi language

Uto-Aztecan language spoken by the Hopi people of Arizona

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 25, 2026
Entity authorityQ56421 ↗
Source-derived summary

Hopi (Hopi: Hopílavayi) is a Uto-Aztecan language spoken by the Hopi people (a Puebloan group) of northeastern Arizona, United States.

The use of Hopi has gradually declined over the course of the 20th century. In 1990, it was estimated that more than 5,000 people could speak Hopi as a native language (approximately 75% of the population), but only 40 of them were monolingual in Hopi. The 1998 language survey of 200 Hopi people showed that 100% of Hopi elders (60 years or older) were fluent, but fluency in adults (40–59) was only 84%, 50% in young adults (20–39), and 5% in children (2–19).

Despite the apparent decline, Hopi and Navajo both are supported by bilingual education programs in Arizona, and children acquire the Native American languages as their first language. More recently, Hopi language programs for children on the reservation have been implemented.

Teaching and language revitalization efforts

The Hopi language has been part of several language revitalization projects.

In December 2000, public radio station KUYI 88.1 FM went on the air. The National Public Radio affiliate was founded to preserve the Hopi culture and language by broadcasting to the community. Online streaming was introduced on June 21, 2010.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Hopi language” as uto-Aztecan language spoken by the Hopi people of Arizona. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1990, 1998, 2000, 2010—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Hopi, language and Uto-Aztecan can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as uto-Aztecan language spoken by the Hopi people of Arizona. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 25, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q56421. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1990, 1998, 2000 and 2010.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Hopi language”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Hopi language primary sources, Hopi language archive and Hopi research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Hopi language”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Hopi language” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.