Miami–Illinois language

Miami–Illinois or Mihtohseenian (endonym: myaamia, [mjɑːmia]) is an Indigenous Algonquian language that is spoken in the United States, historically in Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, western Ohio and adjacent areas along the Mississippi River by the Miami and Wea as well as the tribes of the Illinois Confederation, including the Kaskaskia, Peoria, Tamaroa, Cahokia, and possibly Mitchigamea. Although the last native speaker died in the 1960s, there has been an effort by the Myaamia (Miami) Nation of Oklahoma and the Miami Nation of Indians of the State of Indiana (a nonprofit organization) to revive the language and preserve their native heritage by teaching it to young and old members. As of 2016, it is estimated that around 500 members of the tribe use the language on a regular basis.

Classification

Miami–Illinois is an Algonquian language within the larger Algic family. It is usually described as a Central Algonquian language, but that grouping denotes a geographic rather than genetic affiliation. A thorough genetic classification of Central Algonquian languages has not yet been achieved, and so Miami–Illinois' closest relatives have not been conclusively established. Lexically, Miami–Illinois most closely resembles the Sauk–Fox–Kickapoo language; its phonology and morphology, however, are more reminiscent of Ojibwe–Potawatomi–Ottawa.

The term Miami–Illinois covers the language varieties spoken by several different groups throughout history. Illinois denotes specifically the language common to the Illinois Confederation described in 17th- and 18th-century French missionary sources, and the subsequent dialect of the consolidated Peoria tribe; Miami denotes the precontact dialects of the Miami, Wea, and Piankeshaw indigenous to Indiana. Due to the low quality of many records and the complex post-contact history of the groups concerned, the dialectology of Miami–Illinois is difficult to reconstruct for any historical period, but by the end of the 19th century dialectal diversity was minimal, being limited to a modest three-way division between Peoria, Miami proper, and Wea.