Tiwa, Northern

Print

A language of United States

ISO 639-3
twf
Population

1,060 (Ichihashi-Nakayama, Yumitani, and Yamamoto 2007), decreasing. Picuris spoken by nearly all 230 members of the Picuris Pueblo. 800 Taos speakers out of 1,600 in the pueblo (Golla 2007). Ethnic population: 1,830 (Golla 2007).

Location

North central New Mexico.

Language Maps
Language Status

7 (Shifting).

Classification
Kiowa-Tanoan, Tanoan
Dialects

Picuris, Taos. Taos and Picuris are not mutually intelligible (Golla 2007).

Language Use

Older adults at Picuris. Most also use English [eng].

Language Development
Literacy rate in L1: 1%–5%. Literacy rate in L2: 50%–75%. A rule of secrecy is adhered to by all members of the Taos Pueblo never to reveal anything to outsiders that is intrinsic to Taos culture. As a result, any language education and retention efforts are not publicly known. Bible portions: 1976–1992.
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Tiwa, Northern
Writing
Latin script.