Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Colouse, Wintun, North Wintun, Wintu-Nomlaki
CLASSIFICATION		Wintuan
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		wnw
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		Hayfork-Norrelmuk Wintu proper French Gulch Keswick Stillwater Upper Sacramento McCloud Upper Trinity-Numsoos Bald Hills
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS		Wintu-Nomlaki: 2 major dialects (dialect complexes), Wintu and Nomlaki.

Compare Sources (9)

Information from: “California Indian Languages” (61-200) . Victor Golla (2011) University of California Press

Dormant
0
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
The last fluent speaker of Wintu, the Winnemem shaman Flora Jones, passed away in 2003. One partial speaker of Nomlaki is said to remain. (p. 143.)

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

PLACES: USA, Claifornia

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: was spoken in the upper end of the Sacramento Valley north of Cottonwood Creek, in the mountainous region to the north on the upper Sacramento River and its tributaries and to the west in the upper drainage of the Trinity River. Nomlaki to the south in the Sacramento Valley.

Critically endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~1
Native speakers worldwide
SEMI SPEAKERS
several
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
At least one fluent, traditional speaker of the Wintu dialect remains, although elderly, as well as several semi-speakers.

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
TRANSMISSION

PLACES: USA, California

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Wintu-Nomlaki was originally spoken in the northern half of the Sacramento Valley, on the upper Sacramento River below Mt. Shasta, and in the upper drainage of the Trinity River and on Hayfork Creek in Trinity County. There were two major dialects, Nomlaki, spoken along the Sacramento River south of Red Bluff, and Wintu, spoken elsewhere in the territory. There appears to have been no significant difference between the variety of Wintu spoken in the Trinity-Hayfork area and the Sacramento Valley variety.

PLACES: USA, California

Dormant
Ø
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
No known L1 speakers.

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

PLACES: USA: California

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: California: Hayfork, Redding, Trinity Center, Weaverville in north Sacramento valley, north of Cottonwood creek, into mountains to Trinity river headwaters.

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
5
Native speakers worldwide

Critically endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available
5
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
2444
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Speaker number data: (A. Shepherd 1997). 30 Nomlaki and 15 Wintun use it in the home (2000 census). Ethnic population data: (A. Shepherd 1997).

DATE OF INFO: 1999

TRANSMISSION

PLACES: USA, California

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Northern California, at the northern end of the Sacramento valley, north of Cottonwood creek, and into the mountains as far north as the headwaters of the Trinity river. Cities and towns: Redding, Hayfork, Weaverville, Trinity Center.

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
2
Native speakers worldwide

PLACES: USA, California

Critically endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1
Native speakers worldwide
SEMI SPEAKERS
"several"
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
There are three master-apprentice partnerships

TRANSMISSION

PLACES: USA, California

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Sacramento Valley; Trinity-Hayfork

		2007	North America	Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages	1-96	C. Moseley		London & New York: Routledge				Victor Golla	Golla, Victor. 2007. "North America." In Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by C. Moseley. 1-96. London & New York: Routledge.	HHOLD		1		1-9	There are three master-apprentice partnerships	"several"		Critically Endangered (60 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	15			USA, California	Sacramento Valley; Trinity-Hayfork
0199255911		2005	The World Atlas of Language Structures			Bernard Comrie and David Gil and Martin Haspelmath and Matthew S. Dryer		Oxford University Press	New York				2005. "The World Atlas of Language Structures." edited by Bernard Comrie et al. Oxford University Press.															41.0,-122.5
	16	2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)			M. Paul Lewis		SIL International	Dallas, TX		http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub	2444	5	1999	1-9	Speaker number data: (A. Shepherd 1997). 30 Nomlaki and 15 Wintun use it in the home (2000 census). Ethnic population data: (A. Shepherd 1997).			Critically Endangered (60 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	15			USA, California	Northern California, at the northern end of the Sacramento valley, north of Cottonwood creek, and into the mountains as far north as the headwaters of the Trinity river. Cities and towns: Redding, Hayfork, Weaverville, Trinity Center.
		2016	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 19th Edition (2016)			Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig	online	SIL International	Dallas, Texas		http://www.ethnologue.com		Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2016. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Nineteenth edition (2016). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com.			Ø			No known L1 speakers.		English	Dormant ()			California: Hayfork, Redding, Trinity Center, Weaverville in north Sacramento valley, north of Cottonwood creek, into mountains to Trinity river headwaters.	USA: California
978-0520266674		2011	California Indian Languages		61-200			University of California Press	Berkeley, CA	UC Berkeley		Victor Golla				0			The last fluent speaker of Wintu, the Winnemem shaman Flora Jones, passed away in 2003. One partial speaker of Nomlaki is said to remain. (p. 143.)		English	Dormant ()				USA, Claifornia	was spoken in the upper end of the Sacramento Valley north of Cottonwood Creek, in the mountainous region to the north on the upper Sacramento River and its tributaries and to the west in the upper drainage of the Trinity River. Nomlaki to the south in the Sacramento Valley.
	3rd	2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger					UNESCO Publishing	Paris		http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub		2		1-9				Critically Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)				USA, California		39.8637,-122.0822
		2008	North America	Atlas of the World's Languages	7-41	Chris Moseley and Ron Asher		Routledge	London			Victor Golla and Ives Goddard and Lyle Campbell and Marianne Mithun and Mauricio Mixco	Victor Golla, Ives Goddard, Lyle Campbell, Marianne Mithun and Mauricio Mixco. 2008. "North America." In Atlas of the World's Languages, edited by Chris Moseley and Ron Asher. 7-41. Routledge.			~1		1-9	At least one fluent, traditional speaker of the Wintu dialect remains, although elderly, as well as several semi-speakers.	several		Critically Endangered (80 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	15	15		USA, California	Wintu-Nomlaki was originally spoken in the northern half of the Sacramento Valley, on the upper Sacramento River below Mt. Shasta, and in the upper drainage of the Trinity River and on Hayfork Creek in Trinity County. There were two major dialects, Nomlaki, spoken along the Sacramento River south of Red Bluff, and Wintu, spoken elsewhere in the territory. There appears to have been no significant difference between the variety of Wintu spoken in the Trinity-Hayfork area and the Sacramento Valley variety.
	2nd edition	2010	Endangered Languages of the United States	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger of Disappearing	108-130	Christopher Moseley		UNESCO	Paris			Christopher Rogers, Naomi Palosaari and Lyle Campbell	Christopher Rogers, Naomi Palosaari and Lyle Campbell. 2010. "Endangered Languages of the United States." In Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger of Disappearing, edited by Christopher Moseley. 108-130. UNESCO.													USA, California		39.8637,-122.0822
			World Oral Literature Project								http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.			5		1-9				Critically Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)

Wintu

Language metadata

Language information by source

Dormant

0

Critically endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~1

Dormant

Ø

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

5

Critically endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

5

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

2

Critically endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1

Discussion

Wintu

Language metadata

Language information by source

Dormant

0

Critically endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~1

Dormant

Ø

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

5

Critically endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

5

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

2

Critically endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1

Discussion

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