Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Abenaki (Western), Abnaki (Western), Abnaki, Western, Abenaki, Abenaqui, St. Francis, Abnaki, St Francis
CLASSIFICATION		Algic, Algonquian, Eastern Algonquian
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		abe
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

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Information from: “North America” (7-41) . Victor Golla and Ives Goddard and Lyle Campbell and Marianne Mithun and Mauricio Mixco (2008) , Chris Moseley and Ron Asher · Routledge

Critically endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available
< 10
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
The largest modern community is in Quebec, at the Odanak Reserve on the St. François River, where a handful of elderly fluent speakers survive. In addition about 2,000 people of Western Abenaki descent live in Vermont around the northern end of Lake Champlain.

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
TRANSMISSION
OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

PLACES: USA; Canada

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Quebec, Vermont

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: It was spoken in New Hampshire and adjacent areas of Vermont. The largest modern community is in Quebec, at the Odanak Reserve on the St. François River, where a handful of elderly fluent speakers survive. In addition about 2,000 people of Western Abenaki descent live in Vermont around the northern end of Lake Champlain. Attempts are underway there to revive the language and teach it in the Vermont school system. Western Abenaki was extensively documented by a series of village schoolmasters from the Odanak community in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including Joseph Laurent, and by Gordon Day, who published a dictionary.

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1-9
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
2,000
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"handful of elderly fluent speakers"

DATE OF INFO: 1999-2001

DOMAINS OF USE
SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
TRANSMISSION
INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT: Attempts are underway there to revive the language and teach it in the Vermont school system

PLACES: Canada; USA

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Vermont and New Hampshire and Quebec. The largest modern community is in Quebec, at the Odanak Reserve on the St. François River.

Critically endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available
14
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Canada: 10 (Golla 2007).
US: 4 (2012 D. Stevens).

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

Attempts are under way in by Canada and the US to revive the language.

PLACES: Canada, USA

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Canada: Quebec: Odanak Reserve on Saint Francois River.
US: Vermont: north end of Lake Champlain.

Critically endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available
5
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
1800
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Speaker number data: (P. Tamburro 2006). Some L1 speakers only passively retain the language and (or) are semi fluent. Ethnic population: 1,800 including Eastern Abnaki in USA (1982 SIL).

DATE OF INFO: 2006

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
TRANSMISSION

PLACES: Canada; USA;

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Quebec, Odanak Reserve on the Saint Francois River.

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

"handful of elderly fluent speakers"

The largest modern community is in Quebec, at the Odanak Reserve on the St. François River, where a handful of elderly fluent speakers survive. In addition about 2,000 people of Western Abenaki descent live in Vermont around the northern end of Lake Champlain.

PLACES: USA; Canada

Severely endangered

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

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.								"handful of elderly fluent speakers" The largest modern community is in Quebec, at the Odanak Reserve on the St. François River, where a handful of elderly fluent speakers survive. In addition about 2,000 people of Western Abenaki descent live in Vermont around the northern end of Lake Champlain.								USA; Canada		44.0,-72.25
		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	1800	5	2006	1-9	Speaker number data: (P. Tamburro 2006). Some L1 speakers only passively retain the language and (or) are semi fluent. Ethnic population: 1,800 including Eastern Abnaki in USA (1982 SIL).				Critically Endangered (80 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	15			15		Canada; USA;	Quebec, Odanak Reserve on the Saint Francois River.
			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.			14		10-99	Canada: 10 (Golla 2007). US: 4 (2012 D. Stevens).				Critically Endangered (80 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	15	Attempts are under way in by Canada and the US to revive the language.		15	Canada: Quebec: Odanak Reserve on Saint Francois River. US: Vermont: north end of Lake Champlain.	Canada, USA
			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.			< 10		1-9	The largest modern community is in Quebec, at the Odanak Reserve on the St. François River, where a handful of elderly fluent speakers survive. In addition about 2,000 people of Western Abenaki descent live in Vermont around the northern end of Lake Champlain.	English			Critically Endangered (80 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	15			15	It was spoken in New Hampshire and adjacent areas of Vermont. The largest modern community is in Quebec, at the Odanak Reserve on the St. François River, where a handful of elderly fluent speakers survive. In addition about 2,000 people of Western Abenaki descent live in Vermont around the northern end of Lake Champlain. Attempts are underway there to revive the language and teach it in the Vermont school system. Western Abenaki was extensively documented by a series of village schoolmasters from the Odanak community in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including Joseph Laurent, and by Gordon Day, who published a dictionary.	USA; Canada	Quebec, Vermont
				World Oral Literature Project							http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.			20		10-99					Severely Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
070071197X	3	1	2007	Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages					Routledge	Abingdon		Christopher Moseley	Moseley, Christopher. 2007. Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, 1 edn. Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 070071197X	ll_pub	2,000		1999-2001	1-9	"handful of elderly fluent speakers"			Attempts are underway there to revive the language and teach it in the Vermont school system	Critically Endangered (100 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	15		15	15		Canada; USA	Vermont and New Hampshire and Quebec. The largest modern community is in Quebec, at the Odanak Reserve on the St. François River.

Western Abenaki

Language metadata

Language information by source

Critically endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

< 10

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1-9

Critically endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

14

Critically endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

5

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

20

Discussion

Western Abenaki

Language metadata

Language information by source

Critically endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

< 10

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1-9

Critically endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

14

Critically endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

5

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

20

Discussion

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