Talk:Sioux language

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yh —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.192.169.191 (talk) 17:37, 6 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Regional Varieties

I've generally seen Sioux described as having five, rather than three, regional dialects/languages: Santee-Sisseton, Yankton-Yanktonai, Lakhota, and then also Assiniboine and Stoney, both of which are n varieties (Nakoda). See, for example, the first paragraph at the Language Geek page on Assiniboine, which is a very respectable site. I'm wondering why the two Nakoda varieties aren't listed here. Thanks. --Whimemsz 22:45, 19 November 2005 (UTC)

Oh wait. I see that they're all considered Dakotan languages, but there are three regional dialects of Sioux itself. Sorry. --Whimemsz 17:50, 20 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] The language family tree is confusing

I'm trying to follow the logic in the tree:

  • Siouan-Catawban
    • Siouan
      • Mississippi Valley
        • Dakotan
          • Sioux

Sioux has 3 major regional varieties, with various sub-lects:

  • Santee (a.k.a. Dakota)
    • Santee and Sisseton
  • Yankton (a.k.a. Yankton-Yanktonai, Nakota)
    • Yankton and Yanktonai
  • Lakota (a.k.a. Lakhota, Teton, Teton Sioux)
    • Northern Lakota and Southern Lakota

If Dakota is a subset of Sioux, what does Dakotan before Sioux mean?

ICE77 -- 81.104.129.226 23:37, 5 July 2007 (UTC)

Because, unfortunately, "Dakotan" refers to a branch of the Siouan family that encompasses Sioux, but "Dakota" is a dialect (ish) of Sioux. It's sort of analogous to the fact that the language is called "Sioux" and the entire family is "Siouan" (or like "German" is a member of the "Germanic" family, though that's not quite as confusing). --Miskwito 09:10, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

Miskwito, thanks a lot for the explanation. I see the relationship. You have been very helpful.

ICE77 -- 84.222.103.163 20:47, 10 August 2007 (UTC)