HUPA LANGUAGE

'Hupa' (native name: ''Na:tinixwe Mixine:whe'') is an Athabaskan language (of Na-Dené stock) spoken in the Trinity valley in California by the Hupa (''Natinixwe'').
Phonologically, the language is interesting in being the only one known to contrast a voiceless lateral approximant from a voiceless lateral fricative, as well as contrasting three degrees of rounding in its velar fricatives. Morphologically, it is remarkable for having an extremely small number— perhaps less than one hundred— of basic (monomorphemic) nouns, as nearly all nouns in the language are derived from verbs.
According to the results of Census 2000, the language is spoken by 64 persons between the ages of 5 and 17, including 4 with limited English ability.

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References

References

★ "The Morphology of the Hupa Language" - By Pliny Earle Goddard, 1905.