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Glite Dictionary
🗣️ A language family 🧑‍🦱 A Native group 🏹 Related to Sioux
Siouan

Siouan

9.9
A family of Native American languages spoken by the Sioux and related peoples
  • noun
  • /ˈsuːən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : sioux
  • Lakota is one of several Siouan languages still spoken today.

Examples

  • The Siouan languages are spoken across a wide region of North America.

  • Linguists have studied various Siouan dialects to understand the migration of Native peoples.

  • Lakota is one of several Siouan languages still spoken today.

  • The Siouan languages are rich in history.

  • Many tribes, including the Lakota, speak Siouan languages.

  • Linguists have studied various Siouan dialects to understand the migration of Native peoples.

  • The Siouan languages are spoken across a wide region of North America.

Synonyms

Siouan language
vsSiouan
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of Native American languages that the Sioux and related tribes speak in central North America

is the broader phrase using 'North American Indigenous' and including current speakers

Compounds

Siouan language
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of Native American languages that the Sioux and related tribes speak in central North America

Surface Forms

Siouan singular
Siouans plural

Morphology

Siouan = Sioux (transparent) = Sioux + an

The form is directly derived from the ethnonym 'Sioux' with the productive demonym/adjectival suffix '-an', so the relation is clear to learners who know 'Sioux'.

Etymology

Siouan comes from the name Sioux, a name for a group of Native American peoples that came into English from French and an Ojibwe word often said to mean 'enemy' or 'little snakes'. So Siouan is used for the family of languages spoken by the Sioux and related peoples.