Yana language
- noun
- The last native speaker of the Yana language died in the early 20th century.
Examples
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Only a handful of recordings of the Yana language exist today.
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Linguists have studied the Yana language to learn more about California's indigenous cultures.
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The Yana language was once spoken by the Yana people.
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Are there any resources available for learning the Yana language?
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Linguists have studied the Yana language to learn more about California's indigenous cultures.
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Only a handful of recordings of the Yana language exist today.
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The last native speaker of the Yana language died in the early 20th century.
Synonyms
The language once spoken by a Native American people in northern California
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a transparent compositional noun phrase: 'Yana' (the people or proper name) + 'language' yields 'the language spoken by the Yana people.' The construction X + "language" is a regular, cross-linguistic pattern that a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily understand.
Etymology
Yana language is named after the Yana people of northern California. Imagine a group called Yana and the language they used to speak. That's why Yana language means the speech once used by the Yana people and is now no longer spoken.