Shasta language
- noun
- Few fluent speakers of the Shasta language remained by the early 20th century.
Examples
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Local museums offer audio recordings in the Shasta language as part of their exhibits.
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Linguists have studied the Shasta language to learn more about the region's history.
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The Shasta language is unique to the Shasta people.
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Is the Shasta language still spoken today?
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Few fluent speakers of the Shasta language remained by the early 20th century.
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Linguists have studied the Shasta language to learn more about the region's history.
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The Shasta language is unique to the Shasta people.
Synonyms
The language once spoken by a Native American people in northern California and southern Oregon
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase denotes the language associated with the Shasta people and is directly compositional from 'Shasta' (a proper name/group) + 'language' (a system of speech). Names of languages formed by proper noun + 'language' are cross-linguistically common and follow a transparent, predictable pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would understand the meaning.
Etymology
Shasta language comes from the name of the Shasta people who lived in northern California and southern Oregon. So Shasta language simply means 'the language of the Shasta people'.