Osage language
| Osage | |
|---|---|
| ๐๐ฐ๐๐ฐ๐๐ท ๐ป๐ทโ Waลพรกลพe ie | |
| Native to | United States |
| Region | Oklahoma |
| Ethnicity | Osage |
| Extinct | 2005, with the death of Lucille Robedeaux |
| Revival | As of 2009, 15โ20 L2 speakers, ongoing revival program |
Siouan
| |
| Latin (Osage alphabet), Osage script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | osa |
| ISO 639-3 | osa |
qlc Kansa-Osage | |
| Glottolog | osag1243 |
| ELP | Osage |
Map showing the distribution of Oklahoma Indian Languages | |
Osage is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger. | |
| ๐๐๐ป๐๐ป๐ (Waลพaลพe) "Middle Waters" | |
|---|---|
| People | ๐๐๐ป๐๐ป๐ (Waลพaลพe) |
| Language | ๐๐๐ป๐๐ป๐๐ฃ๐ (Waลพaลพeie) |
| Country | ๐๐๐ป๐๐ป๐ ๐๐อ๐ป๐อ (Waลพaลพe Mฤ zhฤ ) |
Osage (/oสหseษชdส, หoสseษชdส/; Osage: ๐๐ฐ๐๐ฐ๐๐ท ๐ป๐ทโ Waลพรกลพe ie) is a Siouan language spoken by the people of the Osage Nation in northern Oklahoma. Their original territory was in the present-day Ohio River Valley, which they shared with other Siouan language nations. Slowly they migrated to present-day Missouri and Kansas areas (see Dhegihan migration), but they were gradually pushed west by pressure from invading colonial forces and settlement by other displaced Native American nations.
Osage has an inventory of sounds very similar to that of Dakota, also a Siouan language, plus vowel length, preaspirated obstruents and an interdental fricative (like "th" in English "then"). In contrast to Dakota, phonemically aspirated obstruents appear phonetically as affricates, and the high back vowel *u has been fronted to [y].
Osage is written primarily with two systems: one using the Latin script with diacritics, and another derived Osage script created in 2006. Osage is among the few indigenous languages in the United States that has developed its own writing system.