Chickasaw language

Chickasaw
Chikashshanompaꞌ
Native to	United States
Region	South central Oklahoma, from Byng or Happyland (near Ada) north, and from Davis or Ardmore west to Fillmore and Wapanucka in east.
Ethnicity	35,000 (1999)[1]
Native speakers	75 (2017)[1]
Language family	Muskogean Western Muskogean Chickasaw
Language codes
ISO 639-3	cic
Glottolog	chic1270
ELP	Chickasaw
Historical (blue) Chickasaw territory and current (teal) Chickasaw territory (Chickasaw Nation), where the language was and is currently spoken
Distribution of Native American languages in Oklahoma
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The Chickasaw language (Chikashshanompaꞌ, IPA: [tʃikaʃːanompaʔ]) is a Native American language of the Muskogean family. It is agglutinative and follows the word order pattern of subject–object–verb (SOV).^[2] The language is closely related to, though perhaps not entirely mutually intelligible with, Choctaw. It is spoken by the Chickasaw tribe, now residing in Southeast Oklahoma, centered on Ada.

The language is currently spoken by around 50 people, mostly Chickasaw elders who grew up with the language. Due to boarding schools in the 20th century and Chickasaw removal from their homeland in the 19th century, the widespread knowledge about the language and culture amongst the nation has largely decreased. This being said, there are increasingly more accessible resources for teaching, learning, and preserving this and many other Native American languages, as of the year 2021. There is indeed growing interest in learning, teaching, and preserving this endangered language. The Chickasaw Nation has online resources for teaching this language that are of great utility.