Iroquoian | |
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Geographic distribution | eastern North America |
Linguistic classification | One of the world's primary language families |
Proto-language | Proto-Iroquoian |
Subdivisions |
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ISO 639-2 / 5 | iro |
Glottolog | iroq1247 |
![]() Pre-European contact distribution of the Iroquoian languages. |
The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking.[1]
As of 2020, almost all surviving Iroquoian languages are severely or critically endangered, with some languages having only a few elderly speakers remaining. The two languages with the most speakers, Mohawk (Kenien'kéha) in New York and Canada, and Cherokee in Oklahoma and North Carolina, are spoken by less than 10% of the populations of their nations.[2][3]