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Tanoan | |
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Kiowa–Tanoan | |
Geographic distribution | central North America |
Native speakers | ~5,625 |
Linguistic classification | One of the world's primary language families |
Subdivisions | |
Linguasphere | 64-C |
Glottolog | kiow1265 |
![]() Distribution of Tanoan languages before European contact. The Pueblo languages are at the left; the nomadic Kiowa at right. |
Tanoan (/təˈnoʊ.ən/ tə-NOH-ən), also Kiowa–Tanoan or Tanoan–Kiowa, is a family of languages spoken by indigenous peoples in present-day New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Most of the languages – Tiwa (Taos, Picuris, Southern Tiwa), Tewa, and Towa – are spoken in the Native American Pueblos of New Mexico (with one outlier in Arizona). These were the first languages collectively given the name of Tanoan. Kiowa, which is a related language, is now spoken mostly in southwestern Oklahoma. The Kiowa historically inhabited areas of modern-day Texas and Oklahoma.