Native to United States Native speakers 1 (as of 2003) | Ethnicity Patwin | |
Region Colusa, Lake, Napa, Solano, and Yolo Counties, northern California Language family Wintuan
Southern
Patwin Dialects Hill Patwin
River Patwin
?Southern Patwin | ||
Patwin (Patween) is a critically endangered Wintuan language of Northern California. As of 2003, there was "at least one first language speaker of Patwin." As of 2010, Patwin language classes were taught at the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation (formerly Rumsey Rancheria) tribal school (Dubin 2010).
Contents
Patwin has two (excl. Southern Patwin) or three (incl. Southern Patwin) dialects: "River Patwin (or Valley Patwin) was traditionally spoken along the Sacramento River in Colusa County ... Hill Patwin, was spoken in the plains and foothills to the west."
Southern Patwin became extinct shortly after contact. It is very poorly attested, and may be a separate Southern Wintuan language (Mithun 1999).
As of 2012, the Tewe Kewe Cultural Center of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation has "a California Indian Library Collection and an extensive Patwin language and history research section."
Consonants
Patwin has 24 consonant phonemes. In the table below, the IPA form(s) of each consonant are given. This is followed by the form commonly used in published Patwin linguistics literature, if this is different from the IPA form.
Vowels
Patwin has 10 vowels: