Yana Language
Yana (also Yanan) is an extinct language isolate formerly spoken in north-central California between the Feather and Pit rivers in what is now Shasta and Tehama counties.
The language perished in 1916 with the death of Ishi, the last native speaker who spoke Yahi. Yana is fairly well-documented (mostly by Edward Sapir) compared to other extinct American languages.
The names Yana and Yahi are derived from the Yana words (in two dialects) meaning "people".
Read more about Yana Language: Regional Variation, Genetic Relations, Characteristics
Famous quotes containing the word language:
“I invented the colors of the vowels!—A black, E white, I red, O blue, U green—I made rules for the form and movement of each consonant, and, and with instinctive rhythms, I flattered myself that I had created a poetic language accessible, some day, to all the senses.”
—Arthur Rimbaud (1854–1891)