Yana Language

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:

    The language I have learnt these forty years,
    My native English, now I must forgo,
    And now my tongue’s use is to me no more
    Than an unstringèd viol or a harp.
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)