Kiowa–Tanoan
/kaɪˌoʊ.ə təˈnoʊ.ən/noun
A proposed language family of Indigenous languages spoken chiefly in the Great Plains and Pueblo regions of North America.
Did you know?The genetic relationship between Kiowa and the Pueblo languages remains debated, making Kiowa–Tanoan a real scholarly classification whose ultimate ancestral language has not been securely reconstructed.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-European North America
Proto-language (unreconstructed)
*Kiowa–Tanoan
“A proposed ancestral family label; no securely reconstructed Proto-Kiowa–Tanoan vocabulary or grammar is established.”
17th–18th Centuries
Spanish/English records
Kiowa
“The name used in European records for the Kiowa people and their language; its deeper origin is connected to the Kiowa autonym but is not fully certain.”
19th Century
English
Tanoan
“A linguistic label formed from Tano, a name associated with Pueblo peoples and languages of the Rio Grande region.”
Early 20th Century
English
Kiowa-Tanoan
“A comparative-linguistic term grouping Kiowa with several Pueblo language branches.”
20th Century
English linguistics
Kiowa–Tanoan
“A conventional family name used in descriptions of languages including Kiowa, Tewa, Tiwa, Towa, and related branches.”
Modern English
English
Kiowa–Tanoan
“A proposed language-family designation whose internal classification and external relationships continue to be investigated.”