Words From A Dying Language

Fifty to ninety percent of languages are expected to go extinct in this century, according to the Rosetta Stone project. Sahaptin is spoken by the elders of Yakima, Warm Springs and Umatilla Indian tribes of Oregon in the USA.

Here are a few of the beautiful, sibilant sounding words in the Sahaptin language:

s h a c k   –   i l í i t i l i i t     ( h u t ,   s h a n t y ) .

s h a d e   –   c h á w i i s h k ‘ i s h i t     ( s c r e e n ) .

s h a d o w   –   l a w i i s h k i s h i t

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