Editing Koasati language (section)

{{Short description|Muskogean language of Louisiana}}
{{Infobox language
|name=Koasati
|nativename={{lang|cku|Kowassá꞉ti}}
|states=[[United States]]
|region=[[Elton, Louisiana]] and [[Livingston, Texas]]
|ethnicity=[[Koasati people]]
|speakers={{circa|370}}<!--this looks like half the combined number of Alabama+Koasati, not Koasati alone-->
|date=2015 census
|ref=e21
|familycolor=American
|fam1=[[Muskogean languages|Muskogean]]
|fam2=Eastern
|fam3=[[Alabama language|Alabama]]–Koasati
|iso3=cku
|glotto=koas1236
|glottorefname=Koasati
|map=Koasati lang.jpg
|map2=Lang Status 60-DE.svg
|mapcaption2={{center|{{small|Koasati is classified as Definitely Endangered by the [[UNESCO]] ''[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]''}}}}
|notice=IPA
}}

'''Koasati''' (also '''Coushatta''') is a [[Native American languages|Native American language]] of [[Muskogean languages|Muskogean]] origin.  The language is spoken by the [[Coushatta]] people, most of whom live in [[Allen Parish]] north of the town of [[Elton, Louisiana]], though a smaller number share a [[Indian reservation|reservation]] near [[Livingston, Texas]], with the [[Alabama (people)|Alabama]] people. In 1991, [[Linguistics|linguist]] [[Geoffrey Kimball]] estimated the number of speakers of the language at around 400 people, of whom approximately 350 live in Louisiana.<ref>Geoffrey Kimball. 1991. Koasati Grammar. Reprinted in 1994 in: Koasati Grammar. Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.</ref>  The exact number of current speakers is unclear, but Coushatta Tribe officials claim that most tribe members over 20 speak Koasati.<ref name="auto">April 9, 2009. Comments Pertaining to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Broadband Initiatives. www.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandgrants/comments/7B49.pdf</ref> In 2007, the [[Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana]], in collaboration with [[McNeese State University]] and the [[College of William and Mary]], began the Koasati (Coushatta) Language Project as a part of broader language revitalization efforts with [[National Science Foundation]] grant money under the [[Documenting Endangered Languages]] program.<ref name="auto"/><ref>Koasati (Coushatta) Language Project. {{cite web |url=http://web.wm.edu/linguistics/coushatta/?svr=www |title=Aliilamo haslak / We're glad you've come &#124; |access-date=2010-05-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100708005820/http://web.wm.edu/linguistics/coushatta/?svr=www |archive-date=2010-07-08 }}</ref>

Koasati is most closely related to the [[Alabama language]] but, though the Coushatta and Alabama have historically lived near each other, their  languages are no longer mutually intelligible without extensive exposure. The language is also related to the [[Mikasuki language]]; some native speakers of Coushatta report they can understand Mikasuki without previous exposure to the language.