Editing Lakota language (section)

{{Short description|Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people}}
{{COI|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Lakota
| nativename       = {{lang|lkt|Lakȟótiyapi}}
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|lkt|laˈkˣɔtɪjapɪ|}}
| states           = [[United States]], with some speakers in [[Canada]]
| region           = Primarily [[North Dakota]] and [[South Dakota]], but also northern [[Nebraska]], southern [[Minnesota]], and northern [[Montana]]
| ethnicity        = [[Lakota people|Teton Sioux]]
| speakers         = 2,100, 29% of ethnic population
| date             = 1997–2016
| ref              = e25
| familycolor      = American
| fam1             = [[Siouan languages|Siouan]]
| fam2             = [[Western Siouan languages|Western Siouan]]
| fam3             = Mississippi Valley Siouan
| fam4             = Dakotan
| fam5             = [[Sioux language|Sioux]]
| iso3             = lkt
| glotto           = lako1247
| glottorefname    = Lakota
| notice           = IPA
| map              = Lakota map.svg
| imagecaption     = 
| mapcaption       = Core pre-contact Lakota territory
}}
{{Infobox ethnonym|root=[[Lakota people|Lakota]]<br/><small>"ally / friend"</small>|person=|people=[[Lakota people|Lakȟóta Oyáte]]|language=Lakȟótiyapi|country= Lakȟóta Makóce, [[Sioux|Očhéthi Šakówiŋ]]}}
'''Lakota''' ({{lang|lkt|Lakȟótiyapi}} {{IPA|lkt|laˈkˣɔtɪjapɪ|}}), also referred to as '''Lakhota''', '''Teton''' or '''Teton Sioux''', is a [[Siouan languages|Siouan language]] spoken by the [[Lakota people]] of the [[Sioux]] tribes. Lakota is mutually intelligible with the two dialects of the [[Dakota language]], especially [[Dakota language#Comparison of the dialects|Western Dakota]], and is one of the three major [[variety (linguistics)|varieties]] of the [[Sioux language]].

Speakers of the Lakota language make up one of the largest [[Native American language]] speech communities in the [[United States]], with approximately 2,000 speakers, who live mostly in the northern plains states of [[North Dakota]] and [[South Dakota]].<ref name=e25/> Many communities have immersion programs for both children and adults.

Like many indigenous languages, the Lakota language did not have a written form traditionally. However, efforts to develop a written form of Lakota began, primarily through the work of Christian missionaries and linguists, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The orthography has since evolved to reflect contemporary needs and usage.

One significant figure in the development of a written form of Lakota was [[Ella Cara Deloria]], also called Aŋpétu Wašté Wiŋ (Beautiful Day Woman), a Yankton Dakota ethnologist, linguist, and novelist who worked extensively with the Dakota and Lakota peoples, documenting their languages and cultures. She collaborated with linguists such as [[Franz Boas]] and [[Edward Sapir]] to create written materials for Lakota, including dictionaries and grammars.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ella Cara Deloria |url=https://awis.org/historical-women/ella-cara-deloria/ |website=Association for Women in Science |publisher=Association for Women in Science |access-date=22 February 2024}}</ref>

Another key figure was [[Albert White Hat|Albert White Hat Sr.]], who taught at and later became the chair of the Lakota language program at his alma mater, [[Sinte Gleska University]] at Mission, South Dakota, one of the first tribal-based universities in the US.<ref>{{cite web |title=Winged Messenger Nations: Birds in American Indian Oral Tradition: Albert White Hat Sr.                           &  Francis Cut |url=https://nativeede.wixsite.com/wingedmessenger/albert-white-hat-sr--francis-cut |website=The Winged Messenger Project |publisher=The Winged Messenger Project |access-date=22 February 2024}}</ref> His work focused on the [[Sicangu]] dialect using an orthography developed by Lakota in 1982 and which today is slowly supplanting older systems provided by linguists and missionaries.