Editing Shoshoni language (section)

{{Short description|Uto-Aztecan language spoken in western US}}

{{Infobox language
| name             = Shoshoni
| nativename       = ''{{Lang|shh|Sosoni' ta̲i̲kwappe}}, {{Lang|shh|Neme ta̲i̲kwappeh}}''
| states           = [[United States]]
| region           = [[Wyoming]], [[Utah]], [[Nevada]], [[Idaho]]
| ethnicity        = [[Shoshone]]s
| speakers         = ~1,000
| speakers2        = 1,000 additional non-fluent speakers (2007)<ref name=e18/>
| date             = 2007
| ref              = e18
| familycolor      = Uto-Aztecan
| fam2             = Northern
| fam3             = [[Numic languages|Numic]]
| fam4             = Central
| ancestor         = Proto-Numic
| dia1             = Western Shoshoni
| dia2             = Northern Shoshoni
| dia3             = [[Gosiute dialect|Gosiute]]
| dia4             = Eastern Shoshoni
| script           = Latin
| iso3             = shh
| glotto           = shos1248
| glottorefname    = Shoshoni
| notice           = IPA
| map              = Shoshone map.svg
| mapcaption       = Map of the Shoshoni (and [[Timbisha language|Timbisha]]) languages prior to European contact
| map2             = Lang Status 40-SE.svg
| mapcaption2      = {{center|{{small|Shoshoni is classified as Severely Endangered by the [[UNESCO]] ''[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]''}}}}

}}

'''Shoshoni''', also written as '''Shoshoni-Gosiute''' and '''Shoshone''' ({{IPAc-en|ʃ|oʊ|ˈ|ʃ|oʊ|n|i}} {{respell|shoh|SHOH|nee}};<ref>Bauer, Laurie. (2007). ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook''. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.</ref> Shoshoni: soni''<nowiki/>' ta̲i̲kwappe'', ''newe ta̲i̲kwappe'' or ''neme ta̲i̲kwappeh''), is a [[Numic]] language of the [[Uto-Aztecan]] family, spoken in the [[Western United States]] by the [[Shoshone]] people. Shoshoni is primarily spoken in the [[Great Basin]], in areas of [[Wyoming]], [[Utah]], [[Nevada]], and [[Idaho]].<ref name=":3" />{{Rp|1}}

The consonant inventory of Shoshoni is rather small, but a much wider range of surface forms of these phonemes appear in the spoken language. The language has six vowels, distinguished by length.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Shoshoni Grammar|last=McLaughlin|first=John E.|publisher=Lincom Europa|year=2012|isbn=9783862883042|location=Munich|oclc=793217272}}</ref>{{Rp|3}} Shoshoni is a strongly suffixing language, and it inflects for nominal number and case and for verbal aspect and tense using suffixes. Word order is relatively free but shows a preference toward SOV order.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://wals.info/languoid/lect/wals_code_sho|title=WALS Online - Language Shoshone|website=The World Atlas of Language Structures Online|language=en|access-date=2018-01-25}}</ref>

The endonyms ''newe ta̲i̲kwappe'' and ''Sosoni' ta̲i̲kwappe'' mean "the people's language" and "the Shoshoni language," respectively.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book|title=An Introduction to the Shoshoni Language: Dammen Da̲igwape|last1=Gould|first1=Drusilla|last2=Loether|first2=Christopher|publisher=University of Utah Press|year=2002|isbn=0874807301|location=Salt Lake City|oclc=50114343}}</ref>{{Rp|5,176}} Shoshoni is classified as threatened, although attempts at revitalization are underway.<ref name=":1" />