Editing Coahuiltecan languages (section)

==Language relationships==
Similarities among the cultures among the indigenous people and the physical setting of south Texas led linguists to believe that the languages of the region were also similar.<ref>Newcombe, Jr., W. W.   ''The Indians of Texas: from Prehistoric to Modern Times''. Austin: U of TX Press, 1961, pp.29–30</ref>  The Coahuiltecan language family was proposed to include all the languages of the region, including [[Karankawa language|Karankawa]] and [[Tonkawa language|Tonkawa]].  Linguistic connections were proposed with [[Hokan languages|Hokan]], a language family of several Native American peoples living in [[California]], [[Arizona]], and [[Baja California]].<ref>Sapir, E. "The Hokan and Coahuiltecan Languages."  ''International Journal of American Linguistics''. Vo. L, No 4 (Dec 1920), p. 280</ref>

Most modern linguists, by contrast, see the Coahuiltecan region as one of linguistic diversity.  A few words are known from seven different languages: [[Comecrudan languages|Comecrudo]], [[Cotoname]], [[Aranama language|Aranama]], [[Solano language|Solano]], [[Mamulique language|Mamulique]], [[Garza language|Garza]], and [[Coahuilteco]] or Pakawa.<ref>Logan</ref> Coahuilteco or Pakawa seems to have been a ''[[lingua franca]]'' of Texas Coahuiltecans living at or near the [[Spanish missions in the Americas|Catholic Missions]] established at [[San Antonio, Texas|San Antonio]] in the 18th century.  Almost certainly, many more languages were spoken, but numerous Coahuiltecan bands and ethnic groups became extinct between the 16th and 19th century and their languages were unrecorded.  In 1886, ethnologist [[Albert Gatschet]] found perhaps the last surviving speakers of Coahuiltecan languages : 25 Comecrudo, 1 Cotoname, and 2 Pakawa. They were living near [[Reynosa, Mexico]].<ref>Powell, J. W. ''7th Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 1885–1886''.  Washington: GPO, 1891, p. 68</ref> In 1690, the population of Indians in northeastern Mexico and southern Texas may have been 100,000. The Coahuiltecans were sold into slavery, died of introduced European diseases, and were absorbed by the surrounding Hispanic population.<ref>"Coahuiltecan Indians." ''Handbook of Texas Online''. www.tshaonline.org/handhook/online/articles/bmcah, accessed 16 Feb 2012.</ref>

Linguists have postulated a [[Comecrudan languages|Comecrudan language family]] with Comecrudo, Mamulique, and Garza as related and Coahuilteco and Cotoname possibly related. Comecrudo and Cotoname are the best known of the languages. They were spoken in the delta of the [[Rio Grande]].<ref>Salinas, Martin. ''Indians of the Rio Grande Delta''. Austin: U of TX Press, 1990, pp. 142–147</ref> Not enough information exists to classify Solano and Aranama. However, [[Lumpers and splitters|linguistic conservatives]] say that all these languages should be considered [[language isolate]]s, with insufficient data to establish relationships between and among the languages.<ref>Logan, Jennifer L. "Chapter 8: Linguistics" ''Reassessing Cultural Extinction: Change and Survival at Mission San Juan Capistrano'', Texas. College Station: Center for Ecological Archaeology, Texas A&M, 2001</ref>

The Coahuiltecan languages and cultures are now extinct. The names of many bands have been preserved, including the [[Ervipiame]], [[Mayeye]], [[Pajalat]], [[Quems]], [[Quepano]], [[Solano language|Solano]], and [[Xarames]].
[[File:Confes indios cohahuit y esp.pdf|thumb|Colonial era religious text is Coahuitlecan and Spanish from the first half of the 18th century]]