Definition

Noun: 1. A subfamily of Uto-Aztecan languages: This term refers to a major branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family, historically spoken by various Indigenous peoples across a large area of the western United States.

Usage

• The term Shoshonean language is used in linguistic classification to group related languages.
• It is an academic or anthropological term, not typically used in everyday conversation.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The linguist specialized in the study of the Shoshonean language family.
  • Ute is a Shoshonean language spoken in Colorado and Utah.

Advanced Usage

• The term "Shoshonean" is sometimes used in a broader, historical linguistic sense. In more precise modern classifications, the languages traditionally called Shoshonean are often categorized under the "Numic" branch of Uto-Aztecan.

Variants and Related Words

• Shoshonean (adjective): Pertaining to these languages or their speakers.
  • They documented Shoshonean oral histories.
• Numic languages: A more specific modern term for the core languages within the Shoshonean group.
• Uto-Aztecan: The larger language family to which Shoshonean belongs.

Synonyms

• Shoshonean (when used to refer to the language group)
• Numic languages (in contemporary linguistic terminology)

Notes on Meaning

• The term Shoshonean language can refer to the entire subfamily as a collective entity. It is not the name of a single, specific language but a category containing several distinct languages, such as Shoshoni, Comanche, Ute, and Paiute.

Noun

1. a subfamily of Uto-Aztecan languages spoken mainly in the southwestern United States