Numic languages
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Numic is a branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. It includes seven languages spoken by Native American peoples traditionally living in the Great Basin, Colorado River basin, and southern Great Plains. The word Numic comes from the cognate word in all Numic languages for "Person." For example, in Shoshone the word is "neme," in Panamint it is "nümü," and in Southern Paiute the word is "nuwuvi."
These languages are classified in three groups:
- Central Numic languages
- Southern Numic languages
- Kawaiisu
- Ute-Southern Paiute
- Western Numic languages
Disregarding the Comanche language, each of these groups contains one language spoken in a small area just east of the Sierra Nevada (Mono, Timbisha and Kawaiisu), and one language spoken in large area further to the east (Northern Paiute, Ute-Southern Paiute and Shoshone). Some linguists have taken this pattern as an indication that Numic speaking peoples expanded from a small core, perhaps near the Owens Valley, into their current range very recently. This view is supported by glottochronological studies, but that methodology is highly controversial. There is no physical archaeological evidence that supports or refutes this view.
The Comanche split off from the Shoshone soon after they acquired horses around 1700. The Comanche language and the Shoshone language are therefore quite similar.
