| Tiwa | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in | United States |
| Region | New Mexico, Arizona |
| Ethnicity | Tiwa people |
| Native speakers | <3000 (date missing) |
| Language family |
Tanoan
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | either: tix – Southern Tiwa twf – Northern Tiwa |
Tiwa (Spanish Tigua, also E-nagh-magh[1]) is a group of two, possibly three, related Tanoan languages spoken by the Tiwa Pueblo, and possibly Piro Pueblo, groups in the U.S. state of New Mexico.
Contents |
Southern Tiwa is spoken in Isleta Pueblo, Sandia Pueblo, and Ysleta del Sur Pueblo.
The remaining two languages form a subgrouping known as Northern Tiwa. Northern Tiwa consists of Taos spoken in Taos Pueblo and Picuris spoken in Picuris Pueblo.
An extinct language, Piro (Piro Pueblo), was formerly spoken in the more than twenty pueblos near Socorro, New Mexico.[2] It is poorly attested.[3] This language has sometimes been connected to the Tiwa branch.[4][5] However, most others have placed it on a separate branch within Tanoan.[6] William Leap has even contested that Piro is related to the other Tanoan languages.[7]
After the Pueblo Revolt against the Spanish Conquistadors in 1680, some of the Tigua and Piro fled south with the Spanish to El Paso del Norte (present-day Ciudad Juárez, Mexico). There they founded Ysleta, Texas, Socorro, Texas and Senecú del Sur[8] where their descendants live to this day.[9]