Choynimni (also spelled Choinumne) is a dialect of

Kings River Yokuts Kings River was a Yokutsan language of California. Dialects There were four dialects of Kings River, ''Chukaymina, Michahay, Ayitcha'' ( ''Kocheyali),'' and ''Choynimni''. See also *Yokutsan languages Yokuts, formerly known as Mariposa, is ...

historically spoken along the Kings River between Sanger and Mill Creek (near

Piedra Piedra is a hair disease caused by a fungus, which causes formation of nodules on the hair shaft.Veasey JV, Avila RB, Miguel BAF, Muramatu LH. White piedra, black piedra, tinea versicolor, and tinea nigra: contribution to the diagnosis of superfic ...

). The language is the best documented dialect of Kings River Yokuts. Choynimni_Kroeber

Information on the language was collected by

Clinton Hart Merriam Clinton Hart Merriam (December 5, 1855 – March 19, 1942) was an American zoologist, mammalogist, ornithologist, entomologist, ecologist, ethnographer, geographer, naturalist and physician. He was commonly known as the 'father of mammalogy', a ...

and Stanley Newman.

Fluent speakers

Jennie Irene Oliver, one of the last fully fluent speaker of Choynimni died in 2022 at the age of 83. Living members of the tribe retain knowledge of Choynimni including an estimated half dozen speakers.

Revitalization effort

Efforts to revitalize the language have been organized through the

California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

Department of Linguistics.

References

Endangered Yokutsan languages {{NorthAm-native-stub