Tachi is an endangered dialect of

Southern Valley Yokuts Southern Valley Yokuts is a dialect network within the Valley Yokuts division of the Yokutsan languages spoken in the Central Valley of California. Among the dialects grouped under the label Southern Valley Yokuts are Wechihi, Tachi A ...

historically spoken north of

Tulare Lake Tulare Lake () or Tache Lake ( Yokuts: ''Pah-áh-su'', ''Pah-áh-sē'') is a freshwater lake in the southern San Joaquin Valley, California, United States. Historically, Tulare Lake was once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi R ...

in the Central Valley of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. A. L. Kroeber estimated that Tachi was, at one point, one of the most widely spoken Yokutsan dialects. As of 2019, a few individuals of the Santa Rosa Rancheria are reportedly able to speak Tachi.

Grammar

Tachi has been described as following a subject–verb–object word order though may allow for verb-initial order. The dialect uses

dative case In grammar, the dative case ( abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a drink". In this examp ...

and lacks possessed case.

Status

Speakers

In 1988, an estimated 30 individuals spoke Tachi, including a number who spoke Tachi as a first language.

Revival efforts

In 1987, the Santa Rosa Rancheria piloted a language renewal program, Tachi as a Second Language, through the tribe's Head Start language program. The program sought to increase language exposure among young children within the tribe. Tachi_Yokuts

References

{{Languages of California Endangered Yokutsan languages