Wailaki, also known as Eel River, is an extinct

Athabaskan language Athabaskan (also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large family of indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous languages of North America, located in western North America in three areal ...

spoken by the people of the

Round Valley Reservation The Round Valley Indian Reservation is a federally recognized Indian reservation lying primarily in northern Mendocino County, California, United States. A small part of it extends northward into southern Trinity County. The total land area, incl ...

of northern California, one of four languages belonging to the ''California Athabaskan'' cluster of the

Pacific Coast Athabaskan languages Pacific Coast Athabaskan is a geographical and possibly genealogical grouping of the Athabaskan language family. California Athabaskan : 1. Hupa (dining'-xine:wh, a.k.a. Hoopa-Chilula) :: dialects: ::* Hupa ::* Tsnungwe ::: - tse:ning-xwe ::: - ...

. Dialect clusters reflect the four Wailaki-speaking peoples, the

Sinkyone The Eel River Athabaskans include the Wailaki, Lassik, Nongatl, and Sinkyone (Sinkine) groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans that traditionally live in present-day Mendocino, Trinity, and Humboldt counties on or nea ...

Wailaki The Eel River Athabaskans include the Wailaki, Lassik, Nongatl, and Sinkyone (Sinkine) groups of Native Americans that traditionally live in present-day Mendocino, Trinity, and Humboldt counties on or near the Eel River and Van Duzen River o ...

Nongatl The Eel River Athabaskans include the Wailaki, Lassik, Nongatl, and Sinkyone (Sinkine) groups of Native Americans that traditionally live in present-day Mendocino, Trinity, and Humboldt counties on or near the Eel River and Van Duzen River o ...

, and Lassik, of the Eel River confederation.

Phonology

The sounds in Wailaki:

Consonants

Vowels

Vowels in Wailaki are /i e a o/, and with length as /iː eː aː oː/.

References

* * *

External links

Wailaki language
overview at the

Survey of California and Other Indian Languages The Survey of California and Other Indian Languages (originally the Survey of California Indian Languages) at the University of California at Berkeley documents, catalogs, and archives the indigenous languages of the Americas. The survey also hosts ...

Wailaki Language (Sinkyone, Lassik, Nongatl, Eel River Athabaskan)

OLAC resources in and about the Wailaki language

{{Athabaskan languages Indigenous languages of California Pacific Coast Athabaskan languages Eel River Athapaskan peoples