Tachi is an endangered dialect of Southern

Valley Yokuts Valley Yokuts is a dialect cluster of the Yokutsan language family of California. Chukchansi, which is still spoken natively, has language classes and a preschool for children. It is also taught at a local elementary school. Though there are no ...

historically spoken north of

Tulare Lake Tulare Lake () ( Spanish: ''Laguna de Tache'', Yokuts: ''Pah-áh-su'') is a freshwater dry lake with residual wetlands and marshes in the southern San Joaquin Valley, California, United States. After Lake Cahuilla disappeared in the 17th century ...

in the Central Valley of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. 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 Santa Rosa Rancheria is the reservation of the Santa Rosa Indian Community of the Santa Rosa Rancheria. It is located southeast of Lemoore, California. Established in 1934 on about , the Santa Rosa Rancheria belongs to the federally recognized ...

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 "Maria Jacobo potum dedit", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a ...

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

{{Reflist Endangered Yokutsan languages