美洲印第安诸语言

　　美洲印第安诸语言(American Indian languages)

　　美洲、西印度群岛原住民与其现代後裔所操的语言。美洲印第安诸语言并不是相关联的单一语文（与印欧诸语言不同），亦无结构上的共同特色（如发音、文法或字汇），各地所操的美洲印第安语，显然不是一个整体。在前哥伦布时代，在墨西哥以北的美洲，约有三百种方言，使用人口约两百～七百万。目前不到一百七十种留存下来，且能流利的使用这些语言的大多数是老人家。少数能广为流传的语族（如阿尔冈昆诸语言〔Algonquian〕、易洛魁诸语言〔Iroquoian〕、苏语诸语言〔Siouan〕、穆斯科格诸语言〔Muskogean languages〕、阿萨巴斯卡诸语言〔Athabaskan〕、犹他－阿兹特克诸语言〔Uto-Aztecan〕、萨利什诸语言〔Salishan〕）在北美洲东部和内陆有许多语支，而西部是一个完全不同的支系（参阅Hokan languages、Penutian languages）。墨西哥与中美洲北部（中美洲）印第安人口估计为两千万人，在前哥伦布时期所操语言约三百种；以两个最大的语系马雅诸语言（Mayan）和奥托－曼格诸语言（Oto-manguean）以及单一的语言纳瓦特尔语（Nahuatl）为主；其他还有许多小语族和孤立的语言。至今还有十种以上的语言使用人口超过十万以上。前哥伦布时代南美洲和西印度群岛的原住民人口在一千万至两千万之间，语言的分歧最大，在五百种以上。重要的语系包括哥伦比亚和中美洲南部的奇布查诸语言（hibchan）；安地斯山脉地区的克丘亚诸语言（Quechuan）和艾马拉诸语言（Aymaran）；南美洲北部和中部低地区的阿拉瓦克诸语言（Arawakan）、加勒比诸语言（Cariban）和图皮诸语言（Tupian）。克丘兹及艾马拉诸语言约有一千万名使用者，而主要分布於北美印第安族群的图皮语言的使用者现已鲜见，且在被记录前即消失了。

　　English version

　　American Indian languages

　　Languages spoken by the original inhabitants of the Americas and the West Indies and by their modern descendants. They display an extraordinary structural range, and no attempt to unite them into a small number of genetic groupings has won general acceptance. Before Columbus, more than 300 distinct languages were spoken in North America north of Mexico by an estimated population of 2-7 million. Today there are fewer than 170 languages, of which the great majority are spoken fluently only by older adults. A few widespread language families (Algonquian, Iroquoian, Siouan, Muskogean, Athabaskan, Uto-Aztecan, Salishan) account for many of the languages of eastern and interior North America, though the far west was an area of extreme diversity (see Hokan, Penutian). In Mexico and northern Central America (Mesoamerica), an estimated 15-20 million people spoke more than 300 languages before Columbus. The large Otomanguean and Mayan families and a single language, Nahuatl, shared Mesoamerica with many smaller families and language isolates. More than 10 of these languages and language complexes still have over 100,000 speakers. South America and the West Indies had an estimated pre-Columbian population of 10-20 million, speaking more than 500 languages. Important language families include Chibchan in Colombia and southern Central America, Quechuan and Aymaran in the Andean region, and Arawakan, Cariban, and Tupian in northern and central lowland South America. Aside from Quechuan and Aymaran, with about 10 million speakers, and the Tupian language Guaraní, most remaining South American Indian languages have very few speakers, and some face extinction before linguists can adequately record them.