American Indian English

American Indian English, also called Native American English, is a special way some people speak English. Many American Indians and Alaska Natives use these special sounds and words. They also speak their own languages, but only a few of these are used every day.

This article talks about the common features of American Indian English. It shows how these ways of speaking are different from what many people think of as "typical" English. This helps us learn about the rich language traditions of American Indians and Alaska Natives.

American Indian English has many different dialects. Each dialect has its own special qualities. These dialects show the history and culture of the people who speak them. Learning about them helps us appreciate the unique voices of many communities in the United States.

Pronunciation

American Indian English has some different sounds compared to typical English. For example, in Navajo English, some vowel sounds might blend together more.

In other groups like the Colorado River Indians, vowels often sound a bit lower.

In some tribes like the Cheyenne and Tsimshian, the "th" sound is often replaced with a "t" or "d". This makes words sound a little different. These dialects also have unique ways of stressing words.

Grammar

American Indian English has many different ways of using words and sentences. It often uses fewer plural and possessive markers than standard English. For example, someone might say, "one of the dogs is here" without adding an "s" to show there is more than one dog. Some groups, like the Navajo and Northern Ute, might never add plural markers to nouns at all.

Verbs in American Indian English also differ, often missing endings like "-ed" or "-s" that show tense. Words like "be," "have," and "get" might be left out too. Some varieties even add plural markers to things that are usually uncountable, saying "furnitures" instead of "furniture." The way verbs are used can change a lot from one tribe to another.

Sometimes, pronouns like "she" or "her" don’t match the gender of the person they refer to, especially at the end of sentences. In Mohave and Cheyenne English, pronouns might be left out completely, as in the sentence, "I didn’t know where you were, was too busy to look, waited for you at school, but weren’t there."