American Indian Languages
The Coosan Language Family
The Coosan (also Coos or Kusan) language family consists of two languages spoken along the southern Oregon coast. Both languages are now extinct.
Hanis was spoken north of the Miluk around the Coos River and Coos Bay. The name Hanis is derived from há·nis which is the Hanis name for themselves. The last known speaker of Hanis was Martha Johnson who died in 1972.
Miluk was spoken around the lower Coquille River and the South Slough of Coos Bay. Miluk is derived from míluk the Miluk name for themselves, which is related to a village name. The last known speaker of Miluk was Annie Miner Peterson (who knew both Miluk and Hanis and recorded songs and myths on phonographs). She died in 1939.
The origin of the name Coos is uncertain: one idea is that it is derived from a Hanis stem gus- meaning 'south' as in gusimídži·c 'southward'; another idea is that it is derived from a southwestern Oregon Athabaskan word ku·s meaning 'bay'.
Genetic relations
In 1916 Edward Sapir suggested that the Coosan languages are part of a larger Oregon Penutian genetic grouping. This is currently being investigated.
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American Indian Language Family Trees
Goddard (1996) & Mithun (1999)
(preliminary)
LANGUAGE FAMILIES
8. Coosan (> Coast Penutian?)
SEE: Penutian, Oregon Penutian, Coast Oregon, Coosan
Eskimo-Aleut
- Eskimoan
- Aleut = Unangan
Iroquoian
Kalapuyan [kalapúyan]
Kiowa-Tanoan
Maiduan
Muskogean [m^sk^djían]
Palaihnihan (Achumawi-Atsugewi)
Pomoan [pómo, pomóan]
Sahaptian
Salishan [sélish]
Shastan
Siouan-Catawban
- Siouan
- Catawban
Tsimshianic
Utian
- Miwok
- Costanoan
Utaztecan
- Numic = Plateau
- Tübatulabal = Kern
- Takic = Southern California
- Hopi = Pueblo
- Tepiman = Pimic
- Taracahitic
- Tubar
- Corachol
- Aztecan
Wakashan
- Kwakiutlan
- Nootkan
Wintuan (>Coast Penutian?)
Yokutsan
Yuman-Cochimi
- Yuman
- Cochimi
ISOLATES
- Adai
- Alsea [alsi] (> Coast Penutian?)
- Atakapa (>Tunican?)
- Beothuk (unclassifiable?)
- Cayuse
- Chimariko [chimáriko]
- Chititmacha [shitimashá] (>Tunican?)
- Coahuilteco
- Cotoname = Carrizo de Camargo
- Esselen
- Haida
- Karankawa
- Karuk
- Keres
- Klamath-Modoc
- Kootenai [kúteni]
- Molala
- Natchez
- Salinan
- Siuslaw (>Coast Penutian?)
- Takelma [takélma]
- Timucua
- Tonkawa [tónkawa]
- Tunica (>Tunican?)
- Wappo (>Yuki-Wappo)
- Washo
- Yana
- Yuchi (>Siouan)
- Yuki (>Yuki-Wappo)
- Zuni
STOCKS
Yuki-Wappo supported by Elmendorf (1981, 1997)
Penutian outside Mexico considered probably by many
- Tsimshianic
- Coosan
- Takelma
- Kalapuya (not close to Takelma: Tarpent & Kendall 1998)
- Maidun
- Oregon Coast-Wintu (Whistler 1977, Golla 1997)
- Alsea
- Coosan
- Siuslaw
- Wintuan
- Plateau
- Sahaptian
- Klamath
- Molala
- Cayuse ? (poor data)
- Yok-Utian ?
- Yokuts
- Utian
Siouan-Yuchi "probable"; Macro-Siouan likely
- Iroquoian-Coosan
- Iroquoian
- Coosan
- Siouan-Yuchi
- Siouan-Catawban
- Yuchi
Natchez-Muskogean most likely of the Gulf hypothesis
- Natchez
- Muskogean
Hokan: most promising proposals
- Karuk
- Chimariko
- Shastan
- Palaihnihan
- Yana
- Washo
- Pomoan
- Esselen
- Salinan
- Yuman-Cochimi
- Seri
"Unlikely" to be Hokan:
- Coosan
- Tonkawa
- Karankawa
Subtiaba-Tlappanec is likely part of Otomanguean (Rensch 1977, Oltrogge 1977)
Aztec-Tanoan is "undemonstrated"; Mosan is a Sprachbund
