The Dakotan Languages, and Their Relations to Other Languages

The author surveys the Dakotan dialects and their relatives, proposing a classification into dialect groups and related languages, and compares lexical and structural evidence to assess affinities. He describes characteristic grammatical features such as a set of pronominal prefixes, a series of verb-forming prefixes, and a reflexive possessive construction, and contrasts analytic tendencies in Dakota with more synthetic structures in neighboring tongues. Vocabulary comparisons and limited data constrain conclusions, so evidence is weighed cautiously. Ethnographic and archaeological observations on population, subsistence, pottery, and house types are used to contextualize linguistic relationships.