Mandan is a Siouan language that was spoken on Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota in the USA. The last fluent speaker, Edwin Benson, died in December 2016, however efforts are being made to revive the language. It is taught in a number of schools, and in Fort Berthold Community College. A linguist from the University of Utah, Mauricio Mixco, worked with the remaining Mandan speakers from 1993 to document the language.
During the 19th century there was speculation that the Mandan people were possibly of European origin, due to the ligher skin colour. Prince Maximilian of Wied (1782-1867) collected Mandan words and compared them to Welsh, as he thought the Mandan were related to the Welsh. However, there is no connection between the two languages.
Download an alphabet chart for Mandan (Excel)
Details of the Mandan alphabet provided by Michael Peter Füstumum
Information about Mandan | Numbers
Information about the Mandan language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandan_language
http://www.native-languages.org/mandan.htm
http://www.languagegeek.com/siouan/ruetare.html
https://www.languagemagazine.com/2016/12/15/last-speaker-mandan-language-dies/
https://www.ethnologue.com/language/mhq
http://www.mandanlanguage.org/dictionary/
Assiniboine, Biloxi, Chiwere, Crow, Dakota, Hidatsa, Ho-Chunk (Winnebago), Lakota, Mandan, Omaha, Osage, Quapaw, Stoney, Tutelo
Languages written with the Latin alphabet
Page last modified: 10.06.24
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