Tataviam

The traditional Tataviam language area is on the upper Santa Clara River into the Sawmill and Tehachapi Mountains. In the 21st century, there are no first-language speakers (Golla 2011).

Tatativam (also called “Alliklik”) is a member of the Takic branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family (though previously considered a Chumashan language). It is related to Cahuilla, Cupeño, Gabrielino, Juaneno, Kitanemuk, Luiseño, and Serrano. The other Uto-Aztecan languages of California are Tubatulabal and the Numic languages (Chemehuevi-Southern Paiute-Ute, Comanche, Kawaiisu, Mono, Northern Paiute, Panamint, and Shoshone).

Selected archival materials at Berkeley

• California Language Archive: “Tataviam”

Selected materials in other archives

• The American Philosophical Society: “Tataviam”

Further reading

• Bright, William. 1975. The Alliklik Mystery. The Journal of California Anthropology, 2:228-230. [PDF]
• Golla, Victor. 2011. California Indian languages. Berkeley: University of California Press.
• Hill, Jane H and Hill, Kenneth C. 2019. Comparative Takic Grammar. UC Berkeley Survey Reports, Survey of California and Other Indian Languages. [PDF]
• Johnson, John R. and Earle, David D. 1990. Tataviam Geography and Ethnohistory. Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, 12:191-214. [PDF]

Links

• Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians