The Cupan languages are a branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family that comprises Cupeño, Ivilyuat (Cahuilla), Luiseño-Juaneño, and perhaps Nicoleño, all historically spoken in

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. The branch had long been considered to be part of the Takic subgroup, but there is doubt about the validity of Takic as a genetic unit, the similarities between the languages classed as Takic possibly being due primarily to borrowing.

Languages and dialects

* Luiseño-Juaneño language ** Luiseño

dialect cluster A dialect is a variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standardized varieties as well as vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardized varieties, such as those used in developing countries or iso ...

** Juaneño dialect † * Ivilyuat (also known as Cahuilla) ** Mountain Cahuilla dialect ** Pass Cahuilla dialect (also known as Wanikik) † ** Desert Cahuilla dialect * Cupeño † ** Cupa dialect † ** Wilaqalpa dialect † ** Paluqla dialect † ''(†)'' –

Extinct language An extinct language or dead language is a language with no living native speakers. A dormant language is a dead language that still serves as a symbol of ethnic identity to an ethnic group; these languages are often undergoing a process of r ...

References

Northern Uto-Aztecan languages Indigenous languages of California {{UtoAztecan-lang-stub