Paipai is the native language of the Paipai, spoken in the

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

municipality of Ensenada (settlements of Arroyo de León (Ejido Kiliwas), Camalu, Cañón de la Parra, Comunidad Indígena de Santa Catarina, Ejido 18 de Marzo (El Álamo), El Aguajito (El Mat Chip), El Alamar, El Pinacate hknan El Ranchito ikwalpuk El Sauzal, Ensenada, Ex Hacienda Sinaloa, Héroes de la Independencia (Llano Colorado), Lázaro Cárdenas (Valle de Trinidad), La Huerta, La Vinata ipuk Leyes de Reforma (El Rodeo), Misión Santo Domingo, Ojo de Agua Colorada, Poblado Héroes de Chapultepec, Poblado Puerta Trampa, Pórticos del Mar, Ranchito Xonuko, Rancho Agua de Vida, Rancho el Sauco, Rancho Escondido, Rancho las Canoas, Rancho Mariscal, Rancho San Belem, Rancho Santa Martha, Real del Castillo Nuevo (Ojos Negros), Rincón de Santa Catarina, San Isidoro, Sauce Largo okakgul Sauce Solo okazis Úrsulo Galván, Valle de la Trinidad, and Yokakiul). It is part of the Yuman language family. There are quite a few speakers left, but most are over age 50. Most Paipai now live in

Kumeyaay The Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai or by their historical Spanish name Diegueño, is a tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas who live at the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the Unit ...

villages. It is believed that Paipai was separated from the ''Northern Pai languages'' many years ago. In oral tradition of most Yuman tribes, the people descended from Avikwame (also known as Newberry Mt.) and went were Kumat directed them. So at one time the Paipai might have been with the other tribes. The Paipai language was documented by Judith Joël and Mauricio J. Mixco, who have published texts and studies of syntax. Paipai belongs to the Yuman language family. Within the Yuman family, Paipai belongs to the Pai branch, which also includes the Upland Yuman language, dialects of which are spoken by the

Yavapai The Yavapai are a Native American tribe in Arizona. Historically, the Yavapai – literally “people of the sun” (from ''Enyaava'' “sun” + ''Paay'' “people”) – were divided into four geographical bands who identified as separate, i ...

Walapai The Hualapai (, , yuf-x-wal, Hwalbáy) is a federally recognized Native American tribe in Arizona with about 2300 enrolled members. Approximately 1353 enrolled members reside on the Hualapai Reservation, which spans over three counties in Nort ...

, and Havasupai of western Arizona. The relationship between Paipai and Upland Yuman is very close; some observers have suggested that Paipai and Yavapai are mutually intelligible (i.e., that the Paipai and Upland Yumans spoke dialects of a single language), while other observers have claimed that they are not. The controversial technique of

glottochronology Glottochronology (from Attic Greek γλῶττα ''tongue, language'' and χρόνος ''time'') is the part of lexicostatistics which involves comparative linguistics and deals with the chronological relationship between languages.Sheila Embleton ( ...

suggests that the Pai branch of Yuman may have separated from the other two branches of Core Yuman (River Yuman and Delta–California Yuman) about 1,000-1,700 years ago. Paipai may have separated from Upland Yuman 1,000 years ago or less.

Phonology

Consonants

* /x/ can be heard as uvular �when preceding consonants, or in syllable initial position. * /ʐ/ can be heard as an alveolar trill in free variation among speakers.

Vowels

* /a/ can be heard as �in syllable initial position.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paipai Language Yuman–Cochimí languages Indigenous languages of the Southwestern United States Indigenous languages of the North American Southwest