The Tamyen language (also spelled as ''Tamien'', ''Thamien'') is one of eight
Ohlone languages
The Ohlone languages, also known as Costanoan, form a small Indigenous language, Indigenous language family historically spoken in Northern California, both in the southern San Francisco Bay Area and northern Monterey Bay area, by the Ohlone peop ...
, once spoken by
Tamien people
The Tamien people (also spelled Tamyen or Thamien) are one of eight linguistic divisions of the Ohlone people; groups of Native Americans who live in Northern California. The Tamien traditionally lived throughout the Santa Clara Valley. The us ...
in
Northern California
Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...
.
''Tamyen'' (also called ''Santa Clara Costanoan'') has been extended to mean the
Santa Clara Valley
The Santa Clara Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle de Santa Clara'') is a geologic trough in Northern California that extends south–southeast from San Francisco to Hollister, California, Hollister. The longitudinal valley is bordered ...
Indians, as well as for the language they spoke. Tamyen is listed as one of the Costanoan language dialects in the
Utian family. It was the primary language that Natives spoke at the first and second
Mission Santa Clara
Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to:
Geography Australia
*Mission River (Queensland)
Canada
*Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality
*Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood
* O ...
(both founded in 1777). Linguistically, it is thought that
Chochenyo
The Chochenyo (also called Chocheño, Chocenyo) are one of the divisions of the Indigenous Ohlone (Costanoan) people of Northern California. The Chochenyo reside on the east side of the San Francisco Bay (the East Bay), primarily in what is no ...
, Tamyen and
Ramaytush
The Ramaytush () or Rammay-tuš people are a linguistic subdivision of the Ohlone people of Northern California. The term Ramaytush was first applied to them in the 1970s, but the modern Ohlone people of the peninsula have claimed it as their e ...
were close dialects of a single language.
See also
*
Ohlone tribes and villages in Santa Clara Valley
*
Tamien Station
Tamien station is an intermodal passenger transportation station in the Tamien neighborhood of central San Jose, California, served by the VTA light rail and the Caltrain commuter rail line, along with bus connections. The station has two ele ...
*
Tamien, San Jose
Tamien is a neighborhood of central San Jose, California. The neighborhood is centered around Tamien Station, one of San Jose's most important transit stations.
History
The neighborhood and its station are named after the Tamien people of the ...
Further reading
* Levy, Richard. 1978. ''Costanoan'', in ''Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 8 (California)''. William C. Sturtevant, and Robert F. Heizer, eds. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1978. / 0160045754, pages 485-495.
* Milliken, Randall. ''A Time of Little Choice: The Disintegration of Tribal Culture in the San Francisco Bay Area 1769-1910'' Menlo Park, CA: Ballena Press Publication, 1995. (alk. paper)
* Teixeira, Lauren. ''The Costanoan/Ohlone Indians of the San Francisco and Monterey Bay Area, A Research Guide''. Menlo Park, CA: Ballena Press Publication, 1997. .
External links
Tamyen Survey of California and Other Indian Languages
Comparative vocabulary, TamyenTamyen, California Language ArchiveTamyen, Papers of John P. Harrington, Part 2, Northern and Central CaliforniaTamien Nation, language, and culture
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamyen Language
Ohlone languages
Extinct languages of North America
History of the San Francisco Bay Area
Culture in the San Francisco Bay Area
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