What are the Siouan languages?
I guess this isn’t exactly a Frequently Asked Question. When I can find somebody innocent enough to ask me this, it’s usually phrased more nearly like “Just what the [censored] is a Siouxan language, anyway?” OK, first thing – no x. In Sioux yes, but not in Siouan. We’re going for the English word with the longest vowel sequence in it,** and the x would completely mess this up. The x in Siouan is not only silent, it’s invisible. The Comparative Siouan Dictionary project has renamed the Siouan family Siouan-Catawban. Siouan constitutes what was formerly termed Western Siouan or Siouan proper, while Catawban is what was termed Eastern Siouan. The older terminology led to several problems. First, the Ohio Valley branch of Western Siouan is often called Southeastern Siouan, and it has been awkward to have a branch of Western Siouan, as opposed to Eastern Siouan, that rejoices in the name Southeastern Siouan. People tend to expect Southeastern Siouan to be part of Eastern Siouan, not Wester
