Keresan
Native to	United States
Region	New Mexico
Ethnicity	Keres
Native speakers	13,190 (2013)[1]
Language family	Language isolate
Dialects	East Keres West Keres
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Either: kee – Eastern kjq – Western
Glottolog	kere1287
ELP	Acoma-Laguna Rio Grande Keresan
Pre-contact distribution of Keresan languages
Acoma-Laguna is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Keres (/ˈkeɪreɪs/)^[2], also Keresan (/ˈkɛrəsən/), is a Native American language, spoken by the Keres Pueblo people in New Mexico. Depending on the analysis, Keres is considered a small language family or a language isolate with several dialects. If it is considered a language isolate, it would be the most widely spoken language isolate within the borders of the United States. The varieties of each of the seven Keres pueblos are mutually intelligible with its closest neighbors. There are significant differences between the Western and Eastern groups, which are sometimes counted as separate languages.

Family division

In 2007, there was an estimate total of 10,670 speakers.^[3]

Genetic relationships

Keres is now considered a language isolate. In the past, Edward Sapir grouped it together with a Hokan–Siouan stock. Morris Swadesh suggested a connection with Wichita. Joseph Greenberg grouped Keres with Siouan, Yuchi, Caddoan, and Iroquoian in a superstock called Keresiouan. None of these proposals has been validated by subsequent linguistic research.

Phonology

Keresan has between 42 and 45 consonant sounds, and around 40 vowel sounds, adding up to a total of about 85 phonemes, depending on the analysis and the language variety. Based on the classification in the World Atlas of Language Structures, Keres is a language with a large consonant inventory.

The great number of consonants relates to the three-way distinction between voiceless, aspirated and ejective consonants (e.g. /t tʰ tʼ/), and to the larger than average^[4] number of fricatives (i.e. /s sʼ ʂ ʂʼ ʃ ʃʼ h/) and affricates, the latter also showing the three-way distinction found in stops.

The large number of vowels derives from a distinction made between long and short vowels (e.g. /e eː/), as well as from the presence of tones and voicelessness. Thus, a single vowel quality may occur with seven distinct realizations: /é è e̥ éː èː êː ěː/, all of which are used to distinguish words in the language.

Consonants

The chart below contains the consonants of the proto-Keresan (or pre-Keresan) from Miller & Davis (1963) based on a comparison of Acoma, Santa Ana, and Santo Domingo, as well as other features of the dialects compiled from The Language of Santa Ana Pueblo (1964), Kansas Working Papers in Linguistics (1987), and The Phonemes of Keresan (1946), and the Grammar of Laguna Keres (2005).^[5][6][7][8]

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Retroflex	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	voiced	m	n	ɲ
	glottalized	mˀ	nˀ	ɲˀ
Plosive	voiceless	p	t	c		k	ʔ
	aspirated	pʰ	tʰ	cʰ		kʰ
	ejective	pʼ	tʼ	cʼ		kʼ
Affricate	voiceless		ts	tʃ	tʂ
	aspirated		tsʰ	tʃʰ	tʂʰ
	ejective		tsʼ	tʃʼ	tʂʼ
Fricative	voiceless		s	ʃ	ʂ		h
	ejective		sʼ	ʃʼ	ʂʼ
Approximant	voiced	w	ɾ	j
	glottalized	wˀ	ɾˀ	jˀ

Vowels

Keresan vowels have a phonemic distinction in duration: all vowels can be long or short. Additionally, short vowels can also be voiceless. The vowel chart below contains the vowel phonemes and allophones from the information of the Keresan languages combined from The Language of Santa Ana Pueblo (1964),^[5] The Phonemes of Keresan (1946),^[7] and Kansas Working Papers in Linguistics (1987).^[6]

Notes:

• Western Keres does not have phonemic /oː/ or /o/, though both vowels may occur phonetically.^[8] Eastern Keres words containing /o/ show /au/ in Western Keres.^[9] For instance, the first vowel in the word-sentence Sraúka̠cha̠ – “I see you”:
  • Kotyit Keres:
  • Kʼawaika Keres: ʂɑ̌ukʰɑ̥tʃʰɑ̥

Voiceless vowelsedit

All Keresan short vowels may be devoiced in certain positions. The phonemic status of these vowels is controversial.^[8] Maring (1967) considers them to be phonemes of Áákʼu Keres, whereas other authors disagree. There are phonetic grounds for vowel devoicing based on the environment they occur, for instance word-finally, but there are also exceptions. Vowels in final position are nearly always voiceless and medial vowels occurring between voiced consonants, after nasals and ejectives are nearly always voiced.^[10]

• Word-final devoicing: pɑ̌ːkʊ̥ because
• Word-medial devoicing: ʔìpʰi̥ʃɑ́ white paint

Tonesedit

Acoma Keres has four lexical tones: high, low, falling and rising.^[10] Falling and rising tones only occur in long vowels and voiceless vowels bear no tones:

Syllable structureedit

Most Keresan syllables take a CV(V) shape.^[8] The maximal syllable structure is CCVVC and the minimal syllable is CV. In native Keresan words, only a glottal stop /ʔ/ ⟨ʼ⟩ can close a syllable, but some loanwords from Spanish have syllables that end in a consonant, mostly a nasal (i.e. /m n/ but words containing these sequences are rare in the language.^[11]