The languages spoken by the Pueblo people of Acoma, Cochiti, Laguna, San Felipe,
Santa Ana, Santo Domingo, and Zia Pueblos are so closely related that linguists usually consider them dialects of a single language, known as Keres
or Keresan. This Keresan language is not related at all to the Kiowa-Tanoan languages
spoken by most of the other Pueblo people of New Mexico, however. The Keres language is spoken by nearly 8000 people in the American Southwest
today.
As with Tiwa, Tewa and Towa, there is some disagreement among the Keres people as to whether Keres should be a written language or not. Some Pueblo
elders feel that their languages should be preserved by oral traditions alone. However, many Keres speakers have decided that literacy is important for
passing the language on to the children. The Keres-speaking pueblos have developed their own orthography (spelling system) for their language, and
today there are programs teaching Pueblo children to read and write in five of the seven Keres-speaking pueblos.
Keres Words
Our list of vocabulary words in the Keres language (from Cochiti and Laguna Pueblos.)
Keres Language Lessons and Linguistic Descriptions
Cochiti Keres
Audio files of a few Keresan words, with an interesting discussion about whether or not Keres should be a written language today.
El Morro Vocabulary:
Online dictionary of words from the Keres, Zuni and Navajo languages.
Pueblo Languages
Overview of Keres and other Pueblo languages from the Encyclopedia of North American Indians.
Pueblo Placenames:
Southwestern place names in Keres, Tiwa, Tewa, Jemez, and Zuni.
Native American cultures
Keres Words
Contacts and FAQ page
