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Keres Pueblo Language (Keresan, Queresan, Queres)

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 11,000 people in the American Southwest today.

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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 Language
Keres language samples and resources.

Keres Culture and History
Information and links about the Keres tribe past and present.

Pueblo Culture and History
Information and links about the Pueblo Indians in general.

Pueblo Legends
Introduction to Pueblo Indian mythology.



Keres Language Resources

Our Online Keres Materials

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.
House of Languages: Keres:
    Information about Keresan language usage.
Ethnologue: Eastern Keres: * Ethnologue: Western Keres:
     Demographic information about the Keres language.
Eastern Keres Language Tree * Western Keres Language Tree:
    Theories about Keres's language relationships compiled by Linguist List.
Santa Ana Keresan Language Structures * Acoma Keresan Language Structures:
    Keres linguistic profiles and academic bibliographies.

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Additional Resources, Links, and References

  Endangered Languages Project: Acoma and Laguna Pueblo:
Bibliography of Keres language resources.
  Lengua Keres:
  Information about the Keres language in Spanish.
  Keres Tribe:
  Keres Indian books.



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