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Taino Indian Language

Taino is an Arawakan language of the Caribbean, originally spoken in what is now Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. Today there are two Taino languages: the original Taino tongue--which, though not spoken as a first language today, is being taught to Taino children in an active language revival program--and a unique Spanish-Taino creole, spoken by many Taino people, using Spanish grammar but with half of its vocabulary words Taino in origin. As with many creoles, monolingual Spanish speakers cannot understand this new Taino-Spanish language at all.

˜Taino Language Resources –

Taino Words
Our list of vocabulary words in the Taino language, with comparison to words in other Arawakan languages.

Dictionary of the Taino Language
Online Taino dictionary with translations in English and Spanish.

Taíno
Taino language information from Indigenous Languages of the Caribbean.

The Origin and Survival of the Taino Language
A good article on the creolization of Taino and the Taino contributions to Caribbean Spanish dialects.

Taíno Vocabulary in Puerto Rico
List of Taino loanwords used in Puerto Rican Spanish, with their meanings.

Dominican Taino Words
List of Taino loanwords used in the Dominican Republic, with their meanings.

Taino Prayers:
Taino translation of the Lord's Prayer.

Taino Language
Demographic information about Taino from the Ethnologue of Languages.

Diccionario Taino

La Lenguaje Taino
Taino language information in Spanish.

Languages Of The Pre-Columbian Antilles
A nice overview of Taino and other Arawakan and native Caribbean languages.

Diccionario Taino Ilustrado
Taino dictionary for sale, also with lots of linguistic information about the Taino language.
(Ignore the Amazon.com claim that this book is in Arabic; it is written in Spanish!)

˜Taino Culture and History Links –

Jatibonicu Taino Tribal Nation of Boriken
Official homepage of the Taino tribe of Puerto Rico.

Jatibonicu Taino Tribal Band of New Jersey
Many Puerto Rican Taino people emigrated to New Jersey; the offshoot band there is recognized by the main Jatibonicu tribe.

Taino Tribe
Article on the history and culture of the Taino Indians.

Arawak/Taino Indians
Overview of Taino Indian history.

Taino Flags:
Pictures and descriptions of the Taino tribal flag.

Spicy Taino Guanaho (Wild Turkey):
Traditional Taino recipes.

Taino Tribe Resources:
Taino links.

˜Books For Sale On The Tainos –

The Tainos: Rise & Decline of the People Who Greeted Columbus
History of the Taino Indians for sale.

Columbus and the Golden World of the Island Arawaks
An interesting description of the interactions between the Europeans and the Taino Indians.

Taino: Pre-Columbian Art and Culture from the Caribbean
A gorgeous photographic exhibit of Taino artwork.

Taino Revival
An interesting sociology book on Taino and Puerto Rican identity today.

The Legend of the Hummingbird:
Picture book illustrating a Taino Indian legend about the origin of hummingbirds.

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