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Apalachee Indian Language (Apalachi)

Language: Apalachee was a Muskogean language of the American Southeast, once spoken in the Florida Panhandle and parts of Southeast Georgia. Very little is known of it today. Early Spanish transcripts of the language suggest that it was most closely related to Hitchiti and Alabama. Under the pressure of colonization, most Apalachee people either joined the Creek Confederacy or migrated west to Louisiana, and their language has not been spoken since the early 18th century, However, some Apalachee descendants in Louisiana are working to learn their ancestral language again. Like other Muskogean languages, Apalachee was a language with morphologically complex verbs and SOV word order.

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Names: The name Apalachee comes from the language of their Hitchiti neighbors, and means "people on the other side." Their original name for themselves was never recorded; it's possible that Apalachee people normally identified themselves by their village name, as many Southeastern people did, rather than using a special name to refer to their tribe in general. They were also sometimes known as San Luis Indians, after the name of the Spanish fort based in their territory, Mission San Luis de Talimali. Tribal descendants today call themselves Apalachees. Alternate spellings of this name include Appalachi, Apalache, Appalachee, and Apalachi.

Apalachee Language

Apalachee language samples and resources.

Apalachee Culture and History

Information and links about the Apalachee tribe past and present.

Apalachee Indians Fact Sheet

Our answers to common school questions about the Apalachees and their lifestyle.

Apalachee Language Resources

Our Online Apalachee Materials

Apalachee Vocabulary:
Our list of vocabulary words in the Apalachee language, with comparison to words in other Muskogean languages.

Apalachee Pronunciation Guide:
How to pronounce Apalachee Indian words.

Apalachee Dictionaries and Language Books for Sale
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Native Languages of the Southeastern United States
In-depth book about Apalachee and the other Southeast Indian languages.

Native American Language Dictionaries:
American Indian language books and other materials for sale.

Apalachee Language Lessons and Linguistic Descriptions

Map of Florida Tribes:

Map of Georgia Tribes:
Maps showing the areas where the Apalachee language was spoken.

The Native Languages of the Southeastern United States:
Information about Apalachee and the other languages of the American Southeast.

Apalache Language Tree:
Theories about Apalachee's language relationships compiled by Linguist List.

Links, References, and Additional Information

Apalachee:
Encyclopedia articles on the Apalachee tribe and their language.
La Lengua Apalache:
Information about the Appalachee language in Spanish.
Four Directions Center: Apalachee:
Apalachee links.

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