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Dakota-Lakota Sioux Language

Dakota and Lakota are Siouan languages of the Great Plains. They are so closely related that most linguists consider them dialects of the same language, similar to the difference between British and American English. There are some differences in pronunciation, but they are very regular, and Dakota and Lakota Indians can almost always understand each other. The Nakota languages--Stoney and Assiniboine--are also closely related languages but a Dakota or Lakota Sioux speaker cannot easily understand them without language lessons, similar to the difference between Spanish and Portuguese. There are a combined 26,000 speakers of Lakota and Dakota Sioux in the western United States and southern Canada, especially in their namesake states of North and South Dakota.

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Sioux Language

Dakota and Lakota language samples and resources.

Sioux Culture and History

Related links about the Sioux tribe past and present.

Sioux Indians Fact Sheet

Our answers to common questions about the lifestyle of the Sioux Indian tribe.

Sioux Indian Legends

Introduction to the mythology of the Lakotas and Dakotas.

Dakota and Lakota Sioux Language Resources

Our Online Dakota-Lakota Language Materials

Dakota Sioux Vocabulary:
List of vocabulary words in the Dakota language, with comparison to words in other Siouan languages.

Lakota Sioux Vocabulary:
List of vocabulary words in the Lakota language, with comparison to words in other Siouan languages.

Sioux Pronunciation Guide:
How to pronounce Lakota and Dakota Indian words.

Lakota Sioux Animal Words:
Picture dictionary of animal words in the Lakota Sioux language, with audio files. Dakota Sioux version also available.

Lakota Body Parts:
Online and printable worksheets showing parts of the body in the Lakota language. Dakota Sioux version also available.

Lakota Numbers:
Worksheet showing how to count in the Lakota language. Dakota Sioux version also available.

Lakota Colors:
Pictures showing color words in the Lakota language. Dakota Sioux version also available.

One Fish, Two Fish:
Translation of part of the Dr. Seuss children's book in Lakota Sioux.

Dakota-Lakota Language Dictionaries, Audio Tapes and Language Resources
Our organization earns a commission from any book bought through these links

New Lakota Dictionary

English-Lakota and Lakota-English Dictionary:
Lakota dictionaries for sale.

English-Dakota Dictionary

Dakota-English Dictionary
Dakota Sioux dictionary for sale (two-volume set.)

Introductory Lakota:
Comprehensive audio language learning course from the Oglala Lakota College.

Reading and Writing the Lakota Language

Audio CD Version
Lakota Sioux language textbook and accompanying CD for sale.

Lakhotiya Woglaka Po!:
Simple Lakota language-learning CD for sale online.

Beginning Dakota:
Sisseton Dakota language learning textbook.

Lakota Language Products:
Audio workbook sets for practicing Lakota pronunciation.

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

Dakota-Lakota Language Community and Tools

Lakota Language Consortium:
Organization working on Lakota language revitalization, with background and language teaching materials.

Oceti Wakan:
A Pine Ridge organization dedicated to preserving Lakota language and culture. Lakota workbook and CDs for sale.

Dakota-Lakota Language Lessons and Linguistic Descriptions

Dakoteyah Wogdaka/Talk Dakota!:
Yankton Dakota vocabulary and audio files online.

Lakhota Language Resources:
A collection of online texts in Lakhota and Dakota Sioux, with dialect maps and other language materials.

Lakota (Teton):
Lakota Sioux orthography and text example.

Sioux Alphabet:
Phonological inventory of the Dakota Sioux language, with a sample text.

Dakota The Silent Way:
Online Dakota Sioux language games based on an experimental theory of language learning.

Lakxota Language:
Rotating language lessons in Lakota Sioux.

Dakota Language:

Dakota Sioux Bible Translation:

Dakota Sioux Text

Lakota Sioux Text

Sioux Indian Texts:
Scanned-in Dakota and Lakota language materials from the Rosetta Project.

Dakota Language Tree

Lakota Language Tree

Yankton-Yanktonai Language Tree
Santee Language Tree

Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Language Tree:
Theories about Sioux language relationships compiled by Linguist List.

Dakota Language Structures

L:akhota Language Structures:
Dakota and Lakota Sioux linguistic profiles and academic bibliographies.

Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota Sioux:
Article on the relationships between the different Siouan languages.

Lakota Sioux Language:
Encyclopedia article on the Lakota language, including phonology, grammar, and phrases.

Literature and Texts in the Dakota-Lakota Language

Dakota Prayers

Lord's Prayer in Lakota
Christian prayers translated into Dakota and Lakota Sioux.

Language Museum: Dakota:
Bible passage in the Dakota Sioux language.

Dakota Language Plaque:
Canadian human rights tribute written in the Dakota language.

Dakota-Lakota Language Preservation and Usage

Dakota Language

Lakota Language:
Demographic information about Lakota and Dakota Sioux from the Ethnologue of Languages.

College Uses Rap Music to Preserve Dakotah Language:
Article on language preservation efforts on the Sisseton-Wahpeton Reservation.

Dakota and Lakota Sioux Proper Names

Sioux Indian Placenames:
Chart of place names in Lakota-Dakota and Omaha-Ponca.

American Indian Names for Pets:
Our new fundraiser offering names for dogs and other animals in Native American languages (including Lakota and Dakota Sioux).

Additional Resources, Links, and References

La Lengua Dakota

La Lengua Lakota-Teton:
Articles on the Souix language in Spanish. With language maps.
Lakota and Dakota Resources:
Sioux language bibliography.
Dakota Language:

Lakota Language:
Sioux links.
Sioux Tribe:
Sioux Indian books.