Lipan is an Eastern Southern Athabaskan language spoken by the Lipan Apache in the states of Coahuila and Chihuahua in northern Mexico, some reservations of New Mexico and parts of southern Texas. Lipan belongs to the Na-Dene languages family and it is closely related to the Jicarilla language, which is also part of the Eastern Southern Athabaskan languages.

History

In 1981, it was reported that in New Mexico there were only 2 or 3 elderly speakers still alive. On March 22, 2023, a speech in Lipan was given in the tribune of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico. On July 22, 2023, the Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas presented and validated an official alphabet for Lipan in the Assembly Hall of Casas Grandes, Chihuahua.

Distribution

In Mexico, Lipan is traditionally spoken in some native communities in the states of Coahuila and Chihuahua: In Coahuila it was mainly spoken in Los Lirios and San Antonio de Alanzas in Arteaga Municipality, El Remolino and Zaragoza in Zaragoza Municipality, Sierra de Santa Rosa de Lima and Múzquiz in Múzquiz Municipality and the cities of Sabinas and Saltillo. In Chihuahua it is mainly spoken in Ciudad Juarez, the city of Chihuahua and other native towns. Lipan was spoken in New Mexico in the Mescalero Reservation and in Texas near the Mexico-U.S. border.

Phonology

Consonants

There are 30 consonants in Lipan Apache:

Vowels

There are 16 vowels in Lipan Apache:

Tone

Tones are represented as high, low , falling , and rising. Rising and falling tones only occur on long vowels.

Toponymy

The Lipan people preserve their own toponymic names to name important places within their history and culture that are part of the Ndé Bikéyaa ("Ndé land" in Lipan):