Wichitaspeaking

Wichitaspeaking refers to the use and study of the Wichita language, the traditional tongue of the Wichita people of the Great Plains. The term is used in linguistic and ethnographic contexts to describe both historical and contemporary use of the language. Wichita is also known as Kitikiti’sh or Kitikiti’shin and belongs to the Caddoan language family.

Historically, Wichita was spoken by Wichita communities across the central Great Plains, including present-day Oklahoma, Kansas, and parts of Texas. Following European colonization and periods of assimilation policy, the language experienced a rapid decline in fluent speakers as English became dominant in education and public life.

Today, Wichita remains severely endangered, with only a small number of fluent elders and ongoing efforts to teach the language in tribal schools, community classes, and online resources. The Wichita and Affiliated Tribes of Oklahoma coordinates language programs and documentation projects aimed at revitalization and intergenerational transmission.

Linguistically, Wichita is a Caddoan language noted for complex verbal morphology and a rich system of affixes. It has been the subject of documentation by researchers and is taught in community programs through a phonemic orthography designed for language learning and literacy.

See also: Wichita language; Caddoan languages; language revitalization; endangered languages.