Muscogee language
The Muscogee language (Muskogee, Mvskoke IPA: [maskókî] in Muscogee), previously referred to by its exonym, Creek, is a Muskogean language spoken by Muscogee (Creek) and Seminole people, primarily in the US states of Oklahoma and Florida. Along with Mikasuki, when it is spoken by the Seminole, it is known as Seminole.
| Muscogee | |
|---|---|
| Creek (Exonym) | |
| Mvskoke | |
| Native to | United States |
| Region | East central Oklahoma, Muscogee and Seminole, south Alabama Creek, Florida, Seminole of Brighton Reservation. |
| Ethnicity | 52,000 Muscogee people (1997) |
Native speakers | 4,500 (2015 census) |
Muskogean
| |
| Official status | |
Official language in | United States Muscogee Nation |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | mus |
| ISO 639-3 | mus |
| Glottolog | cree1270 |
| ELP | Muskogee |
Current geographic distribution of the Creek language | |
Distribution of Native American languages in Oklahoma | |
Historically, the language was spoken by various constituent groups of the Muscogee or Maskoki in what are now Alabama and Georgia. It is related to but not mutually intelligible with the other primary language of the Muscogee confederacy, Hitchiti-Mikasuki, which is spoken by the kindred Mikasuki, as well as with other Muskogean languages.
The Muscogee first brought the Muscogee and Miccosukee languages to Florida in the early 18th century. Combining with other ethnicities there, they emerged as the Seminole. During the 1830s, however, the US government forced most Muscogee and Seminole to relocate west of the Mississippi River, with most forced into Indian Territory.
The language is today spoken by around 5,000 people, most of whom live in Oklahoma and are members of the Muscogee Nation and the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma. Around 200 speakers are Florida Seminole. Seminole-speakers have developed distinct dialects.