What “endangered” means
When linguists call a language endangered, they are describing how likely it is to stop being passed to children, not how worthy or complex it is. The usual signs are a shrinking share of children learning the language at home, a speaker population that is mostly older, and fewer settings in which the language is used. Several scales exist, and they classify languages from healthy to dormant or no longer spoken as a first language. The categories differ between organizations, and a language’s classification can be disputed or can change over time.
The term describes a risk and a situation, not an outcome. Many languages classed as endangered are still actively taught and spoken, and there are well-known cases elsewhere of languages that were strengthened after being judged at serious risk. For Apache communities, it also should not be read as a statement that the people are disappearing. The Apache nations are present and active.
Why this article gives no numbers
Figures on how many people speak Apachean languages are frequently quoted online, but they are often out of date, drawn from census-style surveys that ask different questions in different years, or inconsistent about whether they count fluent first-language speakers, partial speakers or learners. Because of that, this site does not give speaker counts. Readers who want a current picture should consult each nation’s own official sources and language offices, which know their communities better than any outside figure can.
Different languages, different situations
It is a mistake to talk about a single “Apache language” in danger. The languages are in quite different positions.
Western Apache. Western Apache is the umbrella term for the speech of groups such as the White Mountain Apache and San Carlos Apache, with additional varieties such as those of Cibecue and the Tonto groups. It is often described as one of the more widely spoken Apachean languages, with children learning it at home in some communities. It is still under pressure from English, and the degree of use differs between communities and age groups.
Mescalero-Chiricahua. This language is spoken by the Mescalero Apache and by descendants of the Chiricahua, including the Fort Sill Apache, who were held as prisoners of war for decades and then divided between Oklahoma and New Mexico. The break in community life during that period is part of the history behind present-day concerns. It is generally considered seriously endangered.
Jicarilla. Jicarilla is spoken in northern New Mexico, and the nation has long been associated with language and cultural programs. It is also generally regarded as endangered, though the level of risk is described differently by different observers.
Plains Apache. The Plains Apache of Oklahoma, long called Kiowa Apache, have a language that is generally described as being at very high risk.
Lipan. The Lipan Apache of Texas and northern Mexico experienced displacement and dispersal, and Lipan is generally described as having very few or no fluent first-language speakers. This is a case where early documentation matters, because notebooks and recordings from the early twentieth century are among the main sources for the language. Lipan descendants today work in various ways to maintain community and cultural ties.
Navajo, a closely related language of a separate nation, is far more widely spoken in absolute terms, but it too faces declining use among young people, which shows that size does not make a language safe.
Why languages become endangered
No single cause explains the situation, and the usual reasons overlap:
- Policies of forced assimilation, especially in boarding schools, which discouraged or punished Native languages.
- Displacement from homelands and the combining of different groups on shared reservations.
- Economic pressure to use English for work.
- The dominance of English in media, government and commerce.
- Disrupted family transmission, when one or two generations do not use the language with children.
These pressures are part of the broader story of cultural suppression found in the history of the Apache nations.
What revitalization can and cannot do
Efforts to keep languages spoken include classes, immersion, recordings and teaching materials, which are described in the article on Apache language programs. Outcomes are uncertain. A language’s chances improve when children hear and use it at home, when the community values it, and when there are real reasons to speak it. They worsen when speakers are few and isolated from each other. Revitalization can rebuild use, but it takes sustained effort over many years, and it cannot be guaranteed.
Respecting the speakers
Where speakers are few, those who remain carry a special responsibility and are often asked for help by many people. Outside visitors and researchers should defer to the nations’ preferences about recording, publishing and visiting, and treat ceremonial vocabulary with particular restraint. For the status of a specific language, the best source is always the nation that speaks it.