Tags: Language.
Chumashan (native name S.hamala /sʰamala/; English name from čʰumaš /t͡ʃʰumaʃ/ meaning Santa Cruz Islander) is a family of languages that were spoken on the southern California coast by Native American Chumash people from the Coastal plains and valleys of San Luis Obispo to Malibu neighboring inland and Transverse Ranges valleys and canyons east to bordering the San Joaquin Valley to three adjacent Channel Islands: San Miguel Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz.The Chumashan languages may be along with Yukian and perhaps languages of southern Baja such as Waikuri one of the oldest language families established in California before the arrival of speakers of Penutian Uto-Aztecan and perhaps even Hokan languages.
