Penutian languages
![{{{mapalt}}}](/Images/godic/202502/02/Proposed_Penutian_langs0211.png")
![](/Images/godic/202502/02/Penutian_eng0211.png")
![Penutian per Delancey. The southern families—Maidu, Yokuts, and Utian—are recent arrivals to California from the Great Basin or Oregon.](/Images/godic/202502/02/Penutian_20070211.png")
![](/Images/godic/202502/02/Penutian_Groups0211.png")
Penutian is a proposed grouping of language families that includes many Native American languages of western North America, predominantly spoken at one time in Washington, Oregon, and California. The existence of a Penutian stock or phylum has been the subject of debate among specialists. Even the unity of some of its component families has been disputed. Some of the problems in the comparative study of languages within the phylum are the result of their early extinction and minimal documentation.