The Relationship of Uto-Aztecan and Tanoan by B. L. Whorf and G. L. Trager is a linguistic study that explores possible historical and structural connections between the Uto-Aztecan and Tanoan language families of North America. The authors analyze phonological, morphological, and lexical patterns in an effort to determine whether these two language families share a common ancestry or significant contact influences.
Drawing on comparative linguistic methodology, Whorf and Trager examine sound correspondences, grammatical structures, and shared vocabulary, highlighting both similarities and differences. The study reflects mid-20th-century approaches to historical linguistics and contributes to debates on the classification and migration of Indigenous languages in the American Southwest and Great Basin regions.
This work is important for linguists, anthropologists, and historians interested in Native American languages, language evolution, and the ways linguistic evidence can illuminate cultural and population histories. It remains a foundational reference for the study of relationships among North American Indigenous languages.