The Indigenous Houma language is thought to have fallen out of use by the late 19th century due to European-American encroachment. In 1907, John R. Swanton interviewed an elderly Houma woman to collect vocabulary from the Houma language. As a result of a language shift that began during the French colonial period and trading in Louisiana, most Houma people today speak Louisiana French, while American English is also widely used. In light of their distinct society and isolated geography, as many as 3,000 mostly elderly people living on Houma tribal lands in the Lafourche Basin are believed to be monolingual speakers of French. More recently, efforts have been made to collect vocabulary and grammar from elders to revitalize the language.Kilpatrick, Mary. "Houmas search for native language". houmatoday.com. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
