Edward Sapir

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—Edward Sapir (1884–1939) was a German-born American anthropologist-linguist and a leader in American structural linguistics. His name is borrowed in what is now called the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis. He was a highly influential figure in American linguistics, influencing several generations of linguists across several schools of the discipline.

—While a graduate student at Columbia, Sapir met his mentor, anthropologist Franz Boas. The latter was likely the person who provided the most impetus for Sapir's study of indigenous languages of the Americas. He suggested that the vast number of Indian languages of the United States and Canada and certain of those of Mexico and Central America could be classified in six major divisions.

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Sapir's classifies all the languages in North America into only 6 families:

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• Eskimo–Aleut 

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• Algonkin–Wakashan 

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• Nadene 

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• Penutian 

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• Hokan–Siouan 

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• and Aztec–Tanoan.