Kanza (also known as Kaw, Kansa, Konze, or Kansas), along with Quapaw, Omaha, Ponca, and Osage, is a Dhegiha Siouan (pronounced they-GEE-hah SOO-un) language. This branch of five is a member of a larger group called Mississippi Valley Siouan, which also includes Dakotan (Lakota, Dakota, and Nakoda), Winnebago (Ho Chunk), and Chiwere (Ioway, Otoe, and Missouria). In turn, the Mississippi Valley languages are part of a much larger family simply called The Siouan Language Family. This is a big family known today to consist of more than 20 related languages, all of which presumably came from a prehistoric language that scientists call Proto-Siouan. 

The Dhegiha languages are very similar in terms of their vocabularies and their grammars. In fact, some have said that they are merely dialects of the same language. Nevertheless, there are degrees of relatedness within this small branch. Kanza is most similar to Osage. It’s a little less similar to Omaha and Ponca (which are very close indeed), and fairly removed from Quapaw. You can witness some of the similarities and differences for yourself by comparing a few words in the chart at right. Some say that a speaker of Omaha can freely understand someone speaking Ponca, and vice versa. The same was once said of Kanza and Osage, too. Dhegiha cultures are clearly related to one another, as well. In the traditional period, the Dhegiha tribes shared many of the same kinship patterns, mourning and war customs, and dances.