Information AboutSalishan |
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The Salishan (also '''Salish''') languages are a group of languages of western Canada and the Pacific Northwest of the United States . They are characterised by Agglutinativity and astonishing Consonant clusters—for instance the Nuxálk word (IPA: ) meaning 'he had had a bunchberry plant' has 13 consonants in a row with no vowels. The terms ''Salish'' and ''Salishan'' are used interchangeably by Salishan linguists and anthropologists. The name ''Salish'' is actually the Autonym of Flathead Nation . The name was later extended by linguists to refer to other related languages. Many languages do not have self-designations and instead have specific names for local dialects as the local group was more important culturally than larger tribal relations. All Salishan languages are Endangered —some extremely so with only three or four speakers left. Practically all languages only have speakers who are over sixty years of age, and many languages only have speakers over eighty. FAMILY DIVISION The Salishan language family consists of twenty-three languages. Below is a list of Salishan languages, dialects, and sub-dialects. This list is a linguistic classification that may not correspond to political divisions. Many Salishan groups consider their variety of speech to be a separate language rather than a Dialect . I. ''Bella Coola'' : 1. Nuxálk (a.k.a. Bella Coola, Salmon River) II. '' Coast Salish '' : A. Central Coast Salish (a.k.a. Central Salish) :: 2. Comox
:: 3. Halkomelem ::: Island (a.k.a. Hulʼq̱ʼumiʼnumʼ, həl̕q̓əmín̓əm̓)
::: Downriver (a.k.a. Hunqʼumʔiʔnumʔ)
:: 4. Lushootseed (a.k.a. Puget Salish, Skagit-Nisqually, Dxʷləšúcid) ::: Northern
:: 5. Noxws'a7aq (a.k.a. Nooksack ɬə́čələsəm, ɬə́čælosəm) ''(†)'' :: 6. Pentlatch (a.k.a. Pənƛ̕áč) ''(†)'' :: 7. Sháshíshálh (a.k.a. Sechelt, Seshelt, Shashishalhem, šášíšáɬəm) :: 8. Sḵwxwú7mesh Snichim (a.k.a. Squamish, Sqwxwu7mish, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, sqʷx̣ʷúʔməš) :: i. Straits Salish group (a.k.a. Straits) ::: 9. Klallam (a.k.a. Clallam, Nəxʷsƛ̕áy̓emúcən)
::: 10. Northern Straits (a.k.a. Straits)
:: 11. Twana (a.k.a. Skokomish, Sqʷuqʷúʔbəšq, Tuwáduqutšad) ''(†)'' : B. Tsamosan (a.k.a. Olympic) :: i. Inland ::: 12. Cowlitz (a.k.a. Lower Cowlitz, Sƛ̕púlmš) ''(†)'' ::: 13. Upper Chehalis (a.k.a. Q̉ʷay̓áyiɬq̉) ''(†)''
:: ii. Maritime ::: 14. Lower Chehalis (a.k.a. ɬəw̓ál̕məš) ''(†)''
::: 15. Quinault (a.k.a. Kʷínayɬ) : C. Tillamook :: 16. Tillamook (a.k.a. Hutyéyu) ''(†)'' ::: Siletz
::: Tillamook III. '' Interior Salish '' : A. Northern :: 17. Shuswap (a.k.a. Secwepemctsín, səxwəpməxcín) ::: Eastern
::: Western
:: 18. Stʼatʼimcets (a.k.a. Lillooet, Lilloet, St'át'imcets)
:: 19. Thompson River Salish (a.k.a. Nlakaʼpamux, Ntlakapmuk, nɬeʔkepmxcín, Thompson River, Thompson Salish, Thompson, known in frontier times as the Hakamaugh, Klackarpun, Couteau or Knife Indians)
: B. Southern :: 20. Coeur D’Alene (a.k.a. Snchitsuʼumshtsn, snčícuʔumšcn) :: 21. Columbian (a.k.a. Columbia, Nxaʔamxcín)
:: 22. Colville-Okanagan (a.k.a. Okanagan, Nsilxcín, Nsíylxcən, ta nukunaqínxcən) ::: Northern
::: Southern
:: 23. Spokane-Kalispel-Flathead (a.k.a. Kalispel)
Pentlatch, Nooksack, Twana, Lower Chehalis, Upper Chehalis, Cowlitz, and Tillamook are now Extinct . Additionally, the Lummi, Semiahmoo, Songhees, and Sooke dialects of Northern Straits are also extinct. GENETIC RELATIONS No relationship to any other language is well established. The most plausible connection is with the Language Isolate Kutenai (Kootenai), which is generally considered not unlikely but not solidly established. Edward Sapir suggested that the Salishan languages may be related to the Wakashan and Chimakuan languages in a hypothetical Mosan family. This proposal persists primarily due to Sapir's stature. There is little evidence for it and no progress has been made in reconstructing such a family. The Salishan languages, principally Chehalis , contributed greatly to the vocabulary of the Chinook Jargon . FAMILY FEATURES
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