Wakashan is a family of languages spoken in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

around and on

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

, and in the northwestern corner of the

Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large arm of land in western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

state, on the south side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. As is typical of the Northwest Coast, Wakashan languages have large consonant inventories—the consonants often occurring in complex clusters.

Classification

Family division

The Wakashan language family consists of seven languages: I. Northern Wakashan (Kwakiutlan) languages : 1.

Haisla Haisla may refer to: * Haisla people, an indigenous people living in Kitamaat, British Columbia, Canada. * Haisla language, their northern Wakashan language. * Haisla Nation The Haisla Nation is the Indian Act-mandated band government which nominall ...

(also known as Xaʼislak'ala, X̌àh̓isl̩ak̓ala or Haisla-Henaksiala, with two dialects, spoken by the

) – about 200 speakers (2005) ::* C̓imo'c̓a/Cʼimaucʼa (Kitimaat/Kitamat) - X̄a'islak̓ala dialect (spoken by the Haisla/x̣àʼisəla) ::* Gitlo'p (Kitlope) - X̄enaksialak̓ala dialect (spoken by the Henaaksiala/X̄enaksiala) : 2. Kwak'wala (also known as Kwakiutl and Lekwala / Liq̓ʷala, with four dialects, spoken by and Kwakwaka'wakw or Northern Kwakiutl and the Laich-kwil-tach or Southern Kwakiutl) – 235 speakers (2000) :: Northern Kwakiutl or Kwak'wala ::* G̱ut̕sala / G̱uc̓ala / Quatsino Sound dialect (Bands of Quatsino Sound, today by the Gwa'sala people from Smiths Inlet and the 'Nakwaxda'xw people from Blunden Harbour) ::* Kwak̕wala / Kwaḵ̓wala dialect (Bands of Gilford Island, Knight Inlet, Kwakiutl, Nimpkish, Alert Bay, Kincome Inlet) ::*'Nak̕wala / Bak̓wa̱mk̓ala dialect (also known as Northern Kwak̓wala dialect, spoken by the Northern Bands or 'Nak̕waxda'x̱w and Gwa'sa̱la peoples) ::**Gwa’cala subdialect ::**‘Na‘kwala subdialect ::* T̕łat̕łasik̕wala / Nahwitti dialect (Bands of today's T̕łat̕łasiḵ̕wala people on Hope Island) :: Southern Kwakiutl ::* Lekwala / Liq̓ʷala / Lekwiltok dialect (Bands of the Laich-kwil-tach (Lekwiltok), they were oft called ''Southern Kwakiutl'' but identify as a separate people from the Kwakwaka'wakw and their dialect is sometimes considered a separate language) : A.

Heiltsuk-Oowekyala Heiltsuk-Oowekyala is a Northern Wakashan (Kwakiutlan) language spoken in the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, spoken by the Wuikinuxv (Oweekeno) and Heiltsuk peoples. It has two dialects, Heiltsuk (Bella Bella) ...

(also known as Bella Bella) – about 200 speakers (2005) :: 3. Heiltsuk dialect (also known as Bella Bella and Haihais, Haiɫzaqvla, Haíɫzaqv/Híɫzaqvḷa, with two subdialects, spoken by the Heiltsuk people, once incorrectly known as the Northern Kwakiutl) :::* Haíɫzaqv/Híɫzaqvḷa or Bella Bella (Wágḷísḷa) subdialect (spoken by the Heiltsuk (Haíɫzaqv / Híɫzaqv) in Bella Bella) :::* X̌íx̌íc̓ala/Haihais or Klemtu (Ɫṃ́du̓ax̌sṃ) subdialect (spoken by the X̌íx̌ís (Xixis / Xai’xais / Haihais) in Klemtu) :: 4. Oowekyala dialect or ’Wuik̓ala dialect (also known as 'Uik'ala, Ooweekeeno, Wuikala, Wuikenukv, Oweekeno, Wikeno, Owikeno, Oweekano, Awikenox, Oowek'yala, Oweek'ala) (spoken by the Wuikinuxv (Oowekeeno or Rivers Inlet) People, once incorrectly known as the Northern Kwakiutl) II. Southern Wakashan (Nootkan) languages : 5.

Nuu-chah-nulth The Nuu-chah-nulth (; Nuučaan̓uł: ), also formerly referred to as the Nootka, Nutka, Aht, Nuuchahnulth or Tahkaht, are one of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast in Canada. The term Nuu-chah-nulth is used to describe fifte ...

(also known as Nuučaan̓uł, Nootka, Nutka, Aht, West Coast, T'aat'aaqsapa, spoken by the

, 12 different dialects) – 510 speakers (2005) : 6. Nitinaht or Ditidaqiic̓aq Cicqiʔ (also known as Diidiitidq, Diitiidʔaatx̣, Nitinat, Ditidaht, Southern Nootkan, spoken by the Ditidaht or Southern Nootka, Pacheedaht, and Ts'uubaa-asatx (Lake Cowichan), located in southwestern Vancouver Island – 30 speakers (1991) ::*Ditidaqiic̓aq Cicqiʔ or DiiɁdiitidq/Diidiitidq dialect (spoken by the Ditidaht (Diitiid7aa7tx / Diitiidʔaaʔtx̣) - "People of Diitiidaʔ" or "People along the Diitiidaʔ, i.e. Jordan River") ::*Pacheedaht dialect (once spoken by the Pacheedaht (P'a:chi:da / P’a:chi:da?-aht) - "People of the Sea Foam" or "People along the San Juan River") ::*Ts'uubaa-asatx dialect (once spoken by the Lake Cowichan (Ts'uubaa-asatx) - "People of the Lake, i.e. Cowichan Lake") : 7. Makah (also known as Qʷi·qʷi·diččaq, Q'widishch'a:'tx, spoken by the Makah together with the now extinct Ozette people) – extinct (Last speaker died in 2002) ::*Qʷi·qʷi·diččaq/Q'widishch'a:'tx or Makah dialect (spoken by the Makah (Kwih-dich-chuh-ahtx (Qʷidiččaʔa·tx̌) - "People who live by the rocks and seagulls") ::*'Osi:l-'a:'tx/ʔuseeʔłaʔtx̣ or Ozette village dialect (once spoken by the Ozette people (Osi:l-'a:'tx/ʔuseeʔłaʔtx̣ - "People of ʔuseeʔł, i.e. Ozette Village")

Possible relations to external language families

As first proposed by Edward Sapir and

Leo J. Frachtenberg Leo Joachim Frachtenberg (February 24, 1883 – November 26, 1930) was an anthropologist who studied Native American languages. Frachtenberg helped write the '' Handbook of American Indian Languages'', BAE Bulletin 40, and also wrote "Alsea Tex ...

, and later elaborated by

Morris Swadesh Morris Swadesh (; January 22, 1909 – July 20, 1967) was an American linguist who specialized in comparative and historical linguistics. Swadesh was born in Massachusetts to Bessarabian Jewish immigrant parents. He completed bachelor's and mas ...

, the Wakashan languages were grouped together with Salishan and

Chimakuan languages The Chimakuan languages are a group of extinct languages that were spoken in northwestern Washington state, United States, on the Olympic Peninsula. They were spoken by Chimakum, Quileute and Hoh tribes. They are part of the Mosan sprachbund, a ...

in a "Mosan"

macrofamily In historical linguistics, a macrofamily, also called a superfamily or phylum, is a proposed genetic relationship grouping together language families (also isolates) in a larger scale classification.Campbell, Lyle and Mixco, Mauricio J. (2007), '' ...

. This proposed macrofamily is now generally rejected as a genealogical grouping. Structural similarities and shared vocabulary are best explained as the result of continuous intensive contact; the Mosan languages thus represent a

sprachbund A sprachbund (, lit. "language federation"), also known as a linguistic area, area of linguistic convergence, or diffusion area, is a group of languages that share areal features resulting from geographical proximity and language contact. The lang ...

within the wider Pacific Northwest typological area. In the 1960s, Swadesh also suggested a connection of the Wakashan languages with the

Eskimo–Aleut languages The Eskaleut (), Eskimo–Aleut or Inuit–Yupik–Unangan languages are a language family native to the northern portions of the North American continent and a small part of northeastern Asia. Languages in the family are indigenous to parts of w ...

. This was picked up and expanded by Holst (2005). Sergei Nikolaev has argued in two papers for a systematic relationship between the

Nivkh language Nivkh (; occasionally also Nivkhic; self-designation: Нивхгу диф, ''Nivxgu dif'', ), or Gilyak (), or Amuric, is a small language family, often portrayed as a language isolate, of two or three mutually unintelligible languages spoken b ...

of Sakhalin island and the Amur river basin and the

Algic languages The Algic languages (also Algonquian–Wiyot–Yurok or Algonquian–Ritwan) are an indigenous language family of North America. Most Algic languages belong to the Algonquian subfamily, dispersed over a broad area from the Rocky Mountains to ...

, and a secondary relationship between these two together and the Wakashan languages.

Name and contact

The name Wakesh or Waukash is ''Nuu-chah-nulth'' for "good." It was used by early explorers including Captain

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

, who believed it to be the tribal appellation. Juan de Fuca was probably the first European to meet Wakashan-speaking peoples, and Juan Perez visited the

Nuu-chah-nulth people The Nuu-chah-nulth (; Nuučaan̓uł: ), also formerly referred to as the Nootka, Nutka, Aht, Nuuchahnulth or Tahkaht, are one of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast in Canada. The term Nuu-chah-nulth is used to describe fifte ...

in 1774. After 1786, English mariners frequently sailed to

Nootka Sound , image = Morning on Nootka Sound.jpg , image_size = 250px , alt = , caption = Clouds over Nootka Sound , image_bathymetry = , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = Map of Nootka So ...

; in 1803, the crew of the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

ship ''Boston'' were almost all killed by the local natives. In 1843 the Hudson's Bay Company established a trading post at Victoria. European-Canadians had regular contact with the First Nations after that time. There were dramatic population losses in the early 20th century due to

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

epidemics (because the First Nations had no acquired immunity to the new disease), social disruption, and alcoholism. In 1903 the Aboriginals numbered about 5200, of whom 2600 were in the West Coast Agency, 1300 in the Kwakewith Agency, 900 in the North West Coast Agency, and 410 at Neah Bay Company, Cape Flattery. In 1909 they numbered 4584, including 2070 Kwakiutl and 2494 Nootka.

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

missionaries were active in the region. The name "Wakish Nation" is featured in Arrowsmith's

Oregon Dispute The Oregon boundary dispute or the Oregon Question was a 19th-century territorial dispute over the political division of the Pacific Northwest of North America between several nations that had competing territorial and commercial aspirations in t ...

-era map as the name for

.''Mapping the American West 1540–1857, A Preliminary Study'' by Carl I. Wheat, ''Proceedings'' of the American Antiquarian Association, p. 88, ontheir website
]

Notes

References

*Boas, Frank and J. W. Powell
''Introduction to Handbook of American Indian Languages and Indian Linguistic Families of America North of Mexico.''
Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1991. .

External links

Native Languages of the Americas
First Peoples Language Map of British Columbia
{{authority control Language families Mosan languages Indigenous languages of the Pacific Northwest Coast Indigenous languages of Washington (state) First Nations languages in Canada Coast of British Columbia First Nations in British Columbia