The Pentlatch or Pentl’ach or Puntlatch or Puntledge language is a

Salishan The Salishan (also Salish) languages are a family of languages of the Pacific Northwest in North America (the Canadian province of British Columbia and the American states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana). They are characterised by ...

language that was spoken on

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

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

in a small area between Comox and

Nanaimo, British Columbia Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "Hub City," which was ...

. The Pentlatch people formerly numbered at least 3,000 with at least 90 settlements in the area. The language became extinct in the 1940s after the death of the last fluent speaker in 1940. There is one known semi-speaker (if not full speaker, source unclear), Quallicum Chief Bill Recalma. He and his son Jessie have been working together to help revive it. The Pentlatch celebrated a ceremony celebrating the language's reawakening du to their efforts.

Variants

The name of this people and their language survives on the modern map as that of the

Puntledge River The Puntledge River is a small river on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It joins the Tsolum River to form the Courtenay River, which enters the Strait of Georgia at the city of Courtenay. Name origin The name is derived from that ...

, the

Comox Valley The Comox Valley is a region on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, that includes the city of Courtenay, the town of Comox, the village of Cumberland, and the unincorporated settlements of Royston, Union Bay, Fanny B ...

locality of Puntledge and the name of the Pentledge 2 Indian Reserve, now allocated to the K'ómoks First Nation band government.BC Names entry "Pentledge 2 (Indian Reserve)"
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References

External links

from the

Yinka Dene Language Institute The Yinka Dene Language Institute (YDLI) is an organization based in Stoney Creek, British Columbia, whose purpose is the study and maintenance of the language and culture of Dakelh and other First Nations people in northern British Columbia. Hi ...

"Pentlatch" at ethnologue.com
Extinct languages of North America Coast Salish languages Mid Vancouver Island Languages extinct in the 1940s 1940s disestablishments in North America {{BritishColumbia-stub