Subdivisions NorthernSouthern Glottolog waka1280 | ISO 639-2 / 5 wak | |
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Linguistic classification One of the world's primary language families | ||
Wakashan is a family of languages spoken in British Columbia around and on Vancouver Island, and in the northwestern corner of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, on the south side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Contents
As is typical of the Northwest Coast, Wakashan languages have large consonant inventories—the consonants often occurring in complex clusters.
Family division
The Wakashan language family consists of seven languages:
I. Northern Wakashan (Kwakiutlan) languages
1. Haisla (a.k.a. Xaʼislak’ala, X̌àh̓isl̩ak̓ala, with two dialects, spoken by the Haisla) – about 200 speakers (2005)2. Kwak'wala (a.k.a. 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)A. Heiltsuk-Oowekyala (a.k.a. Bella Bella) – about 200 speakers (2005)II. Southern Wakashan (Nootkan) languages
5. Nuu-chah-nulth (a.k.a. Nuučaan̓uł, Nootka, Nutka, Aht, West Coast, T’aat’aaqsapa, spoken by the Nuu-chah-nulth, 12 different dialects) – 510 speakers (2005)6. Nitinaht (a.k.a. Diidiitidq, Diitiidʔaatx̣, Nitinat, Ditidaht, Southern Nootkan, spoken by the Ditidaht or Southern Nootka, known to themselves as Diitiidʔaaʔtx̣ and Pacheedaht), located in southwestern Vancouver Island – 30 speakers (1991)7. Makah (a.k.a. Qʷi·qʷi·diččaq, Q'widishch'a:'tx, spoken by the Makah together with the known extinct Ozette people, who spoke 'Osi:l-'a:'tx) – extinct (Last speaker died in 2002)Possible relations to external language families
In the 1960s Swadesh suggested a connection with the Eskimo-Aleut languages. This was picked up and expanded by Holst (2005). Sergei Nikolaev has argued in two papers for a systematic relationship between the Nivkh language of Sakhalin island and the Amur river basin and the Algic languages 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, 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 in 1774. After 1786, English mariners frequently sailed to Nootka Sound; in 1803 the crew of the American ship Boston were almost all killed by these Indians.
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 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 missionaries were active in the region.
The name "Wakish Nation" is featured in Arrowsmith's Oregon Dispute-era map as the name for Vancouver Island.