Linguistics 181: Kwak wala̓ Fall 2010 Werle

Handout 2: Language families of

Terminology

‣ language : a natural system of human communication that includes sounds, words, and rules for combining these to express a variety of meanings. ‣ native language , first language : a language that one speaks from a very young age. ‣ indigenous , aboriginal : these terms refer to people or languages that live in or are associated with a particular place, are the first or among the first to be associated with that place, and have historical and cultural roots from that place. ‣ dialect : a regional or social variety of a language. Everyone speaks a dialect! ‣ idiolect : the speech variety of a particular person. One’s individual dialect. ‣ jargon : vocabulary associated with a particular activity (example: carvers’ jargon). ‣ pidgin : a simplified language used by speakers of different languages to communicate (example: Chinook Jargon). No one’s native language. ‣ creole : a pidgin that has developed into a full language (example: Hawaiian Creole). ‣ language family : a group of languages whose similarities indicate that they come from a common parent language. Such languages are said to be genetically related (whether or not the speakers of these languages are related by blood). ‣ language area ( Sprachbund ): a group of languages whose similarities result from geographical contact. Such languages may or may not be genetically related.

Notes

The aboriginal languages of British Columbia form about seven language families (see map). Kwak wala̓ is a member of the Wakashan family.

language family examples

‣ Algonquian , Ojibway ‣ Haida X̱aad Kil, X̱aaydaa Kil ‣ Ktunaxa ‣ Na- Tłıchǫ̨ Yatıì, Tsilhqot’in, Nicola, , Łingít ‣ Salishan , Halq’eméylem, SENĆOŦEN, Secwepemctsin, Squamish ‣ Tsimshianic S’m̓algya̱x, Nisg ̱a’a, ‣ Wakashan Haisla, , Wuik̓ ala,̓ Kwak wala,̓ Nuu-chah-nulth, Ditidaht

Despite being one of the smaller language families of , are among the most studied, especially Kwak wala̓ and Nuu-chah-nulth.

3 Linguistics 181: Kwak wala̓ Fall 2010 Werle

Compare these data from several Wakashan languages:

Haisla thàq°a̓ w̓awès q̓°àsa txls̓ təxə̀ls̓ Heiltsuk ƛ̓áqva q̓vúq̓vs q̓vása tx̓ təx̓ Wuik̓ ala̓ ƛ̓aqva q̓vuq̓vs q̓vasa tx̓ tx̓ Kwak wala̓ tłaḵwa̓ na̱ge ḵwasa̓ ta̱xa̱̓ la təxəla̓ Nuu-chah-nulth ƛiḥ̓ uk nučii ʕiḥak taš̓ ii taš̓ iː Ditidaht ƛix̣̓ uk dučiʔ ʕax̣ak taš̓ ii taš̓ iː Makah ƛix̌̓ uk dučiʔiˑ q̓ix̌ak taš̓ iˑ taš̓ iː

‘red’ ‘mountain’ ‘weep’ ‘path’

Compare these distantly related languages:

Kwak wala̓ Ditidaht

‣ K̓widza̱kwida na'a̱nge. ‣ kʷisqeeʔsa̓ dučʔibadx̣̓ aq. kʷidz̓ –əkʷ =ida naʔənge kʷis̓ –qee –ʔs =a dučʔibadx̣̓ =aq snow –covered =the mountains snow –top –ground =is mountains =the The mountains are snow-covered. The mountains are snow-covered.

Now compare these unrelated languages in the same language area:

SENĆOŦEN (Salish) Ditidaht (Wakashan)

‣ NEȻIM TŦE XIW̱E. ‣ ƛix̣k̓ʷa ̓ šačkaapx̣aq. nəkʷim tθə x̣ixʷə ƛix̣̓ uk =ʔa šačkaapx̣ =ʔaq red the sea urchin red =is sea urchin =the The sea urchin is red. ( FirstVoices ) The sea urchin is red.

‣ SÁN ŦEN TÁN? ‣ ʔačaqkʷik ʔabʔeeqs? sen θ –ən̓ ten ʔačaq =kʷ =(q)ik ʔabʔeeqs who the –your mother who =POSS =you mother Who is your mother? ( FirstVoices ) Who is your mother?

Exercises

Questions for group discussion:

1. How similar or different do you find the languages exemplified above? 2. What explanation might there be for their similarities?

References

FirstVoices (Kwak wala̓ archive). www.firstvoices.ca/en/Kwakwala

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