| Lummi | |
|---|---|
| Xwlemi Chosen | |
| Pronunciation | [xʷləmitʃɔsən] |
| Native to | United States |
| Region | Pacific Northwest |
| Ethnicity | Lummi people |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | str (covered by str - North Straits Salish) |
| Glottolog | lumm1243 |
Lummi (Lummi:Xwlemi Chosen,IPA:[xʷləmitʃɔsən]) is adialect of theNorth Straits Salish language traditionally spoken by theLummi people of northwestWashington state, in theUnited States. Although traditionally referred to as a language, it ismutually intelligible with the other dialects of North Straits.
Although the traditional variety of the Lummi dialect is extinct, New Lummi is spoken on the Lummi reservation and is taught atFerndale High School,[1] Lummi Nation School,Vista Middle School,Horizon Middle School, Skyline and Eagleridge Elementary Schools,[2] andNorthwest Indian College.[citation needed]
Lummi is a dialect of theNorthern Straits language, which is spoken on southernVancouver Island, in the islands of theHaro andRosario straits, and on the Washington mainland. Northern Straits itself is a continuum composed of a group of mutually intelligible dialects.[3]
Northern Straits is aCoast Salish language; it is one of two languages (the other beingKlallam) in theStraits Salish subgroup within the Coast Salish languages.[4]
In the view of the Northern Straits peoples, the linguistic similarity between their languages is recognized, but they traditionally identify with one of six ethnolinguistic groups:Sooke,Lekwungen,Saanich, Lummi,Samish, andSemiahmoo. These groups correspond with the various dialects of Northern Straits.[4]
New Lummi is a variety of the Lummi dialect that emerged on the Lummi Reservation. New Lummi, along with several other varieties of Northern Straits, originated as a ceremonial variety of the original dialects with a simplified phonology and grammar heavily influenced by English. In some cases, speakers of these new varieties changed the material used to teach so that it would be more like English and easier to learn.[5]
The grammar of New Lummi features the exclusion of lexical suffixes, very limited aspect marking, and a leveling of the transitive and intransitive paradigms.[5] The phonology of New Lummi has also been modified from the original variety, with consonant clusters being simplified, glottalization lost completely on sonorants and sporadically on obstruents, and many glottal stops missing. The lateral affricate [tɬʼ] is replaced by[kl] or[k'l]. Other non English sounds are often replaced, such as [q] becoming[k], [χ] becoming[h],[k], or[x], and [ʍ] becoming[hw] or[kw].[6]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Mid/Open | æ | ə | ɔ |
In Lummi, basic transitive constructions that have both third person subject and first or second person object are impossible. In this case, the passive must be used. Regarding the person markers, the first person singular and second person object markers are wholly homophonous.[9]
| 1SG | 1PL | 2 | 3TRANS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subject Markers | sən | ɬ | sxʷ | -əs |
| Object Markers | -oŋəs | -al'xʷ | -oŋəs | ∅ |
| Genitive Markers | nə- | -ɬ | ʔən'- / n'- | -s |
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