| Nuu-chah-nulth | |
|---|---|
| Nootka | |
| nuučaan̓uɫ,T̓aat̓aaqsapa | |
| Pronunciation | [nuːt͡ʃaːnˀuɬ] |
| Native to | Canada |
| Region | West coast ofVancouver Island, from Barkley Sound to Quatsino Sound,British Columbia |
| Ethnicity | 7,680Nuu-chah-nulth (2014,FPCC)[1] |
Native speakers | L1: 280 (2021) L2: 665 (2021)[2] |
Wakashan
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | nuk |
| Glottolog | nuuc1236 |
| ELP | Nuuchahnulth (Nootka) |
 Map of Wakashan languages | |
 Nootka is classified as Severely Endangered by theUNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger. | |
| This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. | |
Nuu-chah-nulth (nuučaan̓uɫ),[3]a.k.a.Nootka (/ˈnuːtkə/),[4] is aWakashan language in thePacific Northwest ofNorth America on the west coast ofVancouver Island, fromBarkley Sound toQuatsino Sound inBritish Columbia by theNuu-chah-nulth peoples. Nuu-chah-nulth is a SouthernWakashan language related toNitinaht andMakah.
It is the first language of theindigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast to have documentary written materials describing it. In the 1780s,Captains Vancouver,Quadra, and other European explorers and traders frequentedNootka Sound and the other Nuu-chah-nulth communities, making reports of their voyages. From 1803 to 1805John R. Jewitt, an Englishblacksmith, was held captive by chiefMaquinna at Nootka Sound. He made an effort to learn the language, and in 1815 published a memoir with a briefglossary of its terms.
The provenance of the term "Nuu-chah-nulth", meaning "along the outside [of Vancouver Island]" dates from the 1970s, when the various groups of speakers of this language joined together, disliking the term "Nootka" (which means "go around" and was mistakenly understood to be the name of a place, which was actually calledYuquot). The name given by earlier sources for this language isTahkaht; that name was used also to refer to themselves (the rootaht means "people").[5]
Using data from the 2021 census, Statistics Canada reported that 665 individuals could conduct a conversation in Nuu-chah-nulth. This represents a 23% increase over the 2016 census. The total included 280 speakers who reported the language as a mother tongue.[6]
The 35 consonants of Nuu-chah-nulth, in IPA and orthography:
| Bilabial | Alveolar[a] | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Pharyn- geal | Glottal | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| central | sibilant | lateral | plain | labial | plain | labial | ||||||
| Plosive/ Affricate | plain | p⟨p⟩ | t⟨t⟩ | t͡s⟨c⟩ | t͡ɬ⟨ƛ⟩ | t͡ʃ⟨č⟩ | k⟨k⟩ | kʷ⟨kʷ⟩ | q⟨q⟩ | qʷ⟨qʷ⟩ | ʔ⟨ʔ⟩ | |
| ejective | pʼ⟨p̓⟩ | tʼ⟨t̓⟩ | t͡sʼ⟨c̓⟩ | t͡ɬʼ⟨ƛ̓⟩ | t͡ʃʼ⟨č̓⟩ | kʼ⟨k̓⟩ | kʷʼ⟨k̓ʷ⟩ | |||||
| Fricative | s⟨s⟩ | ɬ⟨ł⟩ | ʃ⟨š⟩ | x⟨x⟩ | xʷ⟨xʷ⟩ | χ⟨x̣⟩ | χʷ⟨x̣ʷ⟩ | ħ⟨ḥ⟩ | h⟨h⟩ | |||
| Sonorant | plain | m⟨m⟩ | n⟨n⟩ | j⟨y⟩ | w⟨w⟩ | ʕ⟨ʕ⟩[b] | ||||||
| glottalized[c] | ˀm⟨m̓⟩ | ˀn⟨n̓⟩ | ˀj⟨y̓⟩ | ˀw⟨w̓⟩ | ||||||||
The pharyngeal consonants developed from mergers ofuvular sounds;/ħ/ derives from a merger of/χ/ and/χʷ/ (which are now comparatively rare) while/ʕ/ came about from a merger of/qʼ/ and/qʷʼ/ (which are now absent from the language).[8]
The alphabet isunicase and has no capital letters except when words or names are embedded in English text
Nuu-chah-nulth vowels are influenced by surrounding consonants with certain "back" consonants conditioning lower, more back vowelallophones.
| Front | Central | Back | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| long | short | long | short | long | short | |
| Close | iː | i | uː | u | ||
| Mid1 | (ɛː) | (ə) | (ɔː) | |||
| Open | aː | a | ||||
The mid vowels[ɛː] and[ɔː] appear invocative forms and in ceremonial expressions.[ə] is a possible realization of/a/ after a glottalized sonorant.[8]
In the environment of glottalized resonants as well as ejective and pharyngeal consonants, vowels can be "laryngealized" which often meanscreaky voice.[8]
In general, syllable weight determines stress placement; short vowels followed by non-glottalized consonants and long vowels are heavy. In sequences where there are no heavy syllables or only heavy syllables, the first syllable is stressed.[8]
Nuu-chah-nulth has phonemic short and long vowels. Long vowels are written double. Traditionally, a third class of vowels, known as "variable length" vowels, is recognized. These are vowels that are long when they are found within the first two syllables of a word, and short elsewhere.
Nuu-chah nulth is apolysynthetic language withVSOword order.
Aclause in Nuu-chah-nulth must consist of at least apredicate. Affixes can be appended to those clauses to signify numerousgrammatical categories, such asmood,aspect ortense.
Aspects in Nuu-chah-nulth help specify an action's extension over time and its relation to other events. Up to seven aspects can be distinguished:[9]
| Aspect | Affix |
|---|---|
| Momentaneous | –(C)iƛ, –uƛ |
| Inceptive | –°ačiƛ, –iičiƛ |
| Durative | –(ʔ)ak, –(ʔ)uk, –ḥiˑ |
| Continuative | –(y)aˑ |
| Graduative | [lengthens the stem's first vowel and shortens its second one] |
| Repetitive | –ː(ƛ)–ː(y)a |
| Iterative | R–š, –ł, –ḥ |
Where each "–" signifies the root.
Tense can be marked usingaffixes (marked with adash) and clitics (marked with anequal sign).
Nuu-chah-nulth distinguishes near future and general future:
| General future | Near future |
|---|---|
| =ʔaqƛ, =ʔaːqƛ | –w̓itas, –w̓its |
The first two markings refer to a general event that will take place in the future (similar to how the wordwill behaves in English) and the two other suffixes denote that something is expected to happen (compare to the Englishgoing to).
Past tense can be marked with the=mit clitic that can itself take different forms depending on the environment and speaker's dialect:
| Environment | Clitic | Example (Barkley dialect) | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consonant–vowel stem | =mi(t), =nit | waa → waamit | said |
| Long vowel, /m/, /n/ | =mi(t), =nt | saasin → saasinmit | dead hummingbird |
| Short vowel | =imt, =int, =mi(t), =um(t) | ciiqciiqa → ciiqciiqimt | spoke |
| Consonant | =it, =mi(t), =in(t) | wiikapuƛ → wiikapuƛit | passed away |
| =!ap | =mi(t), =in(t), =!amit | hił=!ap → hiłʔamit | hosted at |
| =!at | =mi(t), =in(t), =!aːnit, =!anit | waa=!at → waaʔaanit | was told |
Grammatical mood in Nuu-chah-nulth lets the speaker express the attitude towards what they're saying and how did they get presented information. Nuu-chah-nulth's moods are:
| Mood | Affix |
|---|---|
| Absolutive | =∅ |
| Indicative | =maˑ |
| Assertive | =ʔiˑš |
| Indefinite relative | =(y)iː, =(y)iˑ |
| Definite relative | =ʔiˑtq, =ʔiˑq |
| Subordinate | =qaˑ |
| Dubitative relative | =(w)uːsi |
| Conditional | =quː, =quˑ |
| Quotative | =waˑʔiš, =weˑʔin |
| Inferential | =čaˑʕaš |
| Dubitative | =qaˑča |
| Purposive | =!eeʔit(a), =!aːḥi |
| Interrogative | =ḥaˑ, =ḥ |
| Imperative | =!iˑ |
| Future imperative | =!im, =!um |
| go–imperative | =čiˑ |
| come–imperative | =!iˑk |
| Article | =ʔiˑ |
| Quotative article | =čaˑ |
Not counting the articles, all moods take person endings that indicate the subject of the clause.
The Nuu-chah-nulth language contributed much of the vocabulary of theChinook Jargon. It is thought that oceanic commerce and exchanges between the Nuu-chah-nulth and other Southern Wakashan speakers with theChinookan-speaking peoples of the lower Columbia River led to the foundations of thetrade jargon that became known as Chinook. Nootkan words in Chinook Jargon includehiyu ("many"), from Nuu-chah-nulth for "ten",siah ("far"), from the Nuu-chah-nulth for "sky".
A dictionary of the language, with some 7,500 entries, was created after 15 years of research. It is based on both work with current speakers and notes from linguistEdward Sapir, taken almost a century ago. The dictionary, however, is a subject of controversy, with a number of Nuu-chah-nulth elders questioning the author's right to disclose their language.
Nuu-chah-nulth has 12 different dialects:
Nuuchahnulth had a name for each place within their traditional territory. These are just a few still used to this day:
A EhattesahtiPhone app was released in January 2012.[12] An online dictionary, phrasebook, and language learning portal is available at theFirst Voices Ehattesaht Nuchatlaht Community Portal.[13]
