| Pentlatch | |
|---|---|
| Pənƛ’áč | |
| Native to | Canada |
| Region | Vancouver Island |
| Ethnicity | Pentlatch people |
| Extinct | 1940, with the death of Joe Nim Nim[1] 2 semispeakers (2023)[2] |
| Revival | began 2017, declared living by 2023 |
Salish
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ptw |
ptw | |
| Glottolog | pent1242 |
 | |
ThePentlatch,Pentl’ach,Puntlatch,Puntlatsh orPuntledge language is aSalishan language that is spoken onCanada'sVancouver Island in a small area betweenComox andNanaimo, British Columbia. ThePentlatch people formerly numbered at least 3,000 with at least 90 settlements in the area. The language became extinct after the death of the last fluent speaker Joe Nim Nim in 1940,[3] but researchers fromQualicum First Nation declared it to be a living language in December 2023.[4] There are currently two people who are semispeakers of Pentlach, and 20 people are learning it.[2]
In 2017, Qualicum Elder Bill Recalma, a speaker of Pentlatch, began working to record and teach what he knew of the language. He and his son Jessie have been working together to help revive it. The Pentlatch celebrated a ceremony celebrating the language's reawakening due to their efforts.[5] In 2023, the Pentlatch language was reclassified by Qualicum researchers as a living language and was added to the list of official First Nations' languages in British Columbia.[4]
The name of this people and their language survives on the modern map as that of thePuntledge River, theComox Valley locality ofPuntledge and the name of thePentledge 2 Indian Reserve, now allocated to theK'ómoks First Nation band government.[6][7]
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