Wakashan languages

(Redirected from Wakashan)

Pre-contact distribution of Wakashan languages

Wakashan is a family of languages spoken in British Columbia around and on Vancouver Island.

As typical of the Northwest Coast, Wakashan languages have large consonant inventories—the consonants often occurring in complex clusters.

Family division

Wakashan consists of 7 languages:

I. Northern Wakashan

1. Haisla (a.k.a. Xaʔislak’ala)

2. Kwak'wala (a.k.a. Kwakiutl, spoken by Southern Kwakiutl, Kwakwaka'wakw people)

A. Heiltsuk-Oowekyala (a.k.a. Bella Bella)

3. Heiltsuk

4. Oowekyala

II. Southern Wakashan

5. Makah

6. Nitinaht (a.k.a. Nitinat, Ditidaht, Southern Nootkan)

7. Nuu-chah-nulth (a.k.a. Nootka, Nutka, Aht, West Coast, T’aat’aaqsapa)

Wakashan languages| ]]