Heiltsuk dialect

{{Short description|Dialect of Heiltsuk-Oowekyala spoken in British Columbia, Canada}}

{{Infobox language

| name = Heiltsuk

| altname = Bella Bella

| nativename = {{lang|hei|Háiɫzaqvḷa}}

| region = Northern Central Coast Regional District, British Columbia, Canada

| ethnicity = Heiltsuk people

| speakers = L1: 95

| speakers2 = L2: 125

| date = 2016

| ref = {{cite web |title=Census Profile, 2016 Census | date=8 February 2017 |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=01&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&SearchText=Canada&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=Language&TABID=1&type=0 |publisher=Statistics Canada |access-date=13 December 2020}}

| familycolor = American

| fam1 = Wakashan

| fam2 = Northern

| fam3 = Heiltsuk-Oowekyala

| isoexception = dialect

| glotto = bell1263

| glottorefname = Bella Bella

| ELP = 2377

| ELPname = Hailhzaqvla (Heiltsuk)

| map = Wakashan_map.svg

| mapcaption = Map of Wakashan languages

| map2 = Lang Status 20-CR.svg

| mapcaption2 = {{center|{{small|Heiltsuk is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger}}}}

| revived = {{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://heiltsukrevitalization.com/ |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=Heiltsuk Revitalization |language=en-US}}{{Cite journal |last=Carpenter |first=Jennifer |last2=Chase |first2=Bridget |last3=Chung |first3=Benjamin |last4=Humchitt |first4=Robyn |last5=Turin |first5=Mark |date=2021-06-23 |title=Mobilizing and Activating Haíɫzaqvḷa (Heiltsuk Language) and Culture Through a Community-University Partnership |url=https://kula.uvic.ca/index.php/kula/article/view/127 |journal=KULA: Knowledge Creation, Dissemination, and Preservation Studies |volume=5 |issue=1 |doi=10.18357/kula.127 |issn=2398-4112}}

| pronunciation = {{IPA|[ɦiɬtsʰaqʷ]}}

}}

Heiltsuk {{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|eɪ|l|t|s|ə|k}},William C. Sturtevant, 1978. Handbook of North American Indians: Northwest Coast Híɫzaqv, also known as Bella Bella and Haihais, is a dialect of the North Wakashan (Kwakiutlan) language Heiltsuk-Oowekyala that is spoken by the Haihai (Xai'xais) and Bella Bella First Nations peoples of the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, around the communities of Bella Bella and Klemtu, British Columbia. Bella Bella is the headquarters of the Heiltsuk Nation government. There are only seven fluent speakers left of Heiltsuk.{{Cite news |last=Ochagavia |first=Ekaterina |last2=Poulton |first2=Lindsay |last3=Takats |first3=Alex |date=2025-01-21 |title=Racing to keep our language alive: H̓ágṃ́ṇtxv Qṇtxv Tx̌ (We’re all we got) |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2025/jan/21/racing-to-keep-our-language-alive-hagmntxv-qntxv-tx-were-all-we-got |access-date=2025-03-24 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

Heiltsuk is spoken in the villages of Bella Bella and Klemtu, both located on coastal islands in British Columbia not far from Bella Coola and Ocean Falls. It is one of the four Northern Wakashan languages, the others being Haisla (spoken in Kitimaat), Oowekyala (in Rivers Inlet), and Kwakwala (in Alert Bay, Port Hardy, and various settlements).{{cite book|last1=Rath|first1=John C.|title=A Practical Heiltsuk-English Dictionary with a Grammatical Introduction|date=1981|publisher=National Museums of Canada|location=Ottawa}}

Heiltsuk is considered to be a dialect of Heiltsuk-Oowekyala, which, like neighbouring Haisla and Kwak'wala, are part of the Northern Wakashan language group. Heiltsuk has both conversational and ceremonial forms.{{cite book|last1=Black|first1=Martha|title=Bella Bella: A Season of Heiltsuk Art|date=1997|publisher=Royal Ontario Museum/Douglas & McIntyre/University of Washington Press|location=Toronto/Vancouver/Seattle|isbn=1-55054-556-6|page=xii}}