Samish dialect
{{Short description|Dialect of North Straits Salish}}
{{Infobox language
| name = Samish
| familycolor = salishan
| nativename = {{lang|str|Xws7ámeshqen}}
| states = United States, Canada
| ethnicity = Samish people
| fam1 = Salishan
| fam2 = Coast Salish
| fam3 = Central Coast Salish
| fam4 = Straits Salish
| fam5 = North Straits Salish
| isoexception = dialect
| glotto = sami1249
| script = NAPA (Xws7ámeshqen Alphabet)
| notice = ipa
| pronunciation = {{IPA|[xʷsʔ'e.məʃ.qen]}}
}}
Samish (Xws7ámeshqen, {{IPA|str|xʷsʔ'e.məʃ.qen|IPA}}){{Cite web |title=Language |url=https://www.samishtribe.nsn.us/departments/language |access-date=2023-06-24 |website=Samish Indian Nation}} is a dialect of the North Straits Salish dialect continuum spoken by the Indigenous Samish people of the Pacific Northwest. Samish is traditionally referred to as a language, but it is mutually intelligible with the other dialects of North Straits Salish. Samish is a Coast Salish language and is closely related to other languages in that family.
The Samish language is still spoken by some Samish tribal members, and the Samish Indian Nation's Xws7ámeshqen Program is working to revitalize the language in daily life. They offer classes to tribal citizens and have an online website with a wordlist and placenames.
Phonology
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+Consonants ! colspan="2" rowspan="2" | ! rowspan="2" |Bilabial ! rowspan="2" |Dental ! colspan="3" |Alveolar ! rowspan="2" |Palatal ! colspan="2" |Velar ! colspan="2" |Post-velar ! rowspan="2" |Glottal |
| central
!plain !lab. !plain !lab. |
|---|
| rowspan="2" |Plosive/ Affricate !plain |{{IPA link|p}} | |{{IPA link|t}} |({{IPA link|t͡s}}) | |{{IPA link|t͡ʃ}} |({{IPA link|k}}) |{{IPA link|kʷ}} |{{IPA link|k̠}} |{{IPA link|k̠ʷ}} | rowspan="2" |{{IPA link|ʔ}} |
| ejective
|{{IPA link|pʼ}} |{{IPA link|t͡θʼ}} |{{IPA link|tʼ}} |({{IPA link|t͡sʼ}}) |{{IPA link|t͡ɬʼ}} |{{IPA link|t͡ʃʼ}} | |{{IPA link|kʷʼ}} |{{IPA link|k̠ʼ}} |{{IPA link|k̠ʷʼ}} |
| colspan="2" |Fricative
| | | |{{IPA link|s}} |{{IPA link|ɬ}} |{{IPA link|ʃ}} | |{{IPA link|xʷ}} |{{IPA link|x̠}} |{{IPA link|x̠ʷ}} |{{IPA link|h}} |
| rowspan="2" |Sonorant
!plain |{{IPA link|m}} | |{{IPA link|n}} | |{{IPA link|l}} |{{IPA link|j}} | |{{IPA link|w}} |{{IPA link|ŋ̠}} | | |
| glottalized
|{{IPA|ˀm}} | |{{IPA|ˀn}} | |{{IPA|ˀl}} |{{IPA|ˀj}} | |{{IPA|ˀw}} |{{IPA|ˀŋ̠}} | | |
- {{IPA|/t͡s/}} is a rare sound, only occurring in the deictic morpheme {{Angle bracket|cə}}.
- {{IPA|/t͡θʼ/}} may commonly be heard as {{IPA|[t͡sʼ]}} in free variation among speakers.
- {{IPA|/k/}} is only found in loanwords.{{Cite book |last=Galloway |first=Brent D. |title=A Phonology, Morphology and Classified Word List for the Samish Dialect of Straits Salish |publisher=Canadian Ethnology Service, Mercury Series Paper. Hull, Quebec: Hull: Canadian Museum of Civilization |year=1990}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+Vowels ! !Back |
| Close
|{{IPA link|i}} | |{{IPA link|u}} |
|---|
| Mid
|{{IPA link|e}} |{{IPA link|ə}} | |
| Open
| | colspan="2" |{{IPA link|a}} |
Orthography
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
!Uppercase !Lowercase !IPA |
| colspan="2" |7
| /ʔ/ |
| A
|a | /e/ |
| Ch
|ch | /t͡ʃ/ |
| Ch'
|ch' | /t͡ʃ‘/ |
| E
|e | /e~ə/ |
| H
|h | /h/ |
| I
|i | /i/ |
| K
|k | /k~k’/ |
| Kw
|kw | /kʷ/ |
| Kw'
|kw' | /kʷ’/ |
| L
|l | /l/ |
| Lh
|lh | /ɬ/ |
| M
|m | /m/ |
| N
|n | /n/ |
| Ng
|ng | /ŋ/ |
| O
|o | /ɔ/ |
| P
|p | /p/ |
| P'
|p' | /p’/ |
| Q
|q | /q/ |
| Q'
|q' | /q’/ |
| Qw
|qw | /qʷ/ |
| Qw'
|qw' | /qʷʼ/ |
| S
|s | /s/ |
| Sh
|sh | /ʃ/ |
| T
|t | /t/ |
| T'
|t' | /t’/ |
| Tl'
|tl' | /t͡ɬ’/ |
| Ts
|ts | /ts/ |
| Ts'
|ts' | /ts’/ |
| U
|u | /u/ |
| W
|w | /w/ |
| X̲
|x̲ | /χ/ |
| Xw
|xw | /xʷ/ |
| X̲w
|x̲w | /χʷ/ |
| Y
|y | /j/ |
References
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
- [https://www.samishtribe.nsn.us/departments/language Samish Language Program]
{{Salishan languages}}{{Languages of Canada}}
{{Languages of the United States}}
{{Languages of British Columbia}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:North Straits Salish languages
Category:Indigenous languages of the Pacific Northwest Coast