Wakashan languages

The Wakashan languages ​​or Wakashan languages ​​(English: Wakashan languages) are an indigenous North American language family, the six spoken in Canada in British Columbia and on Vancouver Iceland languages ​​and an extinct language ( Makah ), which was spoken in the northernmost part of the U.S. includes.

  • 3.1 Phonology
  • 3.2 morphology

Classification

  • Wakashan North Wakashan Haisla ( Kitamat ) (several 100 speaker Mithun 1999, 25 speaker Ethnologue 2009)
  • Kwak'wala (formerly Kwakiutl; language of the Kwakwaka'wakw tribal group; several 100 speaker Mithun 1999, 270 according to the Ethnologue 2009)
  • Heiltsuk - Oowekyala (formerly Bella Bella) Heiltsuk (300 speakers according to Ethnologue, 2009, after a few Mithun 1999)
  • Oowekyala (almost extinct)
  • Makah † ( former language of the Makah tribe, currently revitalization attempts).
  • Nitinaht ( language of the Ditidaht tribe, 30 speakers according to Ethnologue 2009)
  • Nuu- chah- nulth (formerly Nootka; language of the Nuu -chah- nulth tribal group, 170 speaker Ethnologue 2009, 505 to Canada Census 2001).

The linguistic distance between the northern and southern group is relatively large, while the languages ​​are closely related to each other within these groups.

External relations

Chimakum and Musan

An older proposal combines the Wakashan languages ​​genetically with the almost extinct Chimakum languages. The languages ​​of both groups are typologically similar and possess some lexical similarities that Campbell in 1997 but rather leads back to areal contact phenomena. In addition, it was proposed by Edward Sapir and Morris Swadesh an affiliation of both families and the Salish languages ​​to Musan, where Swadesh his opinion later changed and the Wakashan languages ​​regarded as related to the Eskimo - Aleut, which he published nothing, however.

Eskimo - Aleut

After this set up by Swadesh theory Wakashan languages ​​Eskimo- Aleut with the languages ​​are related. Holst ( 2005) justified it by a list of 62 word equations and the derivation of some phonetic laws. This relationship exceeds the power drawn by Joseph Greenberg border between the Eskimo- Aleut and the Amerind languages ​​( see below).

Common grammatical properties

Phonology

Wakashan languages ​​are characterized by a large phoneme inventory. Characteristic here is a series of ejective consonants and a number labialisierter. There is also a large number of affricates.

Morphology

Wakashan languages ​​are like most North American languages ​​polysynthetic. The Wakashan languages ​​have in this case a large number of lexical affixes and have a Evidentialsystem. They have a very weakly represented by morphosyntactic properties Nomen-/Verb-Unterscheidung (cf. of speech).

Makah people Ditidaht First Nation Chimakuan languages Labial consonant Affricate consonant
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