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Okanagan, or Colville-Okanagan, or Nsyilxcən (n̓səl̓xcin̓, n̓syilxčn̓), is a Salish language which arose among the indigenous peoples of the southern Interior Plateau region based primarily in the Okanagan River Basin and the Columbia River Basin in precolonial times in Canada and the United States. Following British, American, and Canadian colonization during the 1800s and the subsequent assimilation of all Salishan tribes, the use of Colville-Okanagan declined drastically.

Colville-Okanagan
Okanagan, Colville
n̓səl̓xčin̓, Nsyilxcən, n̓syil̓xčn̓
Native toCanada, United States
RegionSouthern Interior of British Columbia, Central-northern State of Washington
EthnicityOkanagan, Colville, Lakes, Methow
Native speakers
600 (2007–2014)[1]
2,000 L2 speakers (2007)
figure for US perhaps exaggerated
Language family
Salishan
Dialects
  • Northern Okanagan
  • Colville (n̓x̌ʷʔiłpcən)
  • Lakes/Sinixt dialect (sn-selxcin)
  • San-poil (Nespelem)
  • Southern Okanagan
  • Methow
Language codes
ISO 639-3oka
Glottologokan1243
ELPNsyilxcən
Okanagan is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Colville-Okanagan is highly endangered, is rarely learned as a first but is being learned as a second language by more than 40 adults and 35 children in the City of Spokane, Washington, and by several dozen adults on the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington State by among Okanagan people in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. About 50 deeply fluent first-language speakers of Colville-Okanagan Salish remain, the majority of whom live in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia.[2] The language is currently moribund and has no first-language speakers younger than 50 years of age. Colville-Okanagan is the second-most spoken Salish language after Shuswap.


History and description


Historically, Colville-Okanagan originated from a language which was spoken in the Columbia River Basin and is now termed Proto Southern Interior Salish. As a result of the initial expansion of Colville-Okanagan prior to European contact, the language developed three separate dialects: Colville, Okanagan, and Lakes. A very, very low degree of dialectic divergence exists in terms of vocabulary and grammar. Variation is primarily confined to minor differences in pronunciation.

The vast majority of Colville-Okanagan words are from Proto-Salish or Proto-Interior Salish. A number of Colville-Okanagan words are shared with or borrowed from the neighboring Salish, Sahaptian, and Kutenai languages. More recent loanwords are from English and French. Colville-Okanagan was an exclusively oral form of communication until the late 19th century, when priests and linguists began transcribing the language for word lists, dictionaries, grammars, and translations. Colville-Okanagan is currently written in Latin script using the American Phonetic Alphabet.

In Colville-Okanagan the language itself is known as n̓səl̓xčin̓ or nsyilxcn. Speakers of n̓səl̓xčin̓ occupied the northern portion of the Columbia Basin from the Methow River in the west, to Kootenay Lake in the east, and north along the Columbia River and the Arrow Lakes, as well as the Slocan Valley. In Colville-Okanagan, all nsyilxcn-speaking bands are grouped under the ethnic label syil̓x. Syil̓x means "Salish" and is a cognate of the Spokane-Kalispel word, séliš, the enthnonym of the Bitterroot Salish people of Montana. Colville-Okanagan is the heritage language of the Lower Similkameen Indian Band, the Upper Similkameen Indian Band, the Westbank First Nation, the Osoyoos Indian Band, the Penticton Indian Band, the Okanagan Indian Band, the Upper Nicola Indian Band, and the Colville, Sanpoil, Okanogan, Lakes, Nespelem, and Methow bands of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.


Revitalization


In 2012, the CBC featured a report on a family which is teaching its children n̓səl̓xcin̓ in the home.[3]

Six nonprofit organizations which support Colville-Okanagan language acquisition and revitalization are the Paul Creek Language Association in Keremeos, British Columbia, the Syil̓x Language House in Vernon, British Columbia, the En'owkin Centre in Penticton, British Columbia, the Hearts Gathered Waterfall Montessori in Omak, Washington, the Salish School of Spokane in Spokane, Washington, and the Inchelium Language and Culture Association in Inchelium.


Revitalization in the United States


Revitalization efforts for Colville-Okanagan in the United States include instruction for children and intensive programs for training new adult speakers. However, concentrated efforts are made on the part of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation to promote language preservation. Among the activities in which the Confederation takes part are allocating funds both local and federal for cultural preservation projects. The Confederated Tribes' goals are to establish three language programs, develop language dictionaries, provide translation services and curriculum, and establish language classes with a regular attendance of 30 or more people. Though the Confederation's efforts are laudable, the limitations of 50 truly native speakers are evident. Language revitalization on the scale the Confederation proposes is limited by the number of native speakers available for those projects.[4] Despite the confederation's efforts, language revitalization cannot be reproduced on such a large scale in the short run.

Salish School of Spokane (SSOS)(Sƛ̓x̌atkʷ N̓səl̓xčin̓ Sn̓maʔmáyaʔtn̓) in Washington State has a comprehensive community language revitalization strategy for Colville-Okanagan Salish. This school serves Colville-Okanagan people in the Spokane Metro Area. Salish School of Spokane serves both children and adults. SSOS currently (2021-22 school year) serves children aged 1 year old up to 9th grade with Salish immersion education. P-6 classrooms are 100% n̓səl̓xčin̓ immersion classes in which the language of instruction is n̓səl̓xčin and math, literacy, science, art, music and physical education are taught in n̓səl̓xčin. The school's programs are designed to spur full fluency in Colville-Okanagan by the age of 15. According to school expectations and curricula, children are expected to speak Colville-Okanagan for the duration of their time in school. In addition to programming for children, in July of 20222, SSOS is also providing intensive n̓səl̓xčin training to more than 40 adults. Twenty-eight staff members at SSOS are enrolled in the Salish Language Educator Development (SLED) program at SSOS. These staff members receive 90 minutes of immersion n̓səl̓xčin training daily as part of their work. Another 16 adults, parents of SSOS students, participate in paid afternoon and evening n̓səlxčin̓ fluency track training. All SSOS parents commit to completing at least 60 hours of n̓səl̓xčin̓ language classes per year in order for their children to be eligible to attend the school. SSOS offers free, beginning n̓səl̓xčin̓ (Colville-Okanagan) language classes on evenings and weekends for SSOS parents and other community members. At Salish School of Spokane, there are 35 intergenerational pairs- 35 immersion school students who have at least one parent who is studying n̓səl̓xčin in a fluency-track program.[5][6]

Salish School of Spokane makes a point of not falling into the trap of monopolizing teaching resources. Unlike Walsh's examples of tribes opting to not share materials, Salish School maintains a variety of audio resources and curricula to advance Colville-Okanagan revitalization. Along with these efforts, the school not only provides curriculum, but also helps develop and translate it. The Salish School works alongside organizations such as the Paul Creek Language Association, a nonprofit based in British Columbia, on the N̓səl̓xcin̓ Curriculum Project.[7] The N̓səl̓xcin̓ Project aims to create foundational lesson plans from which teachers of Okanagan can draw. The project is spearheaded by Christopher Parkin, and is translated primarily by the fluent elder Sarah Peterson, with the additional help of Hazel Abrahamson and Herman Edwards. The participation of native speakers ensures clear meaning and high fidelity to the Okanagan language. The project is composed of six textbooks divided into three levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.[7] Each level consists of a language book which contains a number of audio recordings, language, and learning software to ease language teaching. Additionally, each level includes a literature book. The literature book provides the vital function of providing entertainment for language learners when outside of class and also reinforces sentence construction for Okanagan. The project also contains daily quizzes, midterm-style tests, and both oral and written final exams for evaluation.[7] Most importantly, the curriculum developed by the N̓səl̓xcin̓ Curriculum Project is available in electronic format online free of charge.[8]


Revitalization in Canada


To encourage interest in teaching vocations, the En'Owkin places a strong emphasis on its various certification programs. The Certificate of Aboriginal Language Revitalization is offered in the En'Owkin Centre and is taught by linguist Maxine Baptiste. The course does have a fee involved, but the certificate is offered in partnership with the University of Victoria.[9] Additionally, the center also offers a certification to become a Certified Early Childhood Education Assistant which is in partnership with Nicola Valley Institute of Technology. The certificate does not qualify one to teach at the secondary level, but does ensure employability in daycare and pre-K.[9] The strategy behind these two certificates ensures that potential teachers have easy access to college credits from centers of higher learning like the University of Victoria, and potential education assistants can be involved in the education of children, thus establishing fluency in Okanagan early on. Finally, the En'Owkin Centre places a heavy emphasis on its college readiness programs. The importance of these programs lies not only in setting up native students for success, but also incorporating Colville-Okanagan courses into curriculum for young adult to adult students. William Cohen notes in his article, that many native students perform poorly in school and the high school dropout rate for aboriginal high schoolers is very high.[10]

Additionally, a Syilx Language House was developed in 2015 in British Columbia. The goal of the house is to create 10 fluent Nsyilxcen speakers in four years.[11] In this program, participants spend 2000 hours over four years learning Nsyilxcen via a variety of different teaching methods, regular assessments, frequent visits from Elders, and full immersion.[11] Following completion of the program in 2020, the Syilx Language House is hoping to expand by developing more language houses across the Okanagan and will increase the goal to creating 100 new Nsyilxcen speakers in the 2020 cohort.[11]


Orthography


The Paul Creek Language Association uses this alphabet:

LetterLetter NameIPAEnglish ExplanationNsyilxcn Example
aa/a/as in the word fatheranwí (it is you)
cci/t͡ʃ/as in the word churchcʕas (crash)
c̓c̓a/t͡ʃʼ/as in the word catsc̓ałt (cold)
əə/ə/as in the word elephantəcxʷuy (goes)
hha/h/as in the word happyhiw̓t (rat)
iis/i/as in the word seeixíʔ (that/then)
kkut/k/as in the word kitekilx (hand)
k̓k̓it/kʼ/is pronounced as a hard kk̓ast (bad)
kʷkʷup/kʷ/as in the word queenkʷint (take)
k̓ʷk̓ʷap/kʷʼ/is pronounced as a hard kʷk̓ʷck̓ʷact (strong)
lli/l/as in the word lovelimt (happy)
l̓əl̓/lˀ/pronounced as an abruptly stopped lsl̓ax̌t (friend)
łłu/ɬ/pronounced as a slurpy lłt̓ap (bounce/jump)
ƛ̓ƛ̓i/t͡ɬʼ/pronounced as a click tl out of the side of the mouthƛ̓lap (stop)
mmi/m/as in the word mommahúyaʔ (raccoon)
m̓əm̓/mˀ/pronounced as an abruptly ended mstim̓ (what)
nnu/n/as in the word nonaqs (one)
n̓ən̓/nˀ/pronounce as an abruptly stopped nn̓in̓wiʔs (later)
ppi/p/as in the word poppn̓kin̓ (when)
p̓p̓a/pʼ/pronounced as a popped pp̓um (brown)
qqi/q/pronounced as a k deep in the back of the throatqáqnaʔ (grandma)
q̓q̓u/qʼ/pronounced as a hard qq̓aʔxán (shoe)
qʷqʷa/qʷ/pronounced as a q with rounded lipsqʷacqn (hat)
q̓ʷq̓ʷʕay/qʷʼ/pronounced as a hard q with rounded lipsq̓ʷmqin (antler)
rri/r/pronounced rolled on the tongueyirncút (make itself round)
ssas/s/as in the word sistersíyaʔ (saskatoon/sarvis/June berry)
tti/t/as in the word toptum̓ (mother)
t̓t̓a/tʼ/pronounced as a hard tt̓ínaʔ (ear)
uu/u/as in the word soonuł (and)
wwa/w/as in the word walkwikn (I saw it)
w̓əw̓s/wˀ/pronounced as an abruptly ended wsw̓aw̓ásaʔ (auntie)
xxu/x/pronounced as a soft h in the back of the throatxixəw̓tm (girl)
x̌x̌a/χ/pronounced as a guttural h deep in the back of the throatx̌ast (good)
xʷxʷi/xʷ/pronounced as an h in the back of the throat but with rounded lipsxʷuy (go)
x̌ʷx̌ʷay/χʷ/pronounced as a guttural h in the back of the throat but with rounded lipsx̌ʷus (foam)
yyi/j/as in the word yellowyus (dark/purple)
y̓y̓u/jˀ/pronounced as an abruptly ended yc̓sy̓aqn (head)
ʔ ʔət /ʔ/ is a breath stop in the back of the throat as in the word uh-oh ʔaʔúsaʔ (egg)
ʕʕay/ʕ/pronounced as a short a deep in the back of the throatʕaymt (angry)
ʕ̓ʕ̓aw/ʕˀ/pronounced as an abruptly ended ʕʕ̓ac̓nt (look)
ʕʷ?/ʕʷ/pronounced as a nasally ow in the back of the throatkaʕʷm (pray)

The letters with acute accent á, ə́, í, and ú are not counted as separate letters in this alphabet.

The Westbank First Nation uses this alphabet, in which the letters with acute accent are counted as separate letters:

Westbank First Nation alphabet[12]
aáccʼə ə́ɣɣʼhḥ iíkkʼkʷ kʼʷllʼɬƛʼ mmʼnnʼp
tqʼʷqʼqʷq rrʼspʼtʼ uúwwʼx xʷx̌x̌ʷyyʼ ʔʕʕʼʕʷʕʼʷ

Phonology



Consonants


Consonant inventory of Colville-Okanagan:[13]

Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal
centralaffricatelateral plainlabial plainlabial plainlabial
Stop plain p t ts ~ tʃ k kʷ q qʷ ʔ
ejec. pʼ tʼ tsʼ tɬʼ kʼ kʷʼ qʼ qʷʼ
Fricative s ~ ʃ ɬ x xʷ χ χʷ h
Sonorant plain m n l j ɣ[lower-alpha 1] w ʕ[lower-alpha 2] ʕʷ
glottal. mˀ nˀ lˀ jˀ wˀ ʕˀ ʕˀʷ
Trill plain r
glottal. rˀ
  1. Only occurs in some dialects.[14]
  2. Sometimes realized as a uvular flap in the Southern Okanagan dialect.[15]

Vowels


The vowels found in Lakes are: [i], [a], [u], [ə], and [o]. Stress will fall only on the full vowels [i], [a], and [u] in Colville-Okanagan.

FrontCentralBack
Close i u
Mid ə[lower-alpha 1] o[lower-alpha 2]
Open a
  1. The [ə] is the single unstressed variant of the full vowels in Okanagan
  2. The [o] vowel is found only in borrowed words

Morphology


The morphology of Colville-Okanagan is fairly complex. It is a head-marking language that relies mostly on grammatical information being placed directly on the predicate by means of affixes and clitics. The combination of derivational and inflectional suffixes and prefixes that are added onto the stem words make for a compact language.[16]


Person markers


Colville-Okanagan demonstrates great flexibility when dealing with persons, number, and gender. The language encodes the person via a series of prefixes and suffixes, and uses its number system in tandem with pluralized pronominals to communicate the number of actors within a sentence. For example:

tkaˀkaˀɬis

k-

num.CL

kaˀ-

PL.REDUP

kaˀɬis

three

k- kaˀ- kaˀɬis

num.CL PL.REDUP three

"There are three people" [16]

In this example the /k/ classification designates that the word contains a numeral classifier.

Additionally, Colville-Okanagan relies heavily on the use of suffixes to designate gender. Okanagan handles gender in much the same way, by attaching both determiner and ‘man' to the sentence, the gender of an object or subject can be communicated:

wikən iˀ sqəltmixw

wik-

saw

-ən

1sg

iˀ

det

sqəltmixw

man

wik- -ən iˀ sqəltmixw

saw 1sg det man

"I saw the man"

In this example, there is a combination of 2nd singular marker with ‘wife.' ‘She' is encoded into the meaning of the word via the inclusion of the gender suffix at the end of the sentence.

Person markers within Colville-Okanagan are attached to verbs, nouns, or adjectives. The marker used depending on transitivity of verbs and other conditions outlined below. The person maker used largely depends on the case being used in the sentence.


Absolutive case


Absolutive markers within Colville-Okanagan can only be used if the predicate of the sentence is intransitive. For example, [Kən c'k-am] (I count) is perfectly viable in Colville-Okanagan, but *[Kən c'k-ən-t] *(I count it)is not because the verb 'count' is transitive. Person markers never occur without an accompanying intransitive verb.[16]

SingularPlural
1st person kənkwu
2nd person kwp
3rd person null(...-əlx)

Possessive case


Simple possessives within Colville-Okanagan are predominantly a result of prefixation and circumfixation on a verb. However, Colville-Okanagan uses simple possessives as aspect forms on the verb in very complex ways. This practice is predominantly seen in Southern interior Salish languages.[16]

The stem: kilx 'hand'
PossessiveExampleUseMorphological processTranslation
1st SGinkilxin-kilxprefixmy-hand
2nd SGankilxan-kilxprefixyour-hand
3rd SGiʔ kilxsiʔ⟩kilx⟨scircumfixhis/her⟩hand⟨
1st PLiʔ kilxtətiʔ⟩kilx⟨tətcircumfixOur⟩hand⟨
2nd PLiʔ kilxəmpiʔ⟩kilx⟨əmpcircumfixYour.PL⟩hand⟨
3rd PLiʔ kilxsəlxiʔ⟩kilx⟨səlxcircumfixTheir⟩hand⟨

Where prefixation occurs with -in / an in the 1st and 2nd person singular, /n/ may undergo deletion as below:

isxʷuytn

in-

1sg.POSS-

s-

nom-

xʷuy

go

-tan

-inst

in- s- xʷuy -tan

1sg.POSS- nom- go -inst

"They are my tracks."

akɬtkɬmilxʷ

an-

2sg.POSS-

kɬ-

to be

tkɬmilxʷ

-woman

an- kɬ- tkɬmilxʷ

2sg.POSS- {to be} -woman

"She is your wife to be."

anik'mən

an-

2sg.POSS-

nik'mən

knife

an- nik'mən

2sg.POSS- knife

"your knife"[16]


Ergative case


In the case of verbs, Colville-Okanagan morphology handles transitivity in various ways. The first is a set of rules for verbs that only have a single direct object, transitive verbs. For the ergative case there are two variants of person markers a stressed and an unstressed.

Stressed and Unstressed

StressedUnstressed
1st SG-ín-n
2nd SG-íxw-xw
3rd SG-ís-s
1st PL-ím-m
2nd PL-ip-p
3rd PL-ísəlx-səlx

The stem: c'k-ən-t is the equivalent of the transitive verb 'count.'

ExampleUseTranslation
1st SGc̓kəntinc'k-ən-t-ínI count it
2nd SGc̓kəntixʷc'k-ən-t-íxwYou count it
3rd SGc̓kəntisc'k-ən-t-ísS/he counts it
1st PLc̓kəntimc'k-ən-t-ímWe count it
2nd PLc̓kəntipc'k-ən-t-ípYou (PL) count it
3rd PLc̓kəntisəlxc'k-ən-t-ísəlxThey count it

wikn̓t (see it) is an example of a strong -nt- transitive past/present verb, with 'XX' identifying non-occurring combinations and '--' identifying semantic combinations which require the reflexive suffix -cut-

Two-participant event inflections: wikn̓t
Transitive
inflection		 Experiencer:
Singular Plural
1 2 3 1 2 3
Executor Sg 1 -- wikn̓tsn̓ wikn̓ XX wikłəm̓n̓ wikn̓əl̓x
2 kʷuʔ wikn̓txʷ -- wikn̓txʷ kʷuʔ wikn̓txʷ XX wikn̓txʷəl̓x
3 kʷuʔ wiks wikn̓ts wiks kʷuʔ wikn̓tm̓ wikłəm̓s wiksəl̓x
Pl 1 XX wikn̓tst wikn̓tm̓ -- wikłəm̓t wikn̓tm̓əl̓x
2 kʷuʔ wikn̓tp XX wikn̓tp kʷuʔ wikn̓tp -- wikn̓tpəl̓x
3 kʷuʔ wiksəl̓x wikn̓tsəl̓x wiksəl̓x kʷuʔ wikn̓tm̓əl̓x wikłəm̓səl̓x wikn̓tm̓əl̓x

Accusative case


There are two sets of verb affixes each containing two members that dictate the composition of a verb. The first set is composed of the affixes –nt-, and -ɬt-. The second set is composed of –st- and x(i)t- where ‘i' is a stressed vowel.

The major difference between two sets is how they incorporate affixes to remain grammatically correct. In the case of the –nt-, -ɬt- group, all particles and suffixes joining onto the stem and suffix of the verb will be identical for both. The –nt- affix connects to the stem of a transitive verb via suffixation. The suffix –nt- can only make reference to two persons: an actor and a primary goal.

q̓y̓əntin q'y'-ənt-in (I write something)

The -ɬt- affix is the ditransitive counterpart of –nt- and works in much the same. The difference between the two is that it refers to three persons: an actor, and two other actors or goals. Furthermore, -ɬt- is further differentiated from its ditransitive cousin -x(i)t- because it does not require a clitic to be a part of the verb.

In contrast to this group, -st- and –x(i)t- operate by unique rules. The –st- affix, much like its counterpart must be added to a verb stem by means of suffixation, it is also transitive, and refers to an actor and a primary goal, but it implies a reference to a third person, or a secondary goal without explicitly stating it.

q̓y̓əstin q'y'-əst-in. (I write it [for myself])

The -x(i)t- ditransitive affix shares all of the features of -ɬt- with the sole exception that it requires a clitic to be attached to front of the verb stem. The reason for the clitic in Okanagan is to add emphasis or focus on the second object, whereas -ɬt- makes no distinction.[17]


Predicates and arguments


Each clause in Colville-Okanagan can be divided into two parts: inflected predicates which are required for every sentence, and optional arguments. Colville-Okanagan allows a maximum of two arguments per sentence construction. These are marked by pronominal markers on the predicate. Each argument is introduced to the sentence via an initial determiner; the only exception to initial determiners is in the case of proper names which do not need determiners to introduce them. Predicates may be of any lexical category. There may be additional arguments added to a sentence in Okanagan via complementizers. Okanagan is unique among the majority of Salish languages for the inclusion of the complementizer.[16]


Obliques


Colville-Okanagan has one oblique marker that serves adapts it to several different functions depending upon the context in which it is used. The oblique marker ‘t' can be used to mark the object of an intransitive verb, as in the case below.

kən

I

ˀiɬən

eat

t

OBL

sɬiqw

meat

kən ˀiɬən t sɬiqw

I eat OBL meat

I ate (some)meat [16]

‘t' may also mark the agent in a passive construction, and it may be used to mark the ergative agent of transitive verbs. Finally, the oblique ‘t' may be used to mark functions including time and instrument:

kən

I

txam

comb

t

OBL

sx̌əx̌c'iˀ

stick

kən txam t sx̌əx̌c'iˀ

I comb OBL stick

"I combed my hair with a stick" [16]

‘t' may also coincide with the determiner ‘iʔ' in the case of instrumentals and passive agents:

tʕapəntís

shoot-DIR-3SG.ERG

[iʔ

DET

[t

OBL

swlwlmínk]

gun

].

 

tʕapəntís [iʔ [t swlwlmínk] ].

shoot-DIR-3SG.ERG DET OBL gun {}

He shot it with a gun.

Mike

Mike

cúmqs-nt-m

kiss-DIR-PASS

[iʔ

DET

[t

OBL

tkɬmílxʷ]

woman

].

 

Mike cúmqs-nt-m [iʔ [t tkɬmílxʷ] ].

Mike kiss-DIR-PASS DET OBL woman {}

Mike was kissed by the woman.[18]


Complements


There are a number of complements available to Colville-Okanagan to clarify its predicates among these are positional complements, which merely indicate the place of a predicate. In addition to positional complements, there are a variety of marked complements, complements used in Okanagan that express further meaning through a series of particles.[19]

The first of the marked complements is the prefix /yi/. For the most part, /yi/ is an optional complement that is used in definite cases with the exception of cases when a proper noun is used. In such cases, the /yi/ prefix is not allowed. When /yi/ is used it refers to a definite referent.[19]

wikən yiʔ sqilxʷ " I saw the/those people." The sequential complements are composed of the particles /ɬ/ and /ɬa/. /ɬa/ conveys temporal sequence while /ɬ/ represents a subordinate element.

way̓ x̌ast ɬ kʷ cxʷuy̓ "It's good if/that you come."

way̓ x̌ast ɬa kʷ cxʷuy̓ "It will be good when/after you come."

Colville-Okanagan also contains a number of locational complements which refer to when or where something happened. It is a point of reference. The /l/ and the variant /lə/particles are used to tie a predicate to a time or place.[19] xʷuy̓ lə sənkʷəkʷəʔac. "He went in the night"

Ablative complements in Colville-Okanagan come in the form of the /tl/ particle. Along with directional complements, /k̓/ and /k̓l/, Okanagan speakers can indicate motion.[19] The ablative complement /tl/ only serves to indicate ‘moving away from.' For instance, in the sentence below, the ablative is ‘from (across the ocean).'

Kʷ scutxx tl sk̓ʷətikənx "Were you saying [that he is] from Seattle?"

The directional complement's two particles represent both direction towards something, and direction towards a specific location. /k/ signifies movement towards something:

k̓ incitxʷ "to my house" (not towards it)

The /k̓l/ particle modifies this sentence so that it specifies the house as the location to which the subject must move. k̓əl incitxʷ "To my house" (there specifically)


Classification


Verbs may react in a number of different ways when a suffix is attached to the root stem of the word. Below are a number of ways in which intransitive roots are modified.[13]

Transitives:


Space, time, modality


The Okanagan system relies heavily on its affixes to demonstrate tense, space, and time. Below are demonstrated various affixes that attach to roots to encode meaning.

Of the following two examples, they are only possible in the –n transitive paradigm.[13]

ks- unrealized action

ikstxt̓ám "I'm going to look after him"

səc- past perfect ˁi-səc-txt'-am "I've been looking after him."

The following examples are for intransitives.

-k Unrealized: expresses an intentional future action or state. (I am going to…) Kn kʷal̓t " I'm warm"

-aʔx Continuative: Action or state that is in progress kn scpútaʔx "I am celebrating"


Directional prefixes



Prepositional case-markings for oblique objects



See also


http://interiorsalish.com/


References


  1. Colville-Okanagan at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Gordon, Raymond G. Ed. (2005). Salishan: Ethnologue Archived 2012-11-04 at the Wayback Machine. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 15th ed. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  3. "First Voices: bringing aboriginal language to the dinner table. The Bent family, who live near Penticton, are teaching their young children both English and Nsyilxcen". Daybreak South - CBC Player. 2012-06-20. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
  4. The Confederated Tribes Of The Colville Reservation Archived 2014-04-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 8, 2014
  5. Salish School of Spokane. Retrieved May 1, 2014
  6. salishschoolofspokane.org http://salishschoolofspokane.org/programs.html. Retrieved July 9, 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. Johnson, Sʔímlaʔx Michele K. (May 2017). "Breathing Life into New Speakers: Nsyilxcn and Tlingit Sequenced Curriculum, Direct Acquisition, and Assessments". Canadian Modern Language Review. 73 (2): 109–132. doi:10.3138/cmlr.3549. ISSN 0008-4506. S2CID 151866033.
  8. The Nsəlxcin Curriculum Project. (2011). Interior Salish: Enduring Languages of the Columbian Plateau. Retrieved May 8, 2014
  9. En'owkin Centre. Retrieved May 8, 2014
  10. Cohen, William Alexander (2010). University of British Columbia. "School failed Coyote, so Fox made a new school: Indigenous Okanagan knowledge transforms educational pedagogy." Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  11. Johnson, Sʔímlaʔx Michele K. (2017-11). "Syilx Language House: How and Why We Are Delivering 2,000 Decolonizing Hours in Nsyilxcn". Canadian Modern Language Review. 73 (4): 509–537. doi:10.3138/cmlr.4040. ISSN 0008-4506
  12. "Alphabet | Nsyilxcən | FirstVoices".
  13. Pattison, Lois Cornelia. "Douglas Lake Okanagan: Phonology and Morphology." University of British Columbia. 1978.
  14. Paul D., Kroeber (1999). The Salish Language Family: Reconstructing Syntax. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. p. 8.
  15. "Uvular-Pharyngeal Resonants in Interior Salish." M. Dale Kinkade. International Journal of American Linguistics, Vol. 33, No. 3 (Jul., 1967), pp. 228–234
  16. Baptiste, Maxine Rose. Okanagan wh-questions. Diss. University of British Columbia, 2001.
  17. Mattina, Anthony. The Colville-Okanagan Transitive System. International Journal of American Linguistics , Vol. 48, No. 4 (Oct. 1982), pp. 421-435
  18. Lyon, John (2013). "Oblique Marked Relatives in Southern Interior Salish: Implications for the Movement Analysis". Canadian Journal of Linguistics. 58 (2): 349–382. doi:10.1017/S0008413100003066. S2CID 146947730.
  19. Mattina, Anthony. "Colville Grammatical Structure." University of Hawaii. May 1973.

Bibliography



Language learning texts



Narratives, songbooks, dictionaries, and word lists



Linguistic descriptions and reviews




Okanagan language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator

На других языках

- [en] Okanagan language

[fr] Colville-okanagan

Le colville-okanagan ou nsyilxcn (nsəlxcín en colville-okanagan) est une langue amérindienne de la famille des langues salish (branche salish de l'intérieur) parlée aux États-Unis, dans l'État de Washington, de Grand Coulee Dam, au Sud, à Kettle Falls, à l'Est, et au Canada en Colombie-Britannique, de Revelstoke, au Nord, à la vallée de la Nicola, à l'Ouest.

[ru] Оканаган (язык)

Оканаган (Okanagan, Okanagan-Colville, Okanagon, Okanogan) — салишский язык, на котором говорит народ оканаган, который проживает в 7 заповедниках: Вернон, Дуглас-Лейк, Керемеос, Оливер, Пентиктон, Уэстбанк и Хедли, к востоку от долины Фрасер и к западу от Кутенай, на юге центральной части штата Британская Колумбия в Канаде, а также в резервации Колвилл штата Вашингтон в США.


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