The Interior Salish languages are one of the two main branches of the
Salishan language family, the other being
Coast Salish
The Coast Salish peoples are a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak on ...
. It can be further divided into Northern and Southern subbranches. The first Interior Salish people encountered by
American explorers were the
Flathead people (''Selish'' or ''seliš'').
Languages
Languages with no living native speakers are marked with an obelisk, .
* Salish
** Northern
***
Shuswap, also known as Secwepemctsín and səxwəpməxcín.
***
Lillooet
Lillooet () is a district municipality in the Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern British Columbia. The town is on the west shore of the Fraser River immediately north of the Seton River mouth. On BC Highway 99, the locality is by road abo ...
, also known as St'át'imcets.
***
Thompson River Salish, (; also known as Nlakaʼpamux, Ntlakapmuk, Thompson Salish, and Thompson.)
****Spuzzum dialect, also called Lower Thompson ()
****
****
****Nicola dialect ()
** Southern
***
Coeur d’Alene, also known as Snchitsuʼumshtsn and snčícuʔumšcn.
***
Columbia-Moses , also known as Columbia and Nxaʔamxcín.
***
Colville-Okanagan, also known as Okanagan, Nxsəlxcin, Nsilxcín, Nsíylxcən, and ta nukunaqínxcən.
***
Montana Salish, also known as Spokane-Kalispel-Flathead, Kalispel–Pend d'Oreille language, and Spokane–Kalispel–Bitterroot Salish–Upper Pend d'Oreille.
The Southern Interior Salish languages share many common phonemic values but are separated by both vowel and consonant shifts (for example k k̓ x > č č' š).
Peoples speaking an Interior Salish language
Northern
*
Secwepemc, also known as Shuswap, Secwepemctsín, səxwəpməxcín (
ʃəxwəpməxtʃín).
*
St̓át̓imc, also known as Stlʼatlʼimx, Stlʼatlʼimc, Sƛ’aƛ’imxǝc (
St̓át̓imcets, also known as ''Úcwalmicwts'').
*
Nlaka'pamux
The Nlakaʼpamux or Nlakapamuk ( ; ), also previously known as the ''Thompson'', '' Thompson River Salish'', ''Thompson Salish'', ''Thompson River Indians'' or ''Thompson River people'', and historically as the ''Klackarpun'', ''Haukamaugh'', ''K ...
, also known as Thompson River Salish, Ntlakapmuk, Ntleʼkepmxcín, Thompson River, Thompson Salish, Thompson, known in frontier times as the Hakamaugh, Klackarpun, Couteau or Knife Indians.
Central
*
Colville,
Sinixt (Senjextee, Sin Aikst, or Lakes Band),
Sanpoil,
Okanagan, and
Methow, all of whom speak
Nxsəlxcin, nsyilxcən.
Eastern
*
Spokane,
Kalispel, and the
Flathead, including the
Bitterroot, all of whom speak
Montana Salish.
Southern
*
Sinkiuse-Columbia,
Entiat,
Wenatchi
The Wenatchi people or Šnp̍əšqʷáw̉šəxʷi / Np̓əšqʷáw̓səxʷ ("People in the between") are Native Americans who originally lived near the confluence of the Columbia and Wenatchee Rivers in Central Washington state. Their language ...
, and
Chelan, all of whom traditionally speak or spoke
Columbia-Moses, also known as Nxaảmxcín, Sinkiuse-Columbia, Sinkiuse, Columbia.
*
Coeur d'Alene people, also known as Schitsu'umsh or Skitswish (
Coeur d'Alene language).
Many speakers and students of these languages live near the city of
Spokane and for the past three years have gathered at the Celebrating Salish Conference which is hosted by the
Kalispel Tribe at the
Northern Quest Resort & Casino.
See also
*
Coast Salish languages
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
Further reading
* Flucke, A. F. ''Interior Salish''. 1952.
* Hanna, Darwin, and Mamie Henry. ''Our Tellings: Interior Salish Stories of the Nlhaʼkapmx People''. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1995.
* Orser, Brenda I. L. ''Stem-Initial Pharyngeal Resonants
ymbol for Central Pharyngeal Fricative, Followed by Symbol for Labialized Central Pharyngeal Fricative in Spokane, Interior Salish''. Ottawa: National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1993.
* Pickford, Arthur E. ''Interior Salish''. British Columbia heritage series, v. 3. Victoria,
.C. Province of British Columbia, Dept. of Education, Division of Curriculum, 1971.
External links
Celebrating Salish Conference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Interior Salish Languages
Salishan languages
Indigenous languages of Washington (state)
Indigenous languages of the North American Plateau