Heiltsuk-Oowekyala is a Northern Wakashan (Kwakiutlan) language spoken in the Central Coast region of the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nor ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

, spoken by the

Wuikinuxv The Wuikinuxv , ("Backbone people"), also rendered Oweekano (Pre-1976); ''Oowekeeno'' (1976-2003) (variation: ''Oweekeno, Owekano, Oweekayno, Wuikenukv, Wikeno, Owikeno, Awikenox'', and also known as the Rivers Inlet people, are an Indigenous peo ...

(Oweekeno) and

Heiltsuk The Heiltsuk or Haíɫzaqv , sometimes historically referred to as ''Bella Bella'', are an Indigenous people of the Central Coast region in British Columbia, centred on the island community of Bella Bella. The government of the Heiltsuk people ...

peoples. It has two dialects,

(Bella Bella) and Oowekyala (Wuikyala), which unlike other Wakashan languages are tonal. It has no traditional name, so the hyphenated construction Heiltsuk-Oowekyala is used by linguists. ''

Ethnologue ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (stylized as ''Ethnoloɠue'') is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensi ...

'' calls this language "Heiltsuk", with the Bella Bella dialect (Heiltsuk) labelled "Northern Heiltsuk" and the Oowekyala dialect labeled "Southern Heiltsuk". Heiltsuk is spoken by the Bella Bella and Haihais peoples; Oowekyala by the Wuikinuxv .

Phonology

Heiltsuk-Oowekyala, like Nuxálk (Bella Coola), allows long sequences of obstruents, as in the following 7-obstruent word from the Oowekyala variety: : 'the invisible one here-with-me will be short' (Howe 2000: 5) : : kxlqsłcxʷ - you struck a match for me

Writing system

The spelling adopted by the Heiltsuk Education Cultural Center was designed by John C. Rath, linguistic consultant Heiltsuk Cultural Center in the 1970s and 1980s. In Rath's spelling, the lambda letters λ, ƛ, ƛ̓ can be replaced by dh, th, t̓h if they are not accessible on the keyboard. The same is true of ɫ, which can be replaced by lh.

References

External links

The Heiltsuk-Oweek'ala Language

map of Northwest Coast First Nations
(including Oowekyala, described on the map as "Oowekeeno")

Bibliography

* Boas, Franz. (1928). ''Bella Bella texts''. Columbia University contributions to anthropology (No. 5). * Boas, Franz. (1932). ''Bella Bella tales''. Memoirs of the American Folklore Society (No. 25). * Hanuse, R., Sr.; Smith, H.; & Stevenson, D. (Eds.) (1983?). ''The Adjee and the Little Girl''. Rivers Inlet, BC: Oowekyala Language Project. * Hilton, Suzanne; & Rath, John C. (1982). ''Oowekeeno oral traditions''. Ottawa: National Museums of Canada. * Howe, Darin. (1998). Aspects of Heiltsuk laryngeal phonology. Ms., University of British Columbia. * * Johnson, S.; Smith, H.; & Stevenson, D. (1983?). What time is it? Rivers Inlet, BC: Oowekyala Language Project. * Johnson, S.; Smith, H.; & Stevenson, D. (1983?). ''Fishing at Rivers Inlet''. Rivers Inlet, BC: Oowekyala Language Project. * Johnson, S.; Smith, H.; & Stevenson, D. (1983?). ''Qaquthanugva uikala''. Rivers Inlet, BC: Oowekyala Language Project. * Johnson, S.; Smith, H.; & Stevenson, D. (1983?). ''Sisa'kvimas''. Rivers Inlet, BC: Oowekyala Language Project. * Johnson, S.; Smith, H.; & Stevenson, D. (1983?). ''’Katemxvs ’Wuik’ala''. Rivers Inlet, BC: Oowekyala Language Project. * Johnson, S.; Smith, H.; & Stevenson, D. (1984?). ''Oowekyala words''. Rivers Inlet, BC: Oowekyala Language Project. * Lincoln, Neville J.; & Rath, John C. (1980). ''North Wakashan comparative root list''. Ottawa: National Museums of Canada. * Poser, William J. (2003). The status of documentation for British Columbia native languages. Yinka Dene Language Institute Technical Report (No. 2). Vanderhoof, British Columbia: Yinka Dene Language Institute. * Rath, John C. (1981). ''A practical Heiltsuk–English dictionary''. Canadian Ethnology Service, Mercury Series paper (No. 75). Ottawa: National Museum of Man (now Hull, Quebec: Museum of Civilization). * * Stevenson, David. (1980). ''The Oowekeeno people: A cultural history''. Ottawa, Ontario: National Museum of Man (now Hull, Quebec: Museum of Civilization). (Unpublished). * Stevenson, David. (1982). ''The ceremonial names of the Oowekeeno people of Rivers Inlet''. Ottawa, Ontario: National Museum of Man (now Hull, Quebec: Museum of Civilization). (Unpublished). * Storie, Susanne. (Ed.). (1973). ''Oweekano Stories''. (Special Collections: E99). Victoria: British Columbia Indian Advisory Committee. * Windsor, Evelyn W. (1982). ''Oowekeeno oral traditions as told by the late chief Simon Walkus, Sr.'' Hilton, S.; & Rath, J. C. (Eds.). Mercury series (No. 84). Ottawa: National Museum of Man (now Hull, Quebec: Museum of Civilization). {{Languages of Canada Wakashan languages Indigenous languages of the Pacific Northwest Coast First Nations languages in Canada Endangered Wakashan languages