Oowekyala , also ''Ooweekeeno'' and ''’Wuik̓ala'' in the language itself, is a dialect (or a sublanguage) of

Heiltsuk-Oowekyala Heiltsuk-Oowekyala is a Northern Wakashan (Kwakiutlan) language spoken in the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, spoken by the Wuikinuxv (Oweekeno) and Heiltsuk peoples. It has two dialects, Heiltsuk The Heilt ...

, a Northern Wakashan language spoken around

Rivers Inlet Rivers Inlet is a fjord in the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, its entrance off Fitz Hugh Sound, about southwest of the community of Bella Coola and about north of the northern tip of Vancouver Island and the ...

and

Owikeno Lake Owikeno Lake, also Owekeeno Lake, Owekano Lake, Oweekayno Lake and other spellings (pron. "o we KEE no"), is a large fjord lake in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. It connects to the head of Rivers Inlet by the short Wannoc ...

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 ...

, whose government is the

Wuikinuxv Nation The Wuikinuxv Nation, also known as the Oweekeno Nation, is a First Nations band government whose traditional territory is the shores of Rivers Inlet and Owikeno Lake in the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, in t ...

. The name is also spelled ''Wuikala, Wuikenukv, Oweekeno, Wikeno, Owikeno, Oowekeeno, Oweekano, Awikenox, Oowek'yala, Oweek'ala''.

Sounds

Consonants

The 45 consonants of Oowekyala: Phonologically, affricates are treated as stops, and nasals and approximants are treated as sonorants. Additionally, and are treated as sonorants.

Vowels

Oowekyala has phonemic short, long, and glottalized vowels:

Phonotactics

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

References

External links

The Heiltsuk-Oweek'ala Language

map of Northwest Coast First Nations
(including Oowekyala, shown 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. * Howe, Darin M. (2000). Oowekyala segmental phonology. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Ottawa)

* 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. * 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. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oowekyala Language Wuikinuxv Wakashan languages Indigenous languages of the Pacific Northwest Coast First Nations languages in Canada Central Coast of British Columbia Endangered Wakashan languages