The Coast Salish languages, also known as the Central Salish languages, are a branch of the Salishan language family. These languages are spoken by

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

or Native American peoples inhabiting the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

, in the territory that is now known as the southwest coast of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

around the

Strait of Georgia The Strait of Georgia () or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada, and the extreme northwestern mainland coast of Washington, United Stat ...

and

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

around

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

. The term "

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 ...

" also refers to the cultures in British Columbia and Washington who speak one of these languages or dialects.

Geography

The Coast Salish languages are spoken around most of the

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and

Basins, an area that encompasses the sites of the modern-day cities of

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, and others. Archeological evidence indicates that Coast Salish peoples may have inhabited the area as far back as 9000 BCE. What is now Seattle, for example, has been inhabited since the end of the last

glacial period A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...

(c. 8,000 BCE—10,000 years ago). In the past, the Nuxálk language (also known as Bella Coola) of British Columbia's Central Coast has also been considered Coast Salish. This language shares at least one phonological change with Coast Salish (the merger of the Proto-Salish pharyngeal approximants with the uvular fricatives), but it also displays certain similarities to the

Interior Salish languages The Interior Salish languages are one of the two main branches of the Salishan languages, Salishan language family, the other being Coast Salish languages, Coast Salish. It can be further divided into Northern and Southern subbranches. The first I ...

. If it is indeed a member of the Coast Salish branch, it was the first to split off from the rest.

Classification

The Coast Salish languages can be classified in anywhere from one to three branches. The Tsamosan and Tillamook languages are often considered by linguists to be independent branches under the Salishan language family, and not part of the Coast Salish branch.

Overview

Below is a list of the Coast Salish languages. Languages and dialects with no living native speakers are marked with . * Coast Salish ** Coast (Central) Salish *** Comox **** Island Comox () **** Sliammon ('; also known as Mainland Comox) *** Pentlatch *** shíshálh (also known as Sechelt) *** Squamish () ***

Halkomelem Halkomelem (; in the Upriver dialect, in the Island dialect, and in the Downriver dialect) is a language of various First Nations peoples of the British Columbia Coast. It is spoken in what is now British Columbia, ranging from southeastern ...

**** Upriver Halkomelem () **** Downriver Halkomelem () **** Island Halkomelem () *** Nooksack () *** Northern Straits (also known as North Straits) **** Saanich (') **** T'Souke **** Lekwungen (also known as Songhees) **** Semiahmoo **** Lummi (') **** Samish (') *** S'Klallam (''nəxʷsƛ̕áy̓emúcən;'' also known as Klallam) *** Lushootseed **** Northern Lushootseed () **** Southern Lushootseed (; also known as Twulshootseed or Whulshootseed) *** Twana (; also known as Skokomish) **Tsamosan *** Quinault () *** Lower Chehalis () *** Upper Chehalis () **** Satsop *** Cowlitz () ** Tillamook/Oregon Salish *** Tillamook () **** Tillamook **** Siletz

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Bates, Dawn, Hess, Thom, and Hilbert, Vi; map by Dassow, Laura, 1994, Lushootseed dictionary, University of Washington Press, Seattle and London, . (alk. paper) Revised and expanded update of Hess, Thom, ''Dictionary of Puget Salish'' (University of Washington Press, 1976). Accessed Sep 24, 2009. * . (alk. paper) * . (acid-free paper) * Czaykowska-Higgins, Ewa and M. Dale Kinkade (1998) "Salish languages and linguistics" in ibid. (eds.) ''Salish Languages and Linguistics: Theoretical and Descriptive Perspectives''. New York: Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 1–71. . *
Page links to Village Descriptions Duwamish-Seattle sectio

Dailey referenced "Puget Sound Geography" by T. T. Waterman. Washington DC: National Anthropological Archives, mss. .d. ef. 2
''Duwamish et al. vs. United States of America, F-275''. Washington DC: US Court of Claims, 1927. ef. 5
"Indian Lake Washington" by David Buerge in the ''Seattle Weekly'', 1–7 August 1984 ef. 8
"Seattle Before Seattle" by David Buerge in the ''Seattle Weekly'', 17–23 December 1980. ef. 9
''The Puyallup-Nisqually'' by Marian W. Smith. New York: Columbia University Press, 1940. ef. 10
Recommended start is "Coast Salish Villages of Puget Sound

* Kroeber, Paul D. (1999) ''The Salish Language Family: Reconstructing Syntax.'' Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, . *
Lange referenced a very extensive list.
Summary article **
Lange referenced Lange, "Smallpox Epidemic of 1862 among Northwest Coast and Puget Sound Indians

HistoryLink.org ''Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History''. Accessed 8 December 2000. * * * * * Wayne Suttles (ed.)

External links

Native Languages of the Americas website {{DEFAULTSORT:Coast Salish Languages Coast Salish languages, Indigenous languages of the Pacific Northwest Coast Indigenous languages of Washington (state) First Nations languages in Canada First Nations in British Columbia Salishan languages