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Halkomelem
Halq̓eméylem / Hul̓q̓umín̓um̓ / hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓
Native toCanada, United States
RegionSouthwestern British Columbia into Northern Washington
Ethnicityvarious Halkomelem-speaking peoples
Native speakers
c. 100[1] to 260 in Canada (2014)[2]
25 in US (1997)[2]
Salishan
NAPA
Language codes
ISO 639-3hur
Glottologhalk1245
ELPHulʻqʻumiʻnumʻ (Halkomelem)
Halkomelem is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Halkomelem (/ˌhɒlkəˈmeɪləm/ HALL-kə-MAY-ləm;[3] Halq̓eméylem in the Upriver dialect, Hul̓q̓umín̓um̓ in the Island dialect, and hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ in the Downriver dialect)[4][5] 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 Vancouver Island from the west shore of Saanich Inlet northward beyond Gabriola Island and Nanaimo to Nanoose Bay and including the Lower Mainland from the Fraser River Delta upriver to Harrison Lake and the lower boundary of the Fraser Canyon.

In the classification of Salishan languages, Halkomelem is a member of the Central Salish branch. There are four other branches of the family: Tsamosan, Interior Salish, Bella Coola, and Tillamook. Speakers of the Central and Tsamosan languages are often identified in ethnographic literature as "Coast Salish".

The word Halkomelem is an anglicization of the name Halq̓eméylem. The language has three distinct dialect groups:

  1. Hulquminum / Hulʻqʻumiʻnumʻ (Island dialect) or "Cowichan" (spoken by separate but closely related First Nations on Vancouver Island and adjoining islands on the west side of the Strait of Georgia: the Snuneymuxw (Nanaimo), Snaw-naw-as (Nanoose) – the former "Saalequun tribe" is part of both First Nations, Stzꞌuminus (Chemainus), Cowichan Tribes, Lake Cowichan (Tsꞌuubaa-asatx), an originally Southern Wakashan-speaking people[6]), Halalt, Lyackson, Penelakut,[7] and Lamalchi.[8]
  2. Hunʼqumiʼnum (hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓) (Downriver dialect) or "Musqueam" (spoken by seven First Nations in the Lower Mainland in and around Vancouver, as well as in the Fraser River Delta and the lower reaches of the Fraser River; which consider themselves linguistically and culturally related ethnicities – but do not identify as Stó꞉lō (although in the literature mostly attributed to these), but today often refer to themselves as "Musqueam", the Musqueam, Tsawwassen, Kwantlen, Tsleil-Waututh, New Westminster Indian Band, Kwikwetlem (Coquitlam), Katzie, and the now extinct Snokomish (Derby people).)
  3. Halqemeylem / Halqʼeméylem (Upriver dialect) or "Stó꞉lō" (spoken by today 24 Sto꞉lo First Nations upstream along the Fraser River from Matsqui on to Yale; the historic "Tsꞌelxwéyeqw (Chilliwack)" (today's First Nations Aitchelitz, Shxwhá꞉y Village, Skowkale, Soowahlie, Squiala, Tzeachten, and Yakweakwioose), "Pelóxwlh Mestiyexw (Pilalt/Pilʼalt)" (today's First Nations Cheam, Kwaw-kwaw-Apil, and Skwah), "Tiyt (Tait)" or "Upper Stó꞉lō" (today's First Nations Popkum, Skawahlook, Chawathil, Seabird Island, Shxwꞌowꞌhamel, Union Bar, Peters, and Yale), "Pepa꞉thxetel" or "Semà꞉th (Sumas)", and the "Sqʼéwlets/Sqwōwich (Scowlitz)" (Sqꞌewlets First Nation) tribes.[9]

The language differences (namely, in phonology and lexicon) are greatest between the Island and Upriver dialects, with the Downriver dialect (especially the Tsawwassen First Nation) providing a central link between the other two. The diversity of the Halkomelem dialects is noted to be the result of complex social and economic forces and linguistic change, as many Island people crossed the Georgia Strait to camp along the Fraser River (in both the Downriver and Upriver areas) for the summer runs of salmon. Arranged marriages between children in different language areas was also common, helping to establish a regional social network in the Strait of Georgia–Puget Sound Basin.

Use and revitalization efforts

[edit]

The Halkomelem language is near extinction. In 2000, it was estimated that the number of fluent Halkomelem speakers was fewer than twenty-five. Most are middle-aged or older, and few are monolingual, as there was a flood of English-speaking settlers in the region in the mid-19th century. Among these, towards the end of the century, the distinguished scientist Maud Menten, spent part of her childhood in Harrison Mills. She learned Halkomelem from a schoolfriend, and was possibly the only biochemist in history to speak it.[10] Language programs at the Stó꞉lō Nation, Seabird Island First Nation, and Cowichan First Nation have been developed to save the language. A program aimed at adults at Musqueam is a collaboration between the band and the University of British Columbia First Nations and endangered languages program.

In September 2009, the University of California Press published American linguist Brent Galloway's Dictionary of Upriver Halkomelem.[11]

A Halkomelem iPhone app was released in 2011.[12] This was followed by an Android version was released in 2016.[13] The app was developed by the FirstVoices website. There are 1754 words archived and 690 phrases archived on the FirstVoices website.[14]

As of 2014, 263 fluent speakers had been reported.[15] In 2014, the number of Head Start Programs was 21, and this included a language-nest immersion preschool.[16]

Phonology

[edit]

Note: All examples are drawn from the Downriver dialect of Halkomelem spoken by the Musqueam band. Relevant differences in the phonology of the Island and Upriver dialects are noted at the foot of the phoneme charts.[17]

Vowels

[edit]

Halkomelem has five vowel phonemes. Long and short vowels (but not schwa) contrast. Vowel length is written in the native orthography as ⟨ꞏ⟩.

Front Central Back (rounded)
short long short long short long
High i iː ⟨iꞏ⟩ u uː ⟨uꞏ⟩
Mid e eː ⟨eꞏ⟩ ə o1 oː ⟨oꞏ⟩1
Low a aː ⟨aꞏ⟩
^1 Upriver Halkomelem dialects also have a mid back vowel /o oː/.[18][19]

All five vowel phonemes vary considerably phonetically. The phoneme /i/ has three distinct allophones. It is realized as [e] following unrounded uvulars. It is realized as [ɪ] with a central off-glide preceding both unrounded and rounded uvulars. Elsewhere, it is realized as low [i] or high [e]. The /e/ is realized as a low to mid-front vowel, usually between [ɛ] or high [æ]. The /a/ is low and central to back, often close to [ɑ]. The /u/ is high, back, and rounded, realized somewhere between low [u] or high [o].

When stressed, the schwa /ə/ appears in most environments as a mid-central, but it is fronted and raised before /x/, approaching [ɪ]; before /j/ it is also fronted, approaching [ɛ]; before /w/ it is lower and back, approaching [ɑ]; and before rounded velars it is mid-back, close to [o]. Unstressed /ə/ can be as high as [ɪ] before /x/ and /j/, and before labialized velars it is realized as [o] or [ʊ]. This phoneme can also be assimilated to a stressed /e/ or a stressed /a/ in an adjacent syllable, by vowel harmony.

Consonants

[edit]
Labial Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
central sibilant lateral plain labial plain labial
Plosive/
Affricate1 		voiceless p ⟨p⟩ tθ ⟨tθ⟩2 t ⟨t⟩ ts ⟨c⟩ t͡ʃ ⟨č⟩2 k ⟨k⟩2 kʷ ⟨kʷ⟩ q ⟨q⟩ qʷ ⟨qʷ⟩
ejective pʼ ⟨p̓⟩ tθʼ ⟨t̓θ⟩ tʼ ⟨t̓⟩ tsʼ ⟨c̓⟩ tɬʼ ⟨ƛ̓⟩ t͡ʃʼ ⟨č̓⟩5 kʼ ⟨k̓⟩2 kʷʼ ⟨k̓ʷ⟩ qʼ ⟨q̓⟩ qʷʼ ⟨q̓ʷ⟩ ʔ ⟨ʔ⟩
voiced3 b ⟨b⟩ d ⟨d⟩ d͡ʒ ⟨j⟩
Fricative voiceless f ⟨f⟩3 θ ⟨θ⟩ s ⟨s⟩ ɬ ⟨ɬ⟩ ʃ ⟨š⟩2 x ⟨x⟩ xʷ ⟨xʷ⟩ χ ⟨x̌⟩ χʷ ⟨x̌ʷ⟩ h ⟨h⟩
Sonorant voiced m ⟨m⟩ n ⟨n⟩ l ⟨l⟩ j ⟨y⟩ w ⟨w⟩ ʀ ⟨r⟩3
glottalized4 mˀ ⟨m̓⟩ nˀ ⟨n̓⟩ lˀ ⟨l̓⟩ jˀ ⟨y̓⟩ wˀ ⟨w̓⟩
^1 The stops and affricates are grouped together for simplification purposes.
^2 Of recent and/or peripheral phonemic status.
^3 /b d d͡ʒ f ʀ/ occur only in a few borrowed and imitative words.
^4 The five glottalized resonants pose a problem in phonemic analysis, but occur frequently.
^5 Occurs in the Upriver dialect.

The plain plosives are less aspirate before vowels than in English, but they are more aspirate finally. Although the glottalized plosives are ejectives, they are not usually strongly released.

Suttles (2004) makes several interesting notes on the Musqueam obstruents. The labiodental fricative /f/ occurs in recent loans from English and their derivatives such as in káfi "coffee" and in číf "chief". The stops /t/ and /tʼ/ are articulated at a point slightly forward of that of the usual English /t d/, while the affricates c /ts/ and cʼ /tsʼ/ are somewhat more retracted than these same English /t d/. The affricate [d͡ʒ] has only been recorded in kinjáj "English people" and kinjájqən "English (language)". The glottalized lateral affricate /ƛʼ/ [tɬʼ] is produced when the apex of the tongue at the onset is in the position for the lateral release rather than for a /t/, and there is less friction produced than with other affricates. The phonemes /k/ and /kʼ/ occur in "baby talk" as substitutes for /q/ and /qʼ/. The uvular fricative x̌ [χ] is produced with a great deal of friction and/or uvular vibration, and it contrasts strongly with the velar fricative /x/.

There is variation in the extent to which Musqueam speakers glottalize resonants. Phonetically, there are glottalized resonants (e.g. [nˀ]) and resonants preceded or followed by glottal stops (e.g. [ʔn nʔ]), however, Suttles (2004) finds no instances of contrastive distribution among any of the three. He puts forth two explanations for these facts: that there are two sequences of phonemes, /Rʔ/ and /ʔR/, with overlapping [Rˀ] allophones, or that there is a single phoneme /Rˀ/ that is realized in three distinct ways. In preferring the latter explanation, Suttles holds that there may be five glottalized resonant phonemes in the dialect, although Downriver speakers glottalize resonants very lightly, making them difficult to detect.

In most Upriver dialects, glottalized resonants do not exist, while in Island dialects, they are more sharply articulated (tenseness is a key feature of Island speech). As is the case with many other phonological features, Downriver Halkomelem stands as a link between the other dialect areas, and it is possible that its speakers vary depending on Island or Upriver influence. Other differences between dialects include: Island and Downriver have both /n/ and /l/, while Upriver has merged these as /l/. Upriver Halkomelem lacks the post-vocalic glottal stops of the other two dialects, and shows compensatory lengthening in that environment. Additionally, Upriver dialects have greater pitch differences, and some words are differentiated by pitch alone.

Stress and pitch

[edit]

Based on Suttles' (2004) recordings of several speakers of the Downriver (Musqueam) dialect, stress in Halkomelem consists of an increase in intensity and an accompanying rise in pitch. The three levels of stress are primary (marked /׳/), secondary (marked /`/), and weak (unmarked). There is one vowel with primary stress in every full word, however, its occurrence is not completely predictable.

In uninflected words with more than one vowel, the primary stress usually falls on the first vowel (e.g. as in céləx "hand" and léləmʼ "house"). There are exceptions to this general pattern (e.g. as in xəmén "enemy"). As shown by the preceding example, if the word contains both a full vowel and one or more schwas, the stress is placed on the full vowel. Again, there are exceptions to this pattern, such as in words with a final glottal stop that cannot be preceded by schwa (e.g. as in nə́cʼaʔ "one").

Although minimal pairs contrasting stress are rare, they do exist in the language. The primary stress of a verb root consisting of a resonant, a schwa, and an obstruent followed by the suffix /-t/ "transitive" can fall on either the root or the suffix, allowing for minimal pairs such as mə̀kʼʷət "salvage it" and məkʼʷə́t "finish it all."

The secondary stress appears most often in words that are composed of a root that has retained its stress and a stressed suffix (e.g. as in cʼéwəθàmx "help me"). It may be the case, however, that the secondary stress recorded by Suttles (2004) in words like cʼéwəθàmx is actually a falling pitch; this seems to be characteristic of the last stressed syllable of a phrase in the language. Additional analyses of the sentential intonation patterns are needed.

Phonotactics

[edit]

All obstruents (except the glottals) typically follow one another in sequences of up to four, although a sequence of five is also possible (e.g. as in txʷstx̌ʷásʔal "just standing in shock"). There are no specific restrictions on the types of obstruent sequences that can occur. Plosives appearing in sequences are rearticulated, and sequences of /ss/ are common in the language.

Resonants only appear adjacent to vowels. When these sounds occur in the middle of words, they are found in sequences of resonant-obstruent, resonant-resonant, and obstruent-resonant. An initial resonant is always followed by a vowel, and a final resonant must be preceded by one.

The laryngeals are more restricted than members of the other natural classes in Halkomelem. The glottal stop occurs only adjacent to a vowel, and, within words, it does not follow any obstruent except (the prefix) /s/. It can never occur in final position following a schwa. /h/ occurs only before vowels, following a resonant or one of the fricatives at morpheme boundaries, but never following other obstruents. It can appear between an unstressed and a stressed vowel, but it cannot occur between a stressed and an unstressed vowel.

Morphophonemics

[edit]

Certain processes affect the realization of underlying sounds in Halkomelem. Alternations that occur fairly commonly are discussed in this section, rather than in the following section on morphology.

  • In rapid speech, there is optional loss of some instances of schwa, glottal stop, glottalization of resonants, and /h/.
    • An unstressed schwa following an initial nasal stop may be lost, if there is a vowel preceding; the nasal is sometimes heard as part of that syllable (e.g. as in tənəmén ~ tən mén "my father").
    • /nə/ with no preceding vowel sometimes appears as syllabic [n] (e.g. as in xʷnəcʼáwəθ ~ xʷncʼáwəθ "one kind").
    • A glottal stop after an unstressed final vowel may be lost, in which case the vowel will be reduced to a schwa (e.g. as in méqeʔ ~ méqə).
    • The glottalization of resonants following unstressed vowels is often inaudible (e.g. as in smənʼéꞏm ~ smənéꞏm "descendants").
    • /h/ before a stressed vowel may be lost when preceded by a spirant (e.g. as in sháꞏyʼ ~ sáꞏyʼ "finished").
  • An unstressed schwa may take on the quality of an adjacent full vowel, or one that is separated from it by a glottal stop (e.g. as in spéʔəθ ~ spéʔeθ "black bear").
  • When a root with the shape of /CARˀ/ (C is any consonant, A is a full vowel, Rˀ is a glottalized resonant), takes the suffix /-ət/ "transitive", the resulting form is /CAʔəRt/. It appears that the resonant and schwa have switched positions (a form of metathesis), but the glottal stop protects the schwa from assimilating to the full vowel (e.g. as in wílʼ "appear" and wíʔəlt "make it appear").
  • Several roots appear alone, without having undergone affixation (e.g. as in ʔí "big" and pá "get blown on"). When this type of root is followed by a suffix that begins with a stressed vowel, (e.g. as in /-ínəs/ "chest"), an /h/ appears (e.g. as in θəhínəs "barrel-chested"). A final /h/ is never realized after a stressed vowel.
  • A number of suffixes beginning with /n/ have forms with initial /l/ when they are added to a root or stem ending in /l/ (i.e. there is alternation of /n/ and /l/ in certain morphological cases in this language) (e.g. as in /-nəxʷ/ ~ /-ləxʷ/ "limited control" in ɬə́qʼəlləxʷ "know it" and cə́llexʷ "catch up with him").
  • In the progressive and resultative forms of few verbs with initial /c/ or /x/ followed by /a/, the /c/ is reduplicated as /kʷ/ and the /x/ as /xʷ/ (e.g. as in cám "go/come inland" and its progressive cákʷəm "be going/coming inland").
  • Vowel gradation often occurs between a full vowel, schwa, and zero, depending on the type of root or stem, type of suffix, and placement of stress.
  • When some suffixes are joined with stems, a change in the quality of the stressed vowel, from one full vowel to another, in the stem, or (rarely) in the suffix results. The vowel mutations are the product of the assimilation of one vowel to that of an adjacent syllable at an earlier stage in the language's history. Three kinds of these mutations exist (although only the first example is common). In the first two examples, the vowel mutation is similar to the umlauting effect of a suffix on stems in Germanic languages.
    • Stem /e/ changes to /a/ (e.g. as in xʷƛʼáqtəs "long-faced" [ƛʼéqt "long"]).
    • Stem /a/ to /e/ (e.g. as in péꞏltʼθeʔ "buzzard (turkey vulture)", which is composed of spáꞏl "raven" and the suffix /-itθeʔ/ "clothing, blanket" [with metathesis]).
    • Suffix /e/ to /a/ (e.g. as in sqʼəqʼəxán "partner", which is composed of sqʼəqʼáʔ "accompanying" and the suffix /-xən/ ~ /-xén/ "foot").

Writing system

[edit]

In 1997, the Musqueam First Nation officially adopted the Americanist phonetic alphabet.[20] This alphabet does not use upper-case letters.

Musqueam (hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓) alphabet[20]
c c̓ č h k kʷ k̓ʷ l l̓ ƛ̓ ɬ m m̓ n n̓ p p̓ q q̓ qʷ
q̓ʷ s š t t̓ t̓ᶿ θ w w̓ x xʷ χ χʷ y y̓ ʔ a a꞉ e e꞉
i i꞉ u u꞉ ə ay ey ey̓ əy əy̓ aw̓ a꞉w̓ ew iw iw̓ əw əw̓

The Stó꞉lō use a cased Latin alphabet with modifier apostrophes, letter colon for both vowel length and geminate consonants, and the special letters Ō and X̱. The vowel letters are a for /e/, e for /ə/, o for /a/, and ō for /o/. Sh is /s/ before xw, and is found in a few English and French loans.

Using the letter a as a carrier, á marks high tone, à mid tone, and a low tone.

Stó꞉lō alphabet[21]
A a Ch ch Chʼ chʼ E e H h I i K k Kʼ kʼ Kw kw Kwʼ kwʼ
L l Lh lh M n O o Ō ō P p Pʼ pʼ Q q Qʼ qʼ Qw qw
Qwʼ qwʼ S s Sh sh T t Tʼ tʼ Th th Thʼ thʼ Tlʼ tlʼ Ts ts Tsʼ tsʼ
U u W w X x Xw xw X̱ x̱ X̱w x̱w Y y ʼ ꞉

The Cowichan use a cased Latin alphabet with modifier apostrophes and doubled letters for vowel length. Ou is used for the long [u] sound in French loanwords, and u is used for schwa. The alphabet includes the tetragraph tthʼ.

Cowichan alphabet[22]
A a Aa aa Ch ch Chʼ chʼ E e Ee ee H h Hw hw I i Ii ii
K k Kw kw Kwʼ kwʼ L l Lʼ lʼ (ʼl) Lh lh M m Mʼ mʼ (ʼm) N n Nʼ nʼ (ʼn)
O o Oo oo Ou ou P p Pʼ pʼ Q q Qʼ qʼ Qw qw Qwʼ qwʼ S s
Sh sh T t Tʼ tʼ Th th Tlʼ tlʼ Ts ts Tsʼ tsʼ Tth tth Tthʼ tthʼ U u
W w Wʼ wʼ (ʼw) X x Xw xw Y y Yʼ yʼ (ʼy) ʼ

Typography

[edit]

The Musqueam Band language department collaborated with the University of British Columbia to create a typeface called Whitney Salishan that displays all the characters correctly.[23]

Comparison

[edit]
Comparison of Halkomelem alphabets (dated)[24]
IPA APA Island Cowichan Stó꞉lō (Upriver)
i i i
e ~ ɛ ~ æ e ~ ɛ ~ æ e a
ə ~ ʌ ~ ɪ ~ ʊ ə ~ ʌ ~ ɪ ~ ʊ u e
u u oo ou u
o o – o ō
a a a o
p p p
tθ tᶿ tth –
t t t
ts c c ts
tʃ č ch
k k k
kʷ kʷ kw
q q q
qʷ qʷ qw
ʔ ʔ ʼ
pʼ p̓ p̓ p̱ pʼ
tθʼ θʼ t̓h t︫t︭h︬ thʼ
tʼ t̓ t̓ ṯ tʼ
tɬʼ ƛ̓ t̓l t͟l tlʼ
tsʼ c̓ c̓ t͟s tsʼ
tʃʼ č̓ č̓ c͟h chʼ
kʼ k̓ k̓ ḵ kʼ
kʷʼ k̓ʷ k̓w k͟w kwʼ
qʼ q̓ q̓ q̱ qʼ
qʷʼ q̓ʷ q̓w q͟w qwʼ
θ θ th
ɬ ł lh l̈ lh
s s s
ʃ š sh
x x – x
xʷ xʷ xw hw xw
χ x̌, x̣ x̌ ḧ x̱
χʷ x̌ʷ, x̣ʷ x̌w ḧw x̱w
h h h
m m m
n n n
l l l
j y y
w w w
mʔ ~ ?m m̓ m̓ mʼ ~ ʼm –
nʔ ~ ʔn n̓ n̓ nʼ ~ ʼn –
lʔ ~ ʔl l̓ l̓ lʼ ~ ʼl –
jʔ ~ ʔj y̓ y̓ yʼ ~ ʼy –
wʔ ~ ʔw w̓ w̓ wʼ ~ ʼw –

Morphology

[edit]

Like the majority of Salishan languages, Halkomelem is polysynthetic. A word in Halkomelem may consist of a root standing alone and unaltered, or of a root altered by one or more processes of internal modification and/or accompanied by one or more affixes. Since all words (with the exception of a few adverbs) can function as predicate heads, there is no basis for distinguishing verbs, nouns, and adjectives. There are other bases, however, for distinguishing these classes. Verbs have progressive forms and do not take possessive affixes, while nouns do not have progressive forms and do take possessive affixes. Adjectives have neither progressive forms, nor do they take possessive affixes. Compounding is non-existent in the language, although some scholars believe to have found a few possible examples.[25]

The majority of verb roots have the shapes CAC, CəC, CəCC, while noun roots typically have the shape CVCVC (V is any vowel). The most common shapes of adjective roots are CəC and CAC. There is a prefix that nominalizes verbs and adjectives, and there are several prefixes that make verbs out of nouns. Additionally, there are several ways to make adjective-like words from nouns. Processes of internal modification of the root include reduplication (of initial CV and CVC), shift in stress and vowel grade, and glottalization of resonants (which also affects suffixes). Roots of different shapes often undergo different processes to produce forms that are grammatically identical.[25]

Verbs

[edit]

Verbs roots are identified as perfective, as opposed to progressive, aspect.

  • Perfective sə̀qʼ "split, tear"
  • Progressive səsə̀qʼ "be splitting, be tearing"

Several verbs also have a durative aspect, which can occur in both forms.

  • Perfective qʼíkʼʷət "bite it"
  • Progressive qʼíqʼəkʼʷət "be biting it"

A number also have an iterative-dispositional aspect. For a few of these verb roots, this aspect can appear in both a progressive and in a perfective form.

  • sə́qʼsəqʼ "easy to split"

The majority of verbs have a resultative form which is adjective-like and does not carry a progressive-perfective distinction.

  • ssəsíqʼ "split, torn"
  • skʼʷəkʼʷíɬ "spilled, capsized"

The plural can be optionally marked in all of these forms. The diminutive is also marked, optionally, in only the progressive and resultative aspects.

Nouns

[edit]

It is possible to internally modify noun roots in Halkomelem for the plural, the diminutive, and the diminutive plural. Compare:

  • céləx "hand"
  • cəlcéləx "hands"
  • cécləx "little hand"
  • cəcécləx "little hands"

A few nouns may have resultative forms. They do not have progressive forms, but they may be made into a verb with a verbalizing affix and then express this form.

Adjectives

[edit]

Similar to noun roots, adjective roots can be internally modified for plural, diminutive, and diminutive plural. They can only have progressive forms if made into verbs by means of a verbalizing affix.

  • pʼə́qʼ "white"
  • pʼépʼqʼ "white" (PL)

Complex adjectives are formed from adjective roots and lexical suffixes.

  • máʔəqʷ "large bird"

Affixes

[edit]

Halkomelem contains prefixes, suffixes, and infixes. All infixes of the language have been described in the preceding sections. Affixes are typically divisible into inflectional or derivational and grammatical or lexical categories, depending on their involvement in paradigms and meaning; however, a number of Halkomelem affixes mix these categories. Suttles (2004) identifies the following classes of suffixes and prefixes; a sampling of these affixes follow.

  • Non-personal affixes
    • Suffixes of the voice system
      • Transitive: /-t/ /-nəxʷ/ /-x/ "transitive"
      • Intransitive: /-əm/ "intransitive", /-éls/ "activity" (compare pə́n "get buried", pə́nət "bury it", pə́nəm "plant", and pə́néls "bury something")
      • Causative: /-stəxʷ/ "causative"
      • Permissive: /-s/ "let", as in "let him go" or "let it be"
      • Applicative: /-nəs/ "goal" (e.g. as in nəʔémnəs "go after him"), /-ném/ "go"
      • Reflexive: /-θət/ "oneself", /-námət/ "oneself (limited control)"
      • Reciprocal: /-təlʼ/ "each other"
      • Subordinate passive: /-ət/ "subordinate passive"
    • Aspectual and modal affixes
      • Aspectual prefixes: /wə-/ "established", wəɬ- "already"
      • Modal suffixes: /-ə́lmən/ "want to, intend to, seem about to"
    • Derivational affixes
      • Affixes with purely grammatical meaning
        • Nominalizing prefix: /s-/ "nominalize (verbs and adjectives)"
      • Verbalizing affixes (combine grammatical and lexical meaning): /c-/ "get, make, do, go to", ɬ- "partake of", /txʷ-/ "buy", /-àꞏl/ "travel by"
      • Lexical prefixes: /mə-/ "come", /tən-/ "from"
      • Lexical suffixes
        • Body parts: /-aqʷ/ "head"
        • Common artifacts: /-wət/ "canoe"
        • Natural phenomena: /-ətp/ "plant, tree"
  • Personal affixes

Possessive affixes

[edit]

The following table lists the possessive affixes which appear in attributive possessive structures in Halkomelem.[26]

Attached to word prior Attached to possessed head Translation
-əl / -l 'my'
-ɛ́ / -ʔɛ́ 'your (singular)'
-s 'her, his, its, their'
-cət 'our'
-ɛ́ / -ʔɛ́ -ələp 'your (plural)'

Possession is marked either on the possessed noun (the head) or the word preceding it through these affixes. Together with the appearance of affixes, possession also requires a structural component, in that the possessor of the head is found to the right of the head. The possessor is always preceded by a determiner, although depending on the noun class, it can also appear with an oblique case marker. If the possessor is a common noun, it will be introduced by a determiner, but without an oblique case marker. If, however, the possessor is a proper noun, it must appear in the oblique case. Thus, it will be preceded by an oblique case marker, and the possessed noun will appear without a possessive affix. For proper nouns, the determiner and the oblique case marker are fused into a single particle. Marking common nouns with an oblique case marker results in an ungrammatical construction:[27]

kʷθə sqʷəmeyʔ-s ɫe sɫeniʔ AUX dog-3POS DET woman 'the woman's dog'
kʷθə pukʷ-s ɫe sɫeniʔ AUX book-3POS DET woman 'the woman's book'
kʷθə sqʷəmeyʔ ʔə-ʎ John DET dog OBL-DET John 'John's dog'

Most verbs roots are semantically patient-oriented (e.g. they have glosses like "get hit" or "get washed"), while few verbs are semantically agent-oriented (e.g. "look" or "see"). All are grammatically intransitive. These relations are different with the suffixes of the voice system. A verb that is made up of an inactive root and an intransitive suffix is grammatically intransitive, but semantically active. An inactive or active root that takes on a transitive suffix is grammatically transitive and takes an object. The transitive suffix is the base for an object or passive person suffix. Two of the most commonly used transitive suffixes distinguish actions performed with limited control or accidentally from those performed with full control or purposely.

Aspectual prefixes, which precede predicate heads, have adverbial meaning and express temporal distinctions. Modal suffixes follow the suffixes of the voice system and indicate desire or intention and search or arrangement.

Lexical suffixes can be related to verb roots as objects, locus, or instruments; to adjective roots as noun heads; and to noun roots as noun possessors or the noun heads of modifiers.

The personal affixes distinguish first, second, and third person in singular and plural. There are neither dual forms nor inclusive/exclusive distinctions in this language. There is also a set of possessive affixes (prefixes for first and second person singular, suffixes for first-person plural and third person, and a combination of prefix and suffix for second-person plural). This system will be covered, in detail, in the "Syntax" section.

Ordering of affixes

[edit]

Derivational prefixes and suffixes form an inner layer around the word root, while inflectional affixes form an outer layer around the root. Among derivational affixes, those with lexical meaning stand closer to the root than those with purely grammatical meaning. Among inflectional affixes, those of the voice and person systems stand closer to the root than the aspectual prefixes and modal suffixes.

  • xʷqʷénəctəs. "[She] punches holes in the bottom of it."

Syntax

[edit]

In Musqueam, a sentence minimally consists of a predicate. Predicate heads can be bare roots (e.g. cákʼʷ "far"), derived forms (e.g. spéʔeθ "black bear"), inflected forms (e.g. cʼéwət "help him/her/them"), and forms including both derivational and inflectional affixes (e.g. kʷə́xnəct "name-base-transitive," as in "name a price"). Predicate heads can also be words that are definable morphologically. This includes verbs (e.g. ném "go"), adjectives (e.g. θí "big"), nouns (e.g. swə́yʼqeʔ "man"), members of the closed sets of personal words (see the following section), and interrogative words (e.g. stém "what").[28]

A verbal predicate may be expanded with the addition of one or two auxiliary verbs before the head and/or one or more adverbs preceding or following the head.

  • ʔi(AUX) cən cʼécʼəw-ət. "I am helping him."
    • Two pairs of verbs function as auxiliaries, setting the predicate within a spatial context. The choice between the locative pair, /ʔi/ "be here" and /niʔ/ "be there," depends on the location of the speaker relative to whatever the predicate refers to. The directional auxiliaries, /ʔəmí/ "come" and /ném/ "go," identify motions toward or away from the speaker.
  • ƛʼ(ADV) cən nəwɬ x̌té. "I did it again."

Verb heads are also found with verb complements and compound verbs.

  • θə́t("try") ɬákʷ. "He tried to fly."

Like verbal predicates, adjectival and nominal predicates can be expanded with other elements. Nominal predicate heads can appear alone, followed by particles and adverbs.

  • swə́yʼqeʔ cən. "I am a man."
  • swə́yʼqeʔ čxʷ ƛʼe. "You're a man too."

Syntactically, adjectival and nominal predicate heads appear with auxiliaries less often than verbs. Adjectives and nouns can appear together in nominal predicates expanded with adjectives. A nominal predicate head can be preceded by a modifying adjective or numeral.

  • ʔə́yʼ("good") čxʷ("you") swə́yʼqeʔ("man"). "You're a good man."

Adjectives usually appear as predicate heads accompanied by particles only, but they can be preceded by auxiliaries and adverbs acting as intensifiers.

  • kʼʷámʼkʼʷəmʼ cən. "I'm strong."
  • ni(AUX) ʔukʼʷámʼkʼʷəmʼ. "He [absent] is strong all right."
  • x̌ə́ɬ(ADV) qʼáqʼəyʼ. "He was very sick."

Person markers

[edit]

The Halkomelem person markers (forms that correspond in meaning to English personal pronouns) include a set of affixes, one set of particles, and two sets of words (personal and possessive). As mentioned in the "Morphology" section, there is no dual number or inclusive/exclusive distinction in the language. However, some scholars believe that the forms identified here as second-person "singular" were once used in addressing a married couple, a pair of brothers, or even a family, while the "plural" forms were used for a larger or less integrated group.[29]

First- and second-person argument particles

[edit]

The first- and second-person particles pattern like a nominative–accusative case marking system. In other words, the same particles mark first- and second-person arguments in both intransitive and transitive predicates in main clauses (coordinate constructions).

Singular Plural
First-person cən ct
Second-person čxʷ ceꞏp

Suttles (2004) classified the first- and second-person argument particles as second-position predicate particles, along with about twenty other particles that can appear within the predicate. Most of the second-position predicate particles are mobile, appearing after the first word of the predicate (whatever that may be). If the only word in the predicate is the head, the first- and second-person argument particles will follow it; if the head is preceded by an auxiliary verb, they will follow the auxiliary; if the head is preceded by an adverb, they will follow the adverb.

  • cʼéw-ət cən ceʔ. "I'll help him/her/them."
  • ʔi cən cʼécʼəw-ət. "I am helping him/her/them."
  • lə́qʼ cən wəmʼi técəl. "I generally get here."

Object person markers

[edit]

An object person marker can only be suffixed to a transitive verb (i.e. a verb stem that has a transitive suffix). The four forms appear to be composed of identifiable elements: /-S/ and /-am/ "non-third-person singular", /-al-/ "non-third-person plural", /-x/ and /-xʷ/ "first person", and /-ə/ second person. Third-person objects are unmarked.

Singular Plural
First-person -Samx ~ -amx -alʼxʷ
Second-person -Samə ~ -amə -alə

The element /-S/ occurs with the transitivizer /-t/, and they coalesce as /θ/. With the root cʼéw- "help" and /-t/ "transitive", we find:

  • cʼéwəθàmx "help me"
  • cʼéwəθàlʼxʷ "help us"

These forms are normally accompanied by person markers.

Third-person arguments

[edit]

The third-person arguments follow an ergative–absolutive system. With an intransitive predicate head, a third-person argument is like a third-person object in being marked by zero. Plurality is optionally indicated by the particle ʔéꞏɬtən.

  • némʼ ceʔ. "He/she/it/they will go."
  • némʼ ceʔ ʔéꞏɬtən. "They will go."

With a transitive predicate head in a main clause, on the other hand, a third-person agent must be marked by the suffix /-əs/. It always follows the transitivizer and object person marker, if any. Unlike the first- and second-person particles, the suffix does not move to follow an auxiliary or adverb. Again, the plurality of the third-person may be indicated by the particle ʔéꞏɬtən.

  • cʼéwətəs ceʔ. "He/she will help him/her."
  • ni cʼéwətəs. "He/she helped him/her."
  • kʼʷəcnámxəs ceʔ ʔéꞏɬtən. "They will see me."

Constraints

[edit]

In the active paradigm, a third person cannot be the agent with a second person as the object. Instead, we find passive forms.

  • cʼéwətàləm ceʔ. "You folks will be helped."

Only third persons can be agents in the passive. Other relations (e.g. the forms "*I am seen by you" or "*he is seen by me") can be expressed only in the active (e.g. "you see me" and "I see him").

Subordinate clauses

[edit]

A subordinate clause is produced by prefixing one of the two subordinating particles, /wə-/ "if, when, that" and /ʔəl/ "whenever, whatever," to the first word in a predicate and replacing its coordinate agent marker with a subordinate agent marker. Subordinate agent markers are the same in both intransitive and transitive active predicates.

Singular Plural
First-person -eꞏn ~ -ən -ət
Second-person -əxʷ -eꞏp ~ -əp
Third-person -əs same as singular

Subordinate clauses usually follow main clauses, but there are a few exceptions.

  • kʼʷəcnámə cən ceʔ, wənémʼèꞏn. "I will see you, if/when/that I go."

Basic words and phrases

[edit]
English Halq̓eméylem[30]
Hello/Greetings kwéleches
How are you? lichexw we eyo
I am fine tsel we eyo
Thank you kwʼas ho꞉y
What is your name? tewat teʼ skwix
1 letsʼe
2 isa꞉le
3 lhi꞉xw
4 X̱eʼo꞉thels
5 lheqʼa꞉tses
6 tʼx̱em
7 tho꞉kws
8 teqa꞉tsa
9 tu꞉xw
10 o꞉pel

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Halkomelem

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from Grokipedia

Halkomelem is a Central Salish language belonging to the Coast Salish branch of the Salishan language family, spoken by First Nations peoples in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is primarily used in regions along the Fraser River from the lower Fraser Canyon to its mouth, as well as the southeastern coast of Vancouver Island from Malahat to Nanoose Harbour. The language encompasses three principal dialects—Upriver Halkomelem (Halq'eméylem), Downriver Halkomelem (hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓), and Island Halkomelem (Hul'q'umi'num')—which correspond to distinct communities such as the Stó:lō upriver and Cowichan on the island. Classified as endangered, Halkomelem has approximately 200 fluent speakers, mostly elderly individuals over 60, though broader knowledge exists among over 1,000 people according to census data. Revitalization efforts, including dictionary compilation and university-led research at institutions like Simon Fraser University, aim to preserve its complex morphology, including numeral classifiers, amid declining intergenerational transmission.

Classification and Historical Context

Linguistic Affiliation

Halkomelem is classified as a member of the Salishan language family, specifically within the Central Salish branch of the broader Coast Salish subgroup. The Salishan family encompasses approximately 23 languages spoken in the , organized into five primary branches: (Bella Coola), Tillamook, Tsamosan, Interior Salish, and Central Salish. Central Salish forms a of interrelated varieties along the , including Halkomelem alongside Comox-Sliammon, Northern Straits, Klallam, , Nooksack, , and Squamish. Genetic affiliation to Proto-Salish is established through comparative reconstruction of shared morphological and lexical features, such as applicative suffixes derived from proto-forms like *‐č’ʷ ‘benefactive’ and *‐t’ ‘causative’, which exhibit regular reflexes across Central Salish languages including Halkomelem. These innovations, including patterns of reduplication for diminutives and aspect marking, distinguish Central Salish from Interior Salish branches, where analogous forms show divergent developments, such as retention of certain velar reflexes absent in coastal varieties. Grammars and dictionaries, such as those documenting Halkomelem's denominal verb constructions, further corroborate this placement by aligning core vocabulary and syntactic structures with Proto-Salish etymologies rather than extraneous families. Halkomelem shares no demonstrable genetic ties with non-Salishan families, as phonological and morphological comparisons— including the absence of Salish-like glottalized obstruents in proposed relatives like Algonquian—reveal no systematic correspondences beyond chance resemblances. This classification relies on empirical evidence from lexical cognate sets and sound change regularities, prioritizing primary linguistic data over unsubstantiated areal diffusion claims.

Pre-Contact Distribution and Evolution

Prior to European contact in the late , Halkomelem was distributed across the traditional territories of Central Coast Salish peoples, encompassing the lower from its mouth upstream to approximately Yale, the adjacent mainland coast including , and from southward to Malahat. This area featured numerous semi-permanent villages, such as those along the and in the , where speakers resided in plank-house communities supported by salmon-based economies and seasonal resource gathering. Archaeological evidence from settlement patterns indicates continuous occupation of these regions dating back at least 7,000 calibrated years (cal ), with intensified village formation and community organization evident between 2,550 and 100 years , reflecting stable linguistic heartlands tied to riverine and maritime adaptations. Population estimates for pre-contact Halkomelem speakers, reconstructed from oral histories, ethnographic accounts, and depopulation ratios post-smallpox epidemics, suggest 10,000 to 30,000 individuals fluent in its dialects across these villages, with higher figures aligning with broader Coast Salish demographic models of 50,000–100,000 for the linguistic continuum. Trade networks along waterways facilitated inter-village exchanges of goods like , cedar, and , maintaining dialectal and cultural-linguistic continuity among Upriver, Downriver, and varieties despite geographic separation. Toponyms embedded in the landscape, such as Leq'ámel (Nicomen ) deriving from Halkomelem roots denoting or backwater features, preserve evidence of long-term territorial naming practices linked to ecological . Halkomelem's evolutionary trajectory traces to Proto-Salish ancestors around 10,000 years ago in the and region, where the language developed conservative morphological features like lexical suffixes reconstructible to the , enabling compact expression of relational concepts without heavy innovation seen in neighboring Interior Salish branches. Dialectal divergence likely occurred gradually through localized adaptations to riverine versus insular environments, yet retained core phonological and syntactic traits—such as for diminutives and transitivizing suffixes—fostering stability amid interactions with adjacent Salishan varieties like Squamish and Nooksack. Oral traditions recorded in early linguistic corroborate this baseline, portraying a language embedded in ancestral narratives of migration and resource stewardship predating 1770s disruptions.

Post-Contact Changes

The arrival of Europeans along the coast from the late 18th century introduced devastating epidemics to Halkomelem-speaking communities, with the outbreak of 1862–1863 proving particularly catastrophic. Originating in Victoria and spreading rapidly via trade routes and the Brother Jonathan, the epidemic decimated Indigenous populations across the region, including Coast Salish groups along the and ; estimates indicate it claimed up to two-thirds of affected communities, contributing to an overall loss of approximately 20,000 lives province-wide. For Halkomelem speakers, whose pre-contact numbers likely exceeded tens of thousands across upriver, downriver, and variants, this resulted in acute speaker shortages, village abandonments, and forced relocations that homogenized social networks. These demographic shocks accelerated convergence by compelling survivors from disparate bands to coalesce on fewer reserves established under colonial policies from the 1860s onward, increasing inter-dialectal contact and reducing isolation that had sustained pre-contact variation. Linguistic evidence from lexical studies shows post-contact patterns, such as shared innovations in terms for introduced goods or altered nomenclature across Central Salish dialects, reflecting intensified borrowing and leveling amid population mixing. Early documentation efforts, including Franz Boas's vocabulary collections from Halkomelem informants during his 1886–1887 fieldwork in , attest to the language's structural integrity and speaker fluency at that juncture, before residential schooling and —intensified after 1900—imposed systematic suppression. By the early , these pressures had eroded traditional transmission, with English loanwords proliferating for technology, governance, and economy—evident in domains like trade (e.g., adaptations from intermediaries)—while core grammar remained resilient in elder speech, though with emerging simplifications from reduced peer learning opportunities. Population stabilization on reserves, numbering fewer than 10,000 self-identified and Hul'qumi'num descendants by mid-century, further entrenched hybrid forms blending upriver and downriver traits, setting the stage for modern continua.

Dialects

Upriver Halkomelem (Halq'eméylem)

Upriver Halkomelem, referred to by its speakers as Halq'eméylem or Stó:lō Halq'eméylem, constitutes the inland dialect of Halkomelem spoken by the peoples inhabiting the upper Valley in southwestern , encompassing communities in the Chilliwack and Abbotsford regions. This variety emerged among populations adapted to the river's interior ecology, differing from coastal dialects in phonetic and lexical profiles shaped by upstream subsistence patterns centered on fisheries and riparian . As of the early , fluent speakers number fewer than 100, primarily elders, rendering it endangered, though revitalization efforts through community programs persist. A primary phonetic distinction of Halq'eméylem lies in its consonant inventory, which lacks the alveolar nasal /n/ found in Downriver and Island Halkomelem varieties, instead realizing nasal-like functions through other approximants or contextual variations; this absence aligns with broader patterns in some Interior Salish-influenced speech but marks a divergence within the Central Coast Salish continuum. The dialect retains uvular consonants, including the voiceless uvular stop /q/ (orthographic q) and its glottalized counterpart /qʼ/ (q'), alongside labialized forms like /qʷ/, which contribute to its guttural resonance suited to the acoustic environment of valley speech. These traits, documented from consultations with nearly 80 elders, underscore adaptations possibly influenced by prolonged isolation from estuarine influences. Halq'eméylem's lexicon emphasizes terms for riverine and , reflecting the Stó:lō's dependence on runs for sustenance and . Specialized vocabulary delineates and stages, such as qá:wx or qéywx for steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), classified locally as a salmonid, and designations for spring salmon variants ascending tributaries like the Harrison River or Chehalis Creek. This terminological precision, preserved in a compiling over 10,000 entries from historical speakers, highlights ecological knowledge integral to identity, including distinctions for seasonal migrations absent in coastal dialects.

Downriver Halkomelem (hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓)

Downriver Halkomelem, known to its speakers as hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓, is the dialect variety of Halkomelem spoken along the lower from present-day eastward to approximately Matsqui, encompassing territories historically occupied by the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Katzie, Kwantlen, and Kwikwetlem nations. This dialect's geographic position at the 's mouth facilitated extensive trade and interaction among Coast Salish groups, contributing to its intermediary linguistic characteristics between upriver and insular varieties. Linguistically, Downriver Halkomelem bridges Upriver and Island dialects through hybrid traits, such as phonological patterns more akin to Island Halkomelem (e.g., certain vowel reductions and consonant fricatives) while retaining lexical elements closer to Upriver forms, as documented in comparative Salishan analyses. These features reflect historical contact dynamics in the delta region, where riverine mobility enabled without full convergence. Early documentation, including lexical and grammatical records from Musqueam elders collected in the mid-20th century but referencing pre-contact patterns, highlights such intermediacy in numeral classifiers and possessive constructions. As of the early , fluent first-language speakers number fewer than a dozen, primarily among Musqueam elders, with revitalization efforts focused on community immersion programs and digital archives to preserve oral traditions from this . The 's documentation draws heavily from Wayne Suttles' fieldwork with Musqueam speakers in the –, which captured verb morphology and structures unique to downriver contexts, such as references to estuarine ecology. Despite low speaker counts, it remains central to for associated nations, informing place names and ceremonial in the area.

Island Halkomelem (Hul'qumi'num)

Island Halkomelem, known to speakers as Hul'q'umi'num', constitutes the coastal variant of the Halkomelem language, primarily spoken by Coast Salish communities on southern from northward to Malahat southward. This dialect is employed by groups such as the and forms the basis for language initiatives by the Hul'qumi'num Treaty Group, which coordinates documentation and revitalization programs across member nations. Its geographic isolation across the from mainland Halkomelem varieties fostered distinct developments, though pre-contact canoe voyages enabled ongoing exchanges through trade, intermarriage, and seasonal gatherings, mitigating complete linguistic isolation. Phonological and lexical distinctions set Hul'q'umi'num' apart, with the widest gaps observed relative to Upriver Halkomelem (Halq'eméylem), while Downriver forms serve as an intermediary. Surveys elicit variations via comparative word lists, revealing innovations in and sound patterns attributable to local adaptations, including maritime-oriented terms for seafaring, technologies, and coastal ecosystems that reflect the islanders' reliance on . For instance, lexical replacement and semantic shifts occur in domains like and , diverging from inland-focused mainland equivalents. Documentation of Hul'q'umi'num' exceeds that of other dialects, stemming from intensive fieldwork in the Cowichan region since the 1860s, including missionary records at in Duncan and subsequent anthropological collections. Linguistic analyses, such as Donna B. Gerdts' 1977 dialect survey drawing on data from 21 sites, delineate sub-dialectal boundaries within the Island area and quantify differences through cognate comparisons with broader Salish languages, underscoring patterns of retention and innovation shaped by insular . These efforts provide a robust corpus for reconstruction, highlighting the dialect's resilience amid post-contact pressures.

Phonology

Vowel Inventory

Halkomelem features a relatively simple vowel system consisting of five full vowels—/i/, /e/, /a/, /o/, /u/—along with a central schwa /ə/. The full vowels contrast in height and backness, with /i/ high front unrounded, /e/ mid front, /a/ low central, /o/ mid back rounded, and /u/ high back rounded; schwa /ə/ serves primarily as a reduced vowel in unstressed positions. Vowel is phonemic among the full vowels but not for schwa, yielding long counterparts /iː/, /eː/, /aː/, /oː/, /uː/ that can distinguish lexical items, as in Upriver Halkomelem minimal pairs like short /míl/ contrasting with long /míːl/. is realized acoustically through greater duration, often 1.5–2 times that of short vowels, and is marked orthographically with a dot or colon depending on the dialect's conventions. Schwa /ə/ lacks a contrast and frequently appears epenthetically or in morphological infixes to satisfy phonotactic constraints. Dialectal variation exists: Upriver Halkomelem (Halq'eméylem) maintains the full set including /o/, while Island Hul'q'umi'num' descriptions sometimes treat back mid-to-high vowels as /u/ without distinct /o/, though empirical recordings confirm rounded back distinctions across dialects. In Downriver dialects, as documented by Suttles, the system aligns closely with five full s plus schwa, emphasizing length contrasts without phonemic tone, unlike Upriver where tone overlays vowel quality.
VowelHeightBacknessRoundingLength Contrast
/i/HighFrontUnroundedYes (/iː/)
/e/MidFrontUnroundedYes (/eː/)
/ə/MidCentralUnroundedNo
/a/LowCentralUnroundedYes (/aː/)
/o/MidBackRoundedYes (/oː/)
/u/HighBackRoundedYes (/uː/)

Consonant Inventory

Halkomelem possesses a large inventory of 36 to 38 phonemes, typical of , featuring voiceless obstruents without aspiration and extensive (ejectives). All stops and affricates occur in plain and ejective series, with places of articulation including bilabial, alveolar, velar, uvular, and glottal; labialized variants appear at velar and uvular positions. Fricatives are voiceless and include dental /θ/, alveolar /s/, lateral /ɬ/, postalveolar /ʃ/, velar /x/, uvular /χ/, and glottal /h/, with labialized /xʷ/ and /χʷ/ in some realizations. Sonorants comprise nasals /m, n/, lateral /l/, and approximants /j, /, each with glottalized counterparts /m', n', l', j', w'/. involves a simultaneous glottal closure, often realized as ejectives in obstruents and in sonorants, particularly word-finally. Dialectal variation affects the nasal series: Upriver Halq'eméylem lacks a phonemic /n/, having merged it with /l/ historically, while Downriver and Island dialects (Hul'q'umi'num') retain /n/ and /n'/. The following table summarizes the core inventory using IPA, based primarily on Island and Downriver descriptions, with Upriver substitutions noted:
Manner/PlaceBilabialAlveolarPostalveolarVelarLabio-velarUvularLabio-uvularGlottal
Stops (plain)pt-kkʷqqʷʔ
Stops (ejective)p't'-k'kʷ'q'qʷ'-
Affricates (plain)-tstʃ-----
Affricates (ejective)-ts', tɬ'tʃ'-----
Fricatives-s, ɬʃxxʷχχʷh
Nasalsmn (l in Upriver)------
Nasals (glottalized)m'n' (l' in Upriver)------
Laterals/Approximants-lj-w---
Laterals/Approximants (glottalized)-l'j'-w'---
Other Affricates/Fricatives-tθ (dental)------
Other Affricates/Fricatives (ejective)-tθ'------
Other Fricatives-θ (dental)------

Prosody and Stress

In Halkomelem, prosody is characterized by variable stress placement that is largely predictable based on phonological and morphological factors, with dialectal differences in the role of pitch. Island and Downriver dialects primarily employ a stress-based , where primary falls on the first non-schwa, non-high (excluding i); absent such a vowel, it shifts to the first i, then the first schwa. Certain suffixes, such as those marking aspect or causation, can attract secondary stress, linking prosodic prominence to morphological boundaries and rendering non-fixed but rule-governed rather than lexical. Upriver Halkomelem diverges by incorporating pitch accent, potentially evolving toward a limited tonal system unique among . This variety features three phonemic pitch levels—high, mid, and low—often glossed as high-stress, mid-stress, and low-stress, with long vowels invariably bearing stress. Instrumental acoustic analyses reveal minimal tone pairs (e.g., distinguishing '' from 'to speak' via pitch on /qWa:1/), heightened pitch sensitivity relative to neighboring dialects, and reduced duration of consonantal pitch perturbations (20-40 ms versus >40 ms in Island Halkomelem), which enhances perceptual salience of tonal contrasts over stress alone. These suprasegmental features show limited overall, confined largely to Upriver and without full lexical tone specification in other dialects; pitch variations arise partly from historical vowel lengthening following loss, but do not constitute a robust tone system across Halkomelem. Intonation contours remain underdocumented but align with broader Salishan patterns of phrase-level pitch resets tied to syntactic structure.

Phonotactics

Halkomelem permits a basic structure of CV(C), with simple onsets consisting of a single or, rarely, clusters that are not tautosyllabic. Initial clusters occur infrequently in roots, with documented examples including ʔct:s and sqt:t, often arising from the addition of prefixes or suffixes rather than inherent lexical forms. These clusters avoid obstruent-resonant sequences and typically require an initial like /s/ for triple-obstruent combinations, such as s-xʷltm-tlt. Coda positions allow more complexity, particularly resonant-obstruent (RO) clusters, as in smt:lt ("one") and qWa:mS’ ("ten"). Obstruent-obstruent (OO) clusters are rare in finals, exemplified by ʔtqt ("long"), while obstruent-resonant (OR) and resonant-resonant (RR) combinations are prohibited. Resonants such as /l/, /m/, /n/, /y/, and /w/ frequently participate in codas and can serve as syllabic nuclei in the absence of vowels, forming structures like sʔla. The /ʔ/ functions to break potential illicit clusters or mark boundaries, preventing glottalized consonants from appearing in certain coda slots, such as the first or third position in complex codas. Dialectal variation exists; for instance, the Upriver dialect (Halq'eméylem) disfavors OR and RR finals, whereas the Island dialect (Hul'qumi'num') permits sequences like plus paired obstruents (VPP). These constraints maintain phonological without reliance on morphological triggers, emphasizing combinatorial preferences for resonant-initial codas.

Morphophonological Processes

Halkomelem morphophonological processes primarily manifest in verbal and derivation, involving alternations triggered by affixation or prosodic templatic morphology. These include , consonant deletion, and realizations of abstract morphemes through , ablaut, or infixation, varying by . Such processes ensure phonological well-formedness while encoding grammatical categories like aspect. Vowel harmony affects schwa (/ə/), which assimilates to a stressed /e/ or /a/ in an adjacent , particularly in morphologically complex forms. In applicative derivations with the lexical *-as ('FACE'), the harmonizes with the , often accompanied by deletion and coalescence into a long , as in *q'ə́l-əs → q'áːlas ('hit in the face'). This harmony is -controlled and -conditioned, highlighting directional locality from to stem. Consonant assimilation and deletion occur in possessive-reflexive sequences, where the reflexive suffix *-s deletes after nasals (/n, m/), yielding forms like *men-s → men ('self's father') rather than *[mens]. This is morphologically conditioned, as /ns/ clusters are otherwise phonotactically permitted. In the Island dialect (Hul'qumi'num'), imperfective marking involves a segmentally empty initial mora realized via assimilation-driven allomorphy, including sonorant lenition to /h/ (e.g., lə́c̓ət → hə́l̓c̓t) and schwa deletion in triconsonantal stems (e.g., ɬát̓əq̓ʷəm → ɬát̓q̓ʷəm). Prosodic affixation governs non-concatenative aspect marking, especially in Upriver Halkomelem's continuative, where a segmentally null foot template triggers subtractive morphology or reduplicant alignment variations (e.g., C₁C₂- or fixed-foot copying adjusted for stress). This templatic approach generalizes allomorphy across stems, prioritizing moraic and foot-level prosody over segmental . In imperfective forms across dialects, similar templates yield metathesis (e.g., pqʷát → páqᵂt) or ablaut (ə → e), ensuring the added mora integrates without violating structure.

Orthography

Development and Standardization

The orthography for , a traditionally oral , emerged primarily in the mid-20th century through collaborative efforts between linguists and elders, with no evidence of widespread pre-1900 writing systems despite sporadic Roman-based transcription attempts by early anthropologists and missionaries in Coast Salish regions. Initial systematic development focused on Upriver Halkomelem (Halq'eméylem), where linguist Bouchard created a in the 1970s during work at the Coqualeetza Cultural Education Centre, elders to record and transcribe oral materials. This system, building on earlier phonetic notations, prioritized accurate representation of glottal stops, uvulars, and resonants using modified Roman letters and diacritics, facilitating dictionary compilation and programs funded until 1974. Standardization advanced in the 1980s and 1990s via community-driven refinements, with Bouchard's framework modified into the Stó:lō orthography—now widely accepted across British Columbia and Washington State for Upriver and Downriver dialects—through input from elders and linguists like Tony Gallagher. For Island Halkomelem (Hul'qumi'num'), communities such as the Quw'utsun' adopted a practical orthography in the late 20th century, relying on standard English keyboard characters plus an apostrophe for glottals, to support revitalization without specialized symbols. This dialect-specific adaptation emerged from joint projects between First Nations groups like Cowichan Tribes and educational institutions, emphasizing accessibility for teaching and cultural documentation. By the 2000s, these orthographies gained consensus through First Nations-led initiatives, including dictionary projects and immersion programs, prioritizing phonetic fidelity over uniformity across dialects while addressing revitalization needs amid language endangerment. Community-linguist partnerships ensured adaptations reflected elder pronunciations, countering earlier top-down linguistic impositions and enabling materials like the Dictionary of Upriver Halkomelem (2009), which standardized terms for broader use.

Typographic Conventions

The orthography of Halkomelem utilizes distinct typographic markers for glottal stops and ejective consonants to accurately reflect phonological contrasts. The glottal stop is represented by a symbol such as ʔ (Unicode U+02BC) or a raised apostrophe ʼ (U+02BC or U+2019), often placed at the onset of words where vowels do not initiate syllables. Ejective consonants are denoted by appending an apostrophe to the base consonant, yielding forms like p’, t’, ts’, k’, q’, which indicate glottalization through a simultaneous glottal closure. Digital rendering of these elements poses challenges, as standard fonts may substitute unsupported glyphs with boxes or incorrect approximations, particularly for the modifier letter apostrophe in ejectives or the schwa ə (U+0259) used for the mid-central vowel. Proper display requires Unicode-compliant fonts tailored for Salishan languages, such as those developed for Indigenous orthographies, to prevent visual distortion in web browsers or documents. Keyboard adaptations mitigate input difficulties; dedicated layouts like the Halq'eméylem Keyman keyboard assign dedicated keys or sequences (e.g., semicolon for glottal stop, apostrophe for ejectives) to streamline entry without reliance on complex compose methods or character maps. These tools ensure consistent typographic fidelity across platforms, though users must verify font embedding to avoid rendering failures in shared texts.

Dialectal Variations in Writing

The orthographies of Halkomelem dialects have evolved through separate community-led standardization efforts, incorporating phonetic divergences such as mergers of consonants and variations in glottalization patterns, which result in distinct spellings for cognate roots across dialects. In Island Halkomelem (Hul'qumi'num'), the orthography features digraphs and trigraphs to capture lateral sounds, including "th" for the voiceless interdental fricative /θ/, "tth" for the affricate /t͡θ/, and "tth'" for its glottalized variant /t͡θʼ/, reflecting the dialect's preservation of these contrasts. This system, developed for Vancouver Island communities, also uses apostrophes for glottal stops (ʔ) and ejectives, with vowel length often unmarked or contextually inferred, prioritizing readability in educational materials. Upriver Halkomelem (Halq'eméylem), spoken by communities along the , employs the standardized orthography, co-developed by elders at Coqualeetza and linguist Brent D. Galloway starting in the 1970s, which uses apostrophes for (e.g., "k'", "p'") and sequences like "tlh'" for lateral ejective affricates, alongside a dedicated order for sorting terms that accounts for ejectives and resonants. A phonological merger of /n/ and /l/ into /l/ in this dialect leads to consistent use of "l" in spellings where forms retain "n", altering written representations of shared lexical items without altering their semantic roots. Downriver Halkomelem (hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓), as used by Musqueam speakers, favors the North American Phonetic Alphabet (NAPA) since its official adoption in 1997, featuring lowercase letters exclusively, underdots or primes for glottalization (e.g., "q̓"), and schwa (ə) for the central vowel, diverging from the more English-like digraphs in Island orthography. These dialect-specific conventions, while mutually intelligible for speakers, necessitate dialect-tagged resources for accurate cross-dialect reading and writing, as seen in bilingual guides employing parallel orthographies for comparable terms.

Morphology

Verbal Morphology

Halkomelem verbs are built around a , typically monosyllabic, with affixes filling templatic slots that encode transitivity, control, aspect, and voice. The structure allows for complex derivations within a single word, reflecting the language's polysynthetic nature. Pre-root elements may include denominalizing prefixes such as c- ('have, get'), ɬ- ('ingest'), txʷ- ('buy'), or ɬ̩: ('go to'), which attach to nominal bases to form verbal predicates. Transitivity and control are marked by distinct suffixes immediately following the root or lexical suffixes. Controlled transitive verbs, indicating full agent control, employ the general transitive suffix -t for third-person objects. Limited control transitives, denoting actions with partial or accidental agency, use -nt. Causative constructions, expressing induced non-controlled events, feature -stxʷ, which often carries benefactive overtones in combination with other elements. Intransitive verbs differentiate controlled (unergative) forms, which pattern with transitives in agreement, from non-controlled (stative or unaccusative) forms, which lack such markers and emphasize inherent states or processes. Aspect is primarily conveyed through , with patterns like root-initial CVC signaling imperfective or iterative senses, as in c-put ('make a ') yielding c-pup’t ('making a '). Voice distinctions include applicative suffixes, such as -meʔ for relational promotion of obliques into core arguments, and reflexives like -nam’ət for limited control self-benefactive readings. These elements co-occur in fixed order, enabling precise causal and agentive nuances without auxiliary verbs.

Nominal Morphology

Halkomelem nouns exhibit limited inflectional morphology, lacking obligatory case, number, or gender marking, with categories such as plurality and diminutives primarily conveyed through reduplication rather than affixation. This non-inflectional approach aligns with broader Central Salish patterns, where nominal roots serve as flexible bases modified internally for semantic nuances. Plurality on nouns is marked via , typically involving partial copying that produces non-inflectional effects, preserving the 's categorial status while indicating multiplicity; the process is -sensitive and idiosyncratic across dialects, as in Upriver Halkomelem where it may involve CVC patterns. This functions as a modifier rather than a head, attaching low in the nominal structure and compatible with further derivation. Diminutives are similarly formed by , often CV- or partial copying to denote smallness or affection, as exemplified in the Downriver dialect: q’á:mi '' yields q’á-q’emi 'little '. This process applies across categories but on nouns evokes diminutive plurality or endearment when combined, without altering syntactic distribution. Relational meanings, such as spatial or part-whole associations, may involve lexical attached to nominal roots, though these are derivational and more prevalent in verbal contexts; examples include body-part or locative extending to nouns for compound-like expressions, but they do not constitute core . Dialectal variation, particularly between Upriver and Downriver forms, affects reduplicant shape and realization due to phonological differences.

Adjectival and Adverbial Forms

In Halkomelem, adjectival concepts are conveyed through stative predicates, which include a dedicated class of adjectival roots as well as derivations from verbal or nominal bases using processes such as formation and affixation. Adjectival roots, typically exhibiting shapes like CVC or CəC (e.g., ʔí 'big', šwə́ł 'white'), serve as predicate heads in stative clauses without progressive or , distinguishing them from dynamic verbs. These roots can combine with lexical suffixes to form complex property-denoting forms, such as ʔíqsən 'big-nosed' from ʔí + -qsən ''. Derivations from verbs yield adjectival statives via morphology, often involving the prefix s- to indicate a completed state (e.g., s-łéłθ 'straight' derived from łélθ 'get taut'). Nominal bases produce adjectival forms through combinations like s- (nominalizer) + -aθ (locative), as in s-xʷəlməxʷ-aθ 'Indian land' denoting a property-like state. Stative predicates marked with the -t (e.g., łéłt 'wide') further encode inherent qualities, lacking the aspectual distinctions of active verbs and often negated via particles like ʔəwə. Adverbial forms constitute a limited closed class for manner, time, or degree (e.g., yáʔ 'always', qə́ł 'often'), but adverbial meanings are frequently derived from verbs through morphological processes emphasizing habitual or dispositional states. Manner affixes include aspectual prefixes like yə- 'along a path' (e.g., yə-hʷəł-əx 'removing while moving') and iterative reduplication for predispositions (e.g., qəlqəl 'talkative' from qél 'speak', implying a manner of frequent action). Suffixes such as -stəxʷ derive repetitive or applicative manners (e.g., qəłétsəxʷ 'do to him again'), extending verbal roots into adverbial-like functions without independent syntactic categories. These non-prototypical derivations highlight Halkomelem's reliance on affixal and reduplicative strategies over distinct lexical classes for property and manner expression.

Affixation Systems

Halkomelem features a hierarchical affixation system integral to its polysynthetic morphology, where prefixes precede the root and suffixes follow in a templatic order, enabling complex formation from disyllabic roots. Productive prefixes are primarily denominal, including c- ('have, get, make, do'), l- ('ingest, partake'), txʷ- ('buy'), and Ł: ('go to'), which attach directly to nominal bases to derive intransitive s without stacking among themselves. Roots, typically disyllabic and stressed variably on the initial or final syllable depending on vowel quality, serve as the core to which suffixes accrue. Lexical suffixes, numbering over one hundred, immediately follow the root and incorporate semantic content akin to roots, specifying themes (e.g., -cəp 'firewood') or obliques like body parts or locations, with productivity evidenced in their combinatorial flexibility. These precede functional suffixes such as applicatives (e.g., -məł relational or -ƛ̓əc benefactive) and transitive markers (e.g., -t control transitive), forming sequences like root + lexical suffix + applicative + transitive. Affix stacking is constrained: denominal prefixes do not combine, applicatives resist multiple instantiation, and imperfective markers (via , metathesis, or ) apply to the stem holistically rather than incrementally, reflecting word-based rather than morpheme-by-morpheme derivation. Causatives (e.g., -st̓əxʷ) and reflexives (e.g., -nəm̓ət) may append post-lexically, as in c-x̣əłt̓ən-stəm̓əs 'get me a ', but overall limits prevent unbounded elaboration to maintain phonological and semantic coherence.

Possessor and Agreement Markers

In Halkomelem, —typically involving body parts, kin terms, and certain spatial relations—is marked by possessive prefixes directly affixed to the possessed stem, often triggering stem or other morphophonological adjustments. These prefixes encode the person of the possessor, with the possessed obligatorily agreeing in this relational role, distinguishing it from alienable possession constructions that employ suffixes on determiners or postposed possessor phrases. The reflects a where the possessor functions analogously to a non-ergative argument, paralleling verbal morphology in which transitive objects and intransitive subjects receive prefixal indexing, while transitive subjects take suffixes—a pattern indicative of underlying ergative tendencies in agreement. The core possessive prefix paradigm for inalienable contexts, as attested in Upriver and Downriver dialects, includes:
PersonPrefixExample (with body-part stem)
1st singularti-ti-xʷəl̓ 'my hand'
2nd singularØ-xʷəl̓ 'your hand' (zero-marked)
3rd singulars-s-xʷəl̓ 'his/her/its hand'
Third-person plural possessors may extend the singular s- prefix with plural reduplication on the stem or contextual inference, while first- and second-person plural forms incorporate additional affixes like -cut for inclusive 'our'. Dialectal variation exists; for instance, Upriver Halkomelem (e.g., Chilliwack) shows occasional fusion or loss of initial glottal elements in prefixes compared to Downriver (Musqueam), but the s- marker for third-person remains robust across varieties. This prefixal strategy ensures tight morphosyntactic bonding for inherently relational nouns, contrasting with looser alienable marking and underscoring the language's sensitivity to semantic closeness in possession.

Syntax

Argument Marking

In Halkomelem, core arguments such as subjects are primarily marked by enclitic pronouns that occupy second position in the , attaching to the first phonological word or auxiliary element. These clitics encode and number features, with first- and second- subjects obligatorily realized this way in both intransitive and transitive clauses, while third-person subjects are often null unless emphasized. Object arguments in transitive constructions are typically marked by suffixes on the verb, particularly for first- and second- objects, though third-person objects may rely on or rather than dedicated morphology. Independent pronouns exist but are rare in , functioning mainly as emphatic or contrastive elements rather than default markers; they exhibit full distributional freedom akin to noun phrases and are argued to be morphosyntactically decomposed, incorporating determiner-like and pronominal heads. This system aligns with Halkomelem's nonconfigurational , where pronominal clitics serve as the syntactic arguments, and full noun phrases act as providing additional referential content. The preference for clitics over independent forms minimizes and reflects the language's reliance on verbal and clausal morphology for .

Clause Structure and Word Order

Halkomelem exhibits predicate-initial clause structure, with the canonical in main clauses being verb-subject-object (VSO), where the verbal complex—incorporating , , and affixes—precedes core arguments. This order derives from syntactic head movement of the verb over projections hosting subjects and objects, as analyzed in derivational frameworks. Post-predicate demonstrates flexibility, permitting permutations such as subject-object (SO) or object-subject (OS) among arguments and (collectively denoted as SOX or PSOX, with P for predicate). Verb-object-subject (VOS) orders occur less frequently but remain grammatical, reflecting variations in argument realization rather than rigid constraints. This post-predicate variability aligns with -driven pragmatic fronting, where constituents like topics or focused elements may precede the predicate for emphasis or information structuring, though the predicate retains initial position in unmarked contexts. Such adjustments prioritize prominence without altering core integrity, as overt noun phrases post-verbically encode subjects and objects based on pragmatic salience. Unlike some languages in adjacent families, Halkomelem lacks serial verb constructions, relying instead on affixal morphology and auxiliary complexes for multi-event encoding within single predicates. Main clauses thus maintain a unified verbal nucleus, with and modifiers integrated flexibly after arguments to convey temporal, locative, or manner details.

Subordination and Clause Linking

Halkomelem employs as a primary mechanism for subordination, converting verbal predicates into nominal forms that function as dependents within larger constructions. Predicate attaches a nominalizing to the , yielding reduced relative clauses that modify a head ; the nominalizer effectively serves as a , linking the embedded clause to its antecedent while restricting the thematic domain to non-subject arguments. This process contrasts with full clausal embedding by omitting certain inflections, such as remote past markers, thereby embedding the structure more tightly into nominal syntax. Clausal nominalization extends this strategy to and complement , where entire propositions are nominalized to express causation, purpose, or temporal relations, often prefixed with determiners like te to nominalize the as a whole. These constructions maintain core argument structure but exhibit alignment typical of dependents, with the subject of the nominalized controlled by or coreferential with a matrix argument. Unlike languages with dedicated switch-reference morphology, Halkomelem relies on pronominal resumption or zero anaphora for across clauses, without dedicated markers distinguishing same-subject from different-subject dependencies. Clause linking incorporates connectives such as the subordinating prefix /wə-/, which introduces conditional, temporal, or factive subordinates (e.g., "if/when/that"), and /ʔəl-/ for iterative or habitual conditions ("whenever"). These particles precede the nominalized or , facilitating modification without altering the matrix clause's , which remains verb-initial in both main and subordinate contexts. occasionally reinforces relative interpretations in nominalized forms, particularly for distributive or iterative relatives, by partial stem repetition (e.g., CV- reduplication signaling plural or repeated events within the ), though this is derivational rather than strictly subordinating.

Constraints on Person Hierarchies

Halkomelem transitive verbs display paradigmatic gaps that enforce a hierarchy, typically structured as 1st > 2nd > 3rd, where lower-ranked agents cannot directly govern higher-ranked patients. A key restriction prohibits 3rd subjects from selecting 2nd objects (*3>2), as seen in the absence of corresponding agreement suffixes in the transitive paradigm. This constraint arises from feature mismatches in agreement morphology rather than a primitive hierarchy, with 2nd arguments outranking 3rd persons in syntactic prominence, blocking standard transitive control. To convey meanings like "he sees you," speakers resort to passives promoting the 2nd to subject or lexical verbs circumventing the gap. These gaps mimic inverse systems in other families by signaling hierarchy violations without dedicated inverse affixes; Halkomelem relies instead on morphological absence and alternative like passives or applicatives. Configurations aligning with the , such as 1>2 or 2>3, permit direct transitive suffixes (e.g., 1sg>2sg forms like -čxʷ on ), without systematic avoidance. The split ergative pattern reinforces this: 1st and 2nd person arguments exhibit nominative-accusative alignment with no distinct case marking, while 3rd person transitive subjects bear ergative clitics (e.g., te= for possessed NPs), treating higher persons uniformly as privileged. Such constraints extend to derived forms, including prohibitions on 1st or 2nd agents in certain passives, further delimiting transitive-like structures to hierarchy-compliant roles. While realis transitive paradigms strictly enforce these gaps, irrealis contexts may permit broader flexibility through auxiliary complexes, though specific 1>2 restrictions remain unattested in core agreement.

Lexicon and Example Phrases

Core Vocabulary

Core vocabulary in , a Central Coast Salish , encompasses high-frequency lexical items such as numerals, body parts, and terms for natural elements, often incorporating and lexical suffixes characteristic of Salish languages. These words are primarily drawn from dictionaries of the Upriver (Halq'eméylem) and (Hul'q'umi'num') dialects, which exhibit minor phonological and morphological variations but share a common core.

Numerals

The numeral system in Halkomelem typically counts up to ten with base forms, extending via compounding for higher values; Upriver and Island forms show glottalization and vowel differences reflective of dialectal divergence.
  • kw’étsel / nuça’: one
  • sté:tsel / yuséł / sthum: two
  • th’é:tsel / lhí:xw: three
  • kw’í:tsel / #u’áthun: four
  • sqwé:yel / lheq'á:tses / lhœecus: five
  • t’éx / t$um: six
  • th’ó:kws / tha’kwsus: seven
  • tqá:tsa / ta’csus: eight
  • tú:xw / too:xwus: nine
  • ó:pel / upánus: ten

Body Parts

Body part terms frequently serve as bases for lexical suffixes in verb derivation, encoding spatial and possessive relations; examples below highlight common monomorphemic or lightly affixed forms from both dialects.
  • á:kw / celush: hand
  • qeq / s$u¥us: head
  • stéxwet / quluμ: eye
  • méqw / thathun: mouth
  • tl’ó:qw / s#u!u: foot
  • sxél:e / †elu": leg, arm
  • th'á:lá: heart
  • lhél: butt
  • sqemó:: breast
  • sp’élxwem: lung
  • œwoo:!: ear (Island dialect)
  • s’athus: face (Island dialect)
  • snu$cus: finger (Island dialect)
  • tupsum: neck (Island dialect)
  • muqsun: nose (Island dialect)

Natural Elements

Terms for environmental features often link to , with roots appearing in compounds for weather, terrain, and resources; Salish proto-forms suggest inheritance from ancestral Interior Salish for some items like (*q̓ʷə).
  • léqw / qa’:
  • sqwéqwel:
  • stéqw / suμsháthut: sun
  • sqwá:la / $pe¥ulhp:
  • stó:lô / sta¬u":
  • xó:tsa: lake
  • spehá:ls:
  • sme:nt: (Island dialect)
  • lhqe¬ç: (Island dialect)
  • slhumuxw: rain (Island dialect)
  • skweyul: sky (Island dialect)
Additional high-frequency nouns and verbs, such as sweke (man) and (woman), underscore everyday usage in and social contexts, while roots like q̓ʷəł (go) form bases for motion predicates. Etymological reconstructions link some terms to Proto-Salish, as in *qeq for head, indicating deep-time stability.

Common Phrases and Usage

Common phrases in Halkomelem dialects, such as Halq'eméylem and Hul'q'umín'um', frequently prioritize relational exchanges like greetings and polite directives, reflecting community-oriented usage in traditional and contemporary contexts among Coast Salish speakers. These expressions demonstrate the language's predicate-initial structure, where verbs or predicates lead sentences, often incorporating pronominal clitics for person and number agreement, as seen in imperatives and questions. In Hul'q'umín'um', a common translates as "'Ii ch 'o' 'uy' 'ul'?" meaning "How are you?" to one , with the form "'Ii tseep 'o' 'eli' 'ul'?" addressing groups; this embeds the question particle "'o'" after the predicate, followed by emphatic subject markers. A directive like "Nem' ch hwts'e'nutsum" instructs "You go sit down," showcasing motion verb incorporation and second-person "ch" for singular addressee. Politeness is evident in "Huy ch q'u," rendered as "Thank you" to one individual, or "huychq'u" in daily speech. Halq'eméylem examples highlight inquiry and affirmation in narrative contexts. For instance, "Li chexw kw’etslexw" asks "Did you see her?", initiating with the visual evidential "li" and second-person "chexw" on the verb stem. An affirmative response, "A’a tsel ew kw’etslexw thutl’o," translates to "Yes, I did see her," where "a’a" affirms, "tsel" marks first-person, and "thutl’o" specifies the third-person . Concerned questions like "Xwe’it thutl’o" mean "What happened to her?", using "xwe’it" with the focus marker "thutl’o" on the subject. Such phrases are employed in revitalization programs and community settings, adapting to modern interactions while preserving cultural nuances like to elders through forms and evidentials. Dialectal variations, such as vowel shifts between Halq'eméylem and Hul'q'umín'um', affect pronunciation but maintain core syntactic patterns for clarity in usage.

Status and Revitalization

Speaker Demographics

Halkomelem is spoken predominantly in southwestern British Columbia, Canada, across 41 communities spanning the Fraser Valley, Lower Mainland, and east coast of Vancouver Island, with dialects including Halq'eméylem (Upriver, associated with Stó:lō peoples), hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (Downriver), and Hul'q'umi'num' (Island). These communities have a combined population of approximately 20,371, many residing on reserves but with significant urban presence in areas such as Metro Vancouver, Chilliwack, and Nanaimo. Remnants exist in northwestern Washington state, United States, though numbers are minimal, estimated at fewer than 25 speakers as of 1997, primarily among older adults in Coast Salish communities. As of the First Peoples' Cultural Council's 2023 assessment across 33 reporting communities, there are 105 fluent speakers of Halkomelem dialects, alongside 512 semi-speakers capable of basic communication. Proficiency is heavily skewed toward older age groups: among fluent speakers, 61.9% are aged 65 or older, 31.8% are 45–64, 5.3% are 25–44, and just 1% are under 25, indicating over 93% are middle-aged or elderly. Semi-speakers show slightly broader distribution, with 25.2% aged 65+, 36.8% 45–64, 16.7% 25–44, and 21.3% under 25, reflecting partial transmission to younger generations. Active learners number 1,901, often pursuing through community programs, though few achieve full fluency.
Proficiency LevelNumberPrimary Age Distribution (Fluent Speakers)
Fluent10561.9% (65+), 31.8% (45–64), 6.3% (<45)
Semi-speaker512N/A (broader youth representation)
Learner1,901Predominantly youth and adults
The reported only 45 individuals in claiming Halkomelem as their primary language, underscoring the gap between heritage identification and active proficiency, with nearly all primary speakers being adults over 50 and a handful under 10.

Factors Contributing to Decline

The imposition of residential schools under Canadian government policy from the 1880s through the 1960s played a primary role in disrupting Halkomelem transmission by prohibiting its use and subjecting children to for speaking it, resulting in generations of survivors who were either non-speakers or hesitant to transmit the language to their offspring. This coercive assimilation, enforced via the , eroded fluent speaker numbers and confidence in home-based instruction, with effects compounding as elder speakers aged without replacement. Even after the closure of most residential schools by the late and the final ones by , Halkomelem's decline persisted, as evidenced by stagnant or declining proportions of mother-tongue speakers amid population growth, indicating factors beyond direct policy enforcement. Economic incentives favored English proficiency for access to , , and in a dominant Anglo-Canadian economy, prompting parents to prioritize it over Halkomelem in child-rearing to enhance practical outcomes like job prospects in urban or sectors. This voluntary , driven by perceived utility rather than overt coercion, mirrors patterns in other minority languages globally where majority tongues confer competitive advantages. Demographic changes further accelerated erosion, including out-migration from traditional Stó:lō territories to urban centers like , where smaller, dispersed communities reduced daily usage opportunities and exposure for youth. Intermarriage with non-speakers and an aging fluent base—concentrated among those over 50—limited natural acquisition, yielding severely disrupted intergenerational transmission; for instance, despite 1,410 reported speakers in the 2021 Census, home usage remains minimal, with natural proficiency rare among children. In contrast to more stable Indigenous languages like certain Cree dialects with higher home transmission rates exceeding 50% in some reserves, Halkomelem's post-policy trajectory underscores the interplay of these structural incentives over residual colonial trauma alone.

Contemporary Revitalization Initiatives

Since the early 2000s, revitalization efforts for Halkomelem dialects, particularly Halq'eméylem and Hul'qumi'num', have emphasized structured educational programs and community-driven immersion. The Hul'qumi'num' Treaty Group developed a comprehensive strategic plan in the mid-2000s to address priorities, including , elder involvement, and intergenerational transmission, though implementation has faced interruptions due to fluctuations from provincial and federal sources. Similarly, the First Peoples Cultural Council has provided grants for Halq'eméylem projects, supporting master-apprentice pairings and documentation, but these remain limited by the scarcity of fluent elders, with fewer than 20 fully proficient speakers estimated across dialects as of recent assessments. University-based initiatives have marked key milestones, such as the University of the Fraser Valley's in Halq'eméylem, launched to train speakers through immersion and practical application. The program's first cohort of eight graduates completed their studies in June 2025, focusing on conversational proficiency and cultural integration, with participants like those from Seabird Island Band advancing to teach in community settings. Complementary integrations include Halq'eméylem instruction in Head Start preschools, where language nests provide partial immersion from ages three to five, aiming to build foundational and phonetics, though enrollment remains low at under 100 children annually across Stó:lō communities. Digital tools have supplemented these efforts, notably the Ilhe Qwal app for Hul'qumi'num', released in late 2024, which features elder-recorded audio, interactive games, and stories to foster self-directed learning and has garnered over 1,000 downloads in its first months. immersion programs, such as the Shxwelí's eight-week Halq'eméylem courses, pair learners with knowledgeable speakers for daily practice, producing semi-fluent outputs but struggling with scalability due to elder availability. Despite these advances, challenges persist, including heavy reliance on short-term grants—often 70-80% of program budgets—which leads to inconsistent delivery, and debates over authenticity, as revived forms risk divergence from historical usage without sufficient archival verification from pre-1900 sources. Success metrics, like the 2025 UFV graduates achieving basic fluency in 20-30% of core , indicate progress but fall short of producing new fluent adult speakers at scale, underscoring the need for sustained, birth-to-adulthood immersion.

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