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Colville-Okanagan
Okanagan, Colville
n̓səl̓xčin̓, Nsyilxcən, n̓syil̓xčn̓
Native toCanada, United States
RegionSouthern Interior of British Columbia, Central-northern State of Washington
EthnicityOkanagan, Colville, Lakes, Methow
Native speakers
50 (2007–2014)[1]
75 L2 speakers (2007)
Salishan
Dialects
  • Northern Okanagan
  • Colville (n̓x̌ʷʔiłpcən)
  • Lakes/Sinixt dialect (snslxcin)
  • San-poil (Nespelem)
  • Southern Okanagan
  • Methow
Language codes
ISO 639-3oka
Glottologokan1243
ELPNsyilxcən
Okanagan is classified as Definitely 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.

Okanagan, Colville-Okanagan, or Nsyilxcən (n̓səl̓xcin̓ or n̓syilxčn̓) is a Salish language that originated among the Indigenous peoples of the southern Interior Plateau. In the precolonial era, its range was entered primarily in the Okanagan and Columbia River basins of present-day Canada and the United States. Following British, American, and Canadian colonization during the 19th century and the subsequent forced assimilation of Salishan tribes, the use of the language declined significantly.

Colville-Okanagan is considered highly endangered. Although it is rarely acquired as a first language, it is currently being learned as a second language by more than 40 adults and 35 children in Spokane, Washington, as well as by dozens of adults on the Colville Indian Reservation and within the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. Approximately 50 fluent first-language speakers remain, the majority of whom reside in British Columbia.[2] The language is currently classified as moribund, with no first-language speakers under the age of 50. Despite this, Colville-Okanagan remains the second-most spoken Salish language after Shuswap.

History and description

[edit]

Historically, Colville-Okanagan descended from Proto Southern Interior Salish, a language originally spoken in the Columbia River Basin. Prior to European contact, the language expended and developed into three distinct dialects: Colville, Okanagan, and Lakes. These dialects exhibit a low degree of divergence, with variations primarily limited to minor differences in pronunciation rather than significant shirts in vocabulary or grammar.

The vast majority of the Colville-Okanagan lexicon is derived from Proto-Salish or Proto-Interior Salish. Some vocabulary is shared with or borrowed from neighboring Salish, Sahaptian, and Kutenai languages, while more recent loanwords have been adopted from English and French. Colville-Okanagan remained an exclusively oral language until the late 19th century, when missionaries and linguists began transcribing it to produce word lists, dictionaries, and grammars. Today, the language is written in Latin script using the American Phonetic Alphabet.

In the native tongue, the language is referred to as n̓səl̓xčin̓ or nsyilxcn. Historically, speakers occupied the northern Columbia Basin, ranging from the Methow River in the west to Kootenay Lake in the east, and extending north along the Columbia River, the Arrow Lakes, and the Slocan Valley. All nsyilxcn-speaking bands are grouped under the ethnic label syil̓x. This term is cognate of the Spokane-Kalispel word séliš, which is the ethnonym for the Bitterroot Salish of Montana.

Colville-Okanagan is the heritage language of several groups, including:

According to nsyilxcən language keepers, words in the language are traditionally not capitalized. This practice reflects syilx ethics; as noted by practitioners, capitalization can imply a hierarchy of importance that contradicts the egalitarian values of their society.[3]

Revitalization

[edit]

In 2012, the CBC reported on a family teaching n̓səl̓xcin̓ to their children at home.[4] Seven nonprofit organizations currently support Colville-Okanagan language acquisition and revitalization:

  • Paul Creek Language Association: Keremeos, British Columbia,[5]
  • syilx Language House:[6] Penticton, British Columbia
  • En'owkin Centre:[7] Penticton, British Columbia
  • Osoyoos Indian Band Language House:[8] Oliver, British Columbia
  • Hearts Gathered Waterfall Montessori: Omak, Washington
  • Salish School of Spokane: Spokane, Washington
  • Inchelium Language and Culture Association: Inchelium, Washington

Revitalization in the United States

[edit]

Revitalization efforts in the United States include early childhood instruction and intensive adult speaker training. The Concentrated Tribes of the Colville Reservation actively promote preservation by allocating local and federal funds for cultural projects.[citation needed] The Tribes' primary objectives include establishing three language programs, developing comprehensive dictionaries, providing translation services, and maintaining regular language classes with 30 or more consistent participants.[9]

The Salish School of Spokane (SSOS) (sƛ̓x̌atkʷ nsəl̓xčin̓ sn̓maʔmáyaʔtn̓) implements a comprehensive community revitalization strategy serving the Spokane metropolitan area. The school provides n̓səl̓xcin̓ immersion education for students ranging from one year old through the 9th grade. In classrooms for grades P-6, instruction is conducted entirely in n̓səl̓xčin̓, covering core subjects such as mathematics, literacy, science, art, music and physical education.

The curriculum is designed to foster full fluency by age 15, and students are expected to use the language exclusively while on campus. As of 2022, the school also provides intensive training for over 40 adults:

Twenty-eight staff members at SSOS are enrolled in the Salish Language Educator Development (SLED) program at SSOS. These staff members receive 90 minutes of immersion n̓səl̓xčin training daily as part of their work. Another 16 adults, parents of SSOS students, participate in paid afternoon and evening n̓səlxčin̓ fluency track training. All SSOS parents commit to completing at least 60 hours of n̓səl̓xčin̓ language classes per year in order for their children to be eligible to attend the school. SSOS offers free, beginning n̓səl̓xčin̓ (Colville-Okanagan) language classes on evenings and weekends for SSOS parents and other community members. At Salish School of Spokane, there are 35 intergenerational pairs: 35 immersion school students who have at least one parent who is studying n̓səl̓xčin in a fluency-track program.[10][11]

Salish School of Spokane aims to increase the availability of educational material by maintaining a variety of audio resources and curricula to advance Colville-Okanagan revitalization. Along with these efforts, the school provides, develops and translates curriculum. The Salish School works alongside organizations such as the Paul Creek Language Association, a nonprofit based in British Columbia, on the N̓səl̓xcin̓ Curriculum Project.[12] The N̓səl̓xcin̓ Project aims to create foundational lesson plans from which teachers of Okanagan can draw. The project is spearheaded by Christopher Parkin, and is translated primarily by the fluent elder Sarah Peterson, with the additional help of Hazel Abrahamson and Herman Edwards. The participation of native speakers ensures clear meaning and high fidelity to the Okanagan language. The project is composed of six textbooks divided into three levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.[12] Each level consists of a language book which contains a number of audio recordings, language, and learning software to ease language teaching. Additionally, each level includes a literature book. The literature book provides the vital function of providing entertainment for language learners when outside of class and also reinforces sentence construction for Okanagan. The project also contains daily quizzes, midterm-style tests, and both oral and written final exams for evaluation.[12] The curriculum developed by the N̓səl̓xcin̓ Curriculum Project is available in electronic format online free of charge.[13]

Revitalization in Canada

[edit]

To encourage interest in teaching vocations, the En'owkin places a strong emphasis on its various certification programs. The Certificate of Aboriginal Language Revitalization is offered in the En'owkin Centre and is taught by linguist Maxine Baptiste. The course does have a fee involved, but the certificate is offered in partnership with the University of Victoria.[14] Additionally, the centre offers a certification to become a Certified Early Childhood Education Assistant which is in partnership with Nicola Valley Institute of Technology. The certificate does not qualify one to teach at the secondary level, but does ensure employability in daycare and pre-K.[14] The strategy behind these two certificates ensures that potential teachers have easy access to college credits from centers of higher learning like the University of Victoria, and potential education assistants can be involved in the education of children, thus establishing fluency in Okanagan early on.

The En'owkin Centre also emphasizes its college readiness programs. William Cohen notes in his article that many native students perform poorly in school and the high school dropout rate for aboriginal high schoolers is very high.[15]

Additionally, a Syilx Language House was developed in 2015 in British Columbia. The goal of the house is to create 10 fluent nsyilxcen speakers in four years.[16] In this program, participants spend 2000 hours over four years learning nsyilxcen via a variety of different teaching methods, regular assessments, frequent visits from Elders, and full immersion.[16] Following completion of the program in 2020, the Syilx Language House is hoping to expand by developing more language houses across the Okanagan and will increase the goal to creating 100 new nsyilxcn speakers in the 2020 cohort.[16]

UBCO Bachelor of Nsyilxcn Language Fluency

[edit]

In 2011, the BC Indigenous Adult and Higher Learning Association, in collaboration with the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology and En’owkin Centre initiated a new bachelor's degree program that would be offered through the University of British Columbia Okanagan in order to support Okanagan language learning and create new fluent speakers. From its inception, the Bachelor of Nsyilxcn Language Fluency (BNLF) was led by associate professor Jeannette Armstrong who serves as the program's academic lead. The BNLF was the first bachelor's degree of Indigenous language fluency offered in Canada and was developed as a model that could be duplicated across British Columbia.[17][18]

The Bachelor of Nsyilxcn Language Fluency is a four-year program. During the first two years, students complete an Indigenous language diploma. During the third and fourth year of the program, students are assigned a capstone project at UBCO where they work in the community to promote language learning.[18]

The first cohort of eight students graduated with a Bachelor's of Nsyilxcn Language Fluency in 2023. An additional 12 students were expected to graduate the following year, with around 100 students working towards graduation at the time.[18]

Orthography

[edit]

Okanagan alphabets are unicase, with no capital letters.

The Paul Creek Language Association uses this alphabet:

Letter Letter name IPA English explanation Nsyilxcn example
a a /a/ as in the word father anwí (it is you)
c ci /t͡ʃ/ as in the word church cʕas (crash)
c̓ c̓a /t͡sʼ/ as in the word cats c̓ałt (cold)
ə ə /ə/ as in the word elephant əcxʷuy (goes)
h ha /h/ as in the word happy hiw̓t (rat)
i is /i/ as in the word see ixíʔ (that/then)
k kut /k/ as in the word kite kilx (hand)
k̓ k̓it /kʼ/ is pronounced as a hard k k̓ast (bad)
kʷ kʷup /kʷ/ as in the word queen kʷint (take)
k̓ʷ k̓ʷap /kʷʼ/ is pronounced as a hard kʷ k̓ʷck̓ʷact (strong)
l li /l/ as in the word love limt (happy)
l̓ əl̓ /lˀ/ pronounced as an abruptly stopped l sl̓ax̌t (friend)
ł łu /ɬ/ pronounced as a slurpy l łt̓ap (bounce/jump)
ƛ̓ ƛ̓i /t͡ɬʼ/ pronounced as a click tl out of the side of the mouth ƛ̓lap (stop)
m mi /m/ as in the word mom mahúyaʔ (raccoon)
m̓ əm̓ /mˀ/ pronounced as an abruptly ended m stim̓ (what)
n nu /n/ as in the word no naqs (one)
n̓ ən̓ /nˀ/ pronounce as an abruptly stopped n n̓in̓wiʔs (later)
p pi /p/ as in the word pop pn̓kin̓ (when)
p̓ p̓a /pʼ/ pronounced as a popped p p̓um (brown)
q qi /q/ pronounced as a k deep in the back of the throat qáqnaʔ (grandma)
q̓ q̓u /qʼ/ pronounced as a hard q q̓aʔxán (shoe)
qʷ qʷa /qʷ/ pronounced as a q with rounded lips qʷacqn (hat)
q̓ʷ q̓ʷʕay /qʷʼ/ pronounced as a hard q with rounded lips q̓ʷmqin (antler)
r ri /r/ pronounced rolled on the tongue yirncút (make itself round)
s sas /s/ as in the word sister síyaʔ (saskatoon/sarvis/June berry)
t ti /t/ as in the word top tum̓ (mother)
t̓ t̓a /tʼ/ pronounced as a hard t t̓ínaʔ (ear)
u u /u/ as in the word soon uł (and)
w wa /w/ as in the word walk wikn (I saw it)
w̓ əw̓s /wˀ/ pronounced as an abruptly ended w sw̓aw̓ásaʔ (auntie)
x xu /x/ pronounced as a soft h in the back of the throat xixəw̓tm (girl)
x̌ x̌a /χ/ pronounced as a guttural h deep in the back of the throat x̌ast (good)
xʷ xʷi /xʷ/ pronounced as an h in the back of the throat but with rounded lips xʷuy (go)
x̌ʷ x̌ʷay /χʷ/ pronounced as a guttural h in the back of the throat but with rounded lips x̌ʷus (foam)
y yi /j/ as in the word yellow yus (dark/purple)
y̓ y̓u /jˀ/ pronounced as an abruptly ended y c̓sy̓aqn (head)
ʔ ʔət /ʔ/ is a breath stop in the back of the throat as in the word uh-oh ʔaʔúsaʔ (egg)
ʕ ʕay /ʕ/ pronounced as a short a deep in the back of the throat ʕaymt (angry)
ʕ̓ ʕ̓aw /ʕˀ/ pronounced as an abruptly ended ʕ ʕ̓ac̓nt (look)
ʕʷ (?) /ʕʷ/ pronounced as a nasally ow in the back of the throat kaʕʷm (pray)
səc (?) /s/ pronounced as a cheesy s səcmaḿáýaʔx (study)
sc (?) /s/ makes the /st͡ʃ/ sound scułm (ox)
səxʷ (?) /s/ a less cheesy s səxʷλẃam (firefighter)

The letters with acute accent ⟨á⟩, ⟨ə́⟩, ⟨í⟩, and ⟨ú⟩ are not counted as separate letters in this alphabet.

The Westbank First Nation uses this alphabet, in which the letters with acute accent are counted as separate letters:

Westbank First Nation alphabet[19]
a á c cʼ ə ə́ ɣ ɣʼ h ḥ i í k kʼ kʷ kʼʷ l lʼ ɬ ƛʼ m mʼ n nʼ p
t qʼʷ qʼ qʷ q r rʼ s pʼ tʼ u ú w wʼ x xʷ x̌ x̌ʷ y yʼ ʔ ʕ ʕʼ ʕʷ ʕʼʷ

Phonology

[edit]

Consonants

[edit]

Consonant inventory of Colville-Okanagan:[20]

Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal
median affricate lateral plain labial plain labial plain labial
Stop plain p ⟨p⟩ t ⟨t⟩ ts ~ tʃ ⟨c/č⟩ k ⟨k⟩ kʷ ⟨kʷ⟩ q ⟨q⟩ qʷ ⟨qʷ⟩ ʔ ⟨ʔ⟩
ejec. pʼ ⟨p̓⟩ tʼ ⟨t̓⟩ tsʼ ⟨c̓⟩ tɬʼ ⟨ƛ̓⟩ kʼ ⟨k̓⟩ kʷʼ ⟨k̓ʷ⟩ qʼ ⟨q̓⟩ qʷʼ ⟨q̓ʷ⟩
Fricative s ~ ʃ ⟨s/š⟩ ɬ ⟨ɬ/ł⟩ x ⟨x⟩ xʷ ⟨xʷ⟩ χ ⟨x̌/x̣⟩ χʷ ⟨x̌ʷ/x̣ʷ⟩ h ⟨h⟩
Sonorant plain m ⟨m⟩ n ⟨n⟩ l ⟨l⟩ j ⟨y⟩ ɣ ⟨ɣ⟩ [a] w ⟨w⟩ ʕ ⟨ʕ⟩ [b] ʕʷ ⟨ʕʷ⟩
glottal. mˀ ⟨m̓⟩ nˀ ⟨n̓⟩ lˀ ⟨l̓⟩ jˀ ⟨y̓⟩ wˀ ⟨w̓⟩ ʕˀ ⟨ʕ̓⟩ ʕˀʷ ⟨ʕ̓ʷ⟩
Trill plain r ⟨r⟩
glottal. rˀ ⟨r̓⟩
  1. ^ Only occurs in some dialects.[21]
  2. ^ Sometimes realized as a uvular flap in the Southern Okanagan dialect.[22]

Vowels

[edit]

The vowels found in Lakes are: [i], [a], [u], [ə], and [o]. Stress will fall only on the full vowels [i], [a], and [u] in Colville-Okanagan.

Front Central Back
Close i ⟨i⟩ u ⟨u⟩
Mid ə ⟨ə⟩ [a] o ⟨o⟩ [b]
Open a ⟨a⟩
  1. ^ The [ə] is the single unstressed variant of the full vowels in Okanagan
  2. ^ The [o] vowel is found only in borrowed words

Grammar

[edit]

Morphology

[edit]

The morphology of Colville-Okanagan is fairly complex. It is a head-marking language that relies mostly on grammatical information being placed directly on the predicate by means of affixes and clitics. The combination of derivational and inflectional suffixes and prefixes that are added onto the stem words make for a compact language.[23]

Person markers

[edit]

Colville-Okanagan demonstrates great flexibility when dealing with persons, number, and gender. The language encodes the person via a series of prefixes and suffixes, and uses its number system in tandem with pluralized pronominals to communicate the number of actors within a sentence. For example:

tkaˀkaˀɬis

k-

num.CL

kaˀ-

PL.REDUP

kaˀɬis

three

k- kaˀ- kaˀɬis

num.CL PL.REDUP three

"There are three people"[23]

In this example the k classification designates that the word contains a numeral classifier.

Additionally, Colville-Okanagan relies heavily on the use of suffixes to designate gender. Okanagan handles gender in much the same way, by attaching both determiner and ‘man' to the sentence, the gender of an object or subject can be communicated:

akɬtkɬmílxʷ

an-kɬ

2SG.POSS-to

tkɬmílxʷ

be-woman

an-kɬ tkɬmílxʷ

2SG.POSS-to be-woman

"She is your wife to be"[23]

In this example, there is a combination of 2nd singular marker with 'wife'. 'She' is encoded into the meaning of the word via the inclusion of the gender suffix at the end of the sentence.

Person markers within Colville-Okanagan are attached to verbs, nouns, or adjectives. The marker used depending on transitivity of verbs and other conditions outlined below. The person maker used largely depends on the case being used in the sentence.

Absolutive case

[edit]

Absolutive markers within Colville-Okanagan can only be used if the predicate of the sentence is intransitive. For example, Kən c'k-am (I count) is perfectly viable in Colville-Okanagan, but *Kən c'k-ən-t *(I count it) is not because the verb 'count' is transitive. Person markers never occur without an accompanying intransitive verb.[23]

Singular Plural
1st person kən kʷu
2nd person kʷ p
3rd person ∅ (...-əlx)

Possessive case

[edit]

Simple possessives within Colville-Okanagan are predominantly a result of prefixation and circumfixation on a verb. However, Colville-Okanagan uses simple possessives as aspect forms on the verb in very complex ways. This practice is predominantly seen in Southern interior Salish languages.[23]

The stem: kilx 'hand'
Possessive Example Use Morphological process Translation
1st SG inkilx in-kilx prefix my-hand
2nd SG ankilx an-kilx prefix your-hand
3rd SG iʔ kilxs iʔ⟩kilx⟨s circumfix his/her⟩hand⟨
1st PL iʔ kilxtət iʔ⟩kilx⟨tət circumfix Our⟩hand⟨
2nd PL iʔ kilxəmp iʔ⟩kilx⟨əmp circumfix Your.PL⟩hand⟨
3rd PL iʔ kilxsəlx iʔ⟩kilx⟨səlx circumfix Their⟩hand⟨

Where prefixation occurs with -in / -an in the 1st and 2nd person singular, /n/ may undergo deletion as below:

isxʷuytn

in-

1sg.POSS-

s-

NOM-

xʷuy

go

-tan

-INST

in- s- xʷuy -tan

1sg.POSS- NOM- go -INST

"They are my tracks."

akɬtkɬmilxʷ

an-

2sg.POSS-

kɬ-

to be

tkɬmilxʷ

-woman

an- kɬ- tkɬmilxʷ

2sg.POSS- {to be} -woman

"She is your wife to be."

anik'mən

an-

2sg.POSS-

nik'mən

knife

an- nik'mən

2sg.POSS- knife

"your knife"[23]

Ergative case

[edit]

In the case of verbs, Colville-Okanagan morphology handles transitivity in various ways. The first is a set of rules for verbs that only have a single direct object, transitive verbs. For the ergative case there are two variants of person markers a stressed and an unstressed.

Stressed Unstressed
1st SG -ín -n
2nd SG -íxʷ -xʷ
3rd SG -ís -s
1st PL -ím -m
2nd PL -ip -p
3rd PL -ísəlx -səlx

The stem: c'k-ən-t is the equivalent of the transitive verb 'count.'

Example Use Translation
1st SG c̓kəntin c'k-ən-t-ín I count it
2nd SG c̓kəntixʷ c'k-ən-t-íxʷ You count it
3rd SG c̓kəntis c'k-ən-t-ís S/he counts it
1st PL c̓kəntim c'k-ən-t-ím We count it
2nd PL c̓kəntip c'k-ən-t-íp You (PL) count it
3rd PL c̓kəntisəlx c'k-ən-t-ísəlx They count it

wikn̓t (see it) is an example of a strong -nt- transitive past/present verb, with 'XX' identifying non-occurring combinations and '--' identifying semantic combinations which require the reflexive suffix -cut-

Two-participant event inflections: wikn̓t
Transitive
inflection 		Experiencer
Singular Plural
1 2 3 1 2 3
Executor Sg 1 -- wikn̓tsn̓ wikn̓ XX wikłəm̓n̓ wikn̓əl̓x
2 kʷuʔ wikn̓txʷ -- wikn̓txʷ kʷuʔ wikn̓txʷ XX wikn̓txʷəl̓x
3 kʷuʔ wiks wikn̓ts wiks kʷuʔ wikn̓tm̓ wikłəm̓s wiksəl̓x
Pl 1 XX wikn̓tst wikn̓tm̓ -- wikłəm̓t wikn̓tm̓əl̓x
2 kʷuʔ wikn̓tp XX wikn̓tp kʷuʔ wikn̓tp -- wikn̓tpəl̓x
3 kʷuʔ wiksəl̓x wikn̓tsəl̓x wiksəl̓x kʷuʔ wikn̓tm̓əl̓x wikłəm̓səl̓x wikn̓tm̓əl̓x

Accusative case

[edit]

There are two sets of verb affixes each containing two members that dictate the composition of a verb. The first set is composed of the affixes -nt-, and -ɬt-. The second set is composed of -st- and x(i)t- where 'i' is a stressed vowel.

The major difference between two sets is how they incorporate affixes to remain grammatically correct. In the case of the -nt-, -ɬt- group, all particles and suffixes joining onto the stem and suffix of the verb will be identical for both. The -nt- affix connects to the stem of a transitive verb via suffixation. The suffix -nt- can only make reference to two persons: an actor and a primary goal.

q̓y̓əntin q'y'-ənt-in (I write something)

The -ɬt- affix is the ditransitive counterpart of -nt- and works in much the same. The difference between the two is that it refers to three persons: an actor, and two other actors or goals. Furthermore, -ɬt- is further differentiated from its ditransitive cousin -x(i)t- because it does not require a clitic to be a part of the verb.

In contrast to this group, -st- and -x(i)t- operate by unique rules. The -st- affix, much like its counterpart must be added to a verb stem by means of suffixation, it is also transitive, and refers to an actor and a primary goal, but it implies a reference to a third person, or a secondary goal without explicitly stating it.

q̓y̓əstin q'y'-əst-in. (I write it [for myself])

The -x(i)t- ditransitive affix shares all of the features of -ɬt- with the sole exception that it requires a clitic to be attached to front of the verb stem. The reason for the clitic in Okanagan is to add emphasis or focus on the second object, whereas -ɬt- makes no distinction.[24]

Predicates and arguments

[edit]

Each clause in Colville-Okanagan can be divided into two parts: inflected predicates which are required for every sentence, and optional arguments. Colville-Okanagan allows a maximum of two arguments per sentence construction. These are marked by pronominal markers on the predicate. Each argument is introduced to the sentence via an initial determiner; the only exception to initial determiners is in the case of proper names which do not need determiners to introduce them. Predicates may be of any lexical category. There may be additional arguments added to a sentence in Okanagan via complementizers. Okanagan is unique among the majority of Salish languages for the inclusion of the complementizer.[23]

Obliques

[edit]

Colville-Okanagan has one oblique marker that serves adapts it to several different functions depending upon the context in which it is used. The oblique marker 't' can be used to mark the object of an intransitive verb, as in the case below.

kən

I

ˀiɬən

eat

t

OBL

sɬiqʷ

meat

kən ˀiɬən t sɬiqʷ

I eat OBL meat

I ate (some)meat[23]

't' may also mark the agent in a passive construction, and it may be used to mark the ergative agent of transitive verbs. Finally, the oblique 't' may be used to mark functions including time and instrument:

kən

I

txam

comb

t

OBL

sx̌əx̌c'iˀ

stick

kən txam t sx̌əx̌c'iˀ

I comb OBL stick

"I combed my hair with a stick"[23]

't' may also coincide with the determiner 'iʔ' in the case of instrumentals and passive agents:

tʕapəntís

shoot-DIR-3SG.ERG

[iʔ

DET

[t

OBL

swlwlmínk]

gun

].

 

tʕapəntís [iʔ [t swlwlmínk] ].

shoot-DIR-3SG.ERG DET OBL gun {}

He shot it with a gun.

Mike

Mike

cúmqs-nt-m

kiss-DIR-PASS

[iʔ

DET

[t

OBL

tkɬmílxʷ]

woman

].

 

Mike cúmqs-nt-m [iʔ [t tkɬmílxʷ] ].

Mike kiss-DIR-PASS DET OBL woman {}

Mike was kissed by the woman.[25]

Complements

[edit]

There are a number of complements available to Colville-Okanagan to clarify its predicates among these are positional complements, which merely indicate the place of a predicate. In addition to positional complements, there are a variety of marked complements, complements used in Okanagan that express further meaning through a series of particles.[26]

The first of the marked complements is the prefix yi. For the most part, yi is an optional complement that is used in definite cases with the exception of cases when a proper noun is used. In such cases, the yi prefix is not allowed. When yi is used it refers to a definite referent.[26]

wikən yiʔ sqilxʷ "I saw the/those people." The sequential complements are composed of the particles ɬ and ɬa. ɬa conveys temporal sequence while ɬ represents a subordinate element.

way̓ x̌ast ɬ kʷ cxʷuy̓ "It's good if/that you come."

way̓ x̌ast ɬa kʷ cxʷuy̓ "It will be good when/after you come."

Colville-Okanagan also contains a number of locational complements which refer to when or where something happened. It is a point of reference. The l and the variant lə particles are used to tie a predicate to a time or place.[26] xʷuy̓ lə sənkʷəkʷəʔac. "He went in the night"

Ablative complements in Colville-Okanagan come in the form of the tl particle. Along with directional complements, k̓ and k̓l, Okanagan speakers can indicate motion.[26] The ablative complement tl only serves to indicate ‘moving away from.' For instance, in the sentence below, the ablative is ‘from (across the ocean).'

Kʷ scutxx tl sk̓ʷətikənx "Were you saying [that he is] from Seattle?"

The directional complement's two particles represent both direction towards something, and direction towards a specific location. k signifies movement towards something:

k̓ incitxʷ "to my house" (not towards it)

The k̓l particle modifies this sentence so that it specifies the house as the location to which the subject must move. k̓əl incitxʷ "To my house" (there specifically)

Verb classification

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Verbs may react in a number of different ways when a suffix is attached to the root stem of the word. Below are a number of ways in which intransitive roots are modified.[20]

  • -t can indicate a natural characteristic of the root
    • c̓ik̓ "burn"
    • c̓ik̓t "burned"
  • -lx indicates the subject is engaged in an activity
    • qiclx "run"
  • -ils expresses state of mind.
    • nk̓wpils "lonely"
  • -p expresses lack of a subject's control
    • kmap "darkening"

Transitives:

  • -n involves action upon an object by a subject
    • kʷuʔ caʔntis "he hit me"
  • -s involves action or state resulting from an activity.
    • kʷu cˀaistixʷ
  • -cut indicates when the action of a subject is directed toward oneself.
    • tarqncut "kick oneself"
  • Transitive stems without person markings indicate imperatives
    • nlk̓ipnt "open it"
  • Intransitives can express an imperative via the -x suffix:
    • xʷuyx "go"

Space, time, and modality

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The Okanagan system relies heavily on its affixes to demonstrate tense, space, and time. Below are demonstrated various affixes that attach to roots to encode meaning.

Of the following two examples, they are only possible in the -n transitive paradigm.[20]

ks- unrealized action

ikstxt̓ám "I'm going to look after him"

səc- past perfect ˁi-səc-txt'-am "I've been looking after him."

The following examples are for intransitives.

-k Unrealized: expresses an intentional future action or state. (I am going to...) Kn kʷal̓t " I'm warm"

-aʔx Continuative: Action or state that is in progress kn scpútaʔx "I am celebrating"

Directional prefixes

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  • ɬ- Movement back
  • c- Movement toward speaker
  • kɬ- down, and under[20]

Prepositional case-markings for oblique objects

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  • tl̓ from, source.
  • k̓l to, at, goal, recipient, dative.
  • k̓ for, benefactive.
  • l on, locative.
  • nˁəɬ with, comitative.
  • ˁit with, by, instrumental[20]

See also

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References

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Bibliography

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Okanagan language

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from Grokipedia
nsyilxcən, also known as the Okanagan language or Colville-Okanagan, is a Southern Interior Salish language of the Salishan family spoken by the Syilx (Okanagan) people in their traditional territory along the Okanagan River and Valley, extending from southern British Columbia in Canada to northern Washington state in the United States. The language exhibits typical Salishan traits, such as polysynthetic verbs that incorporate subjects, objects, and other elements into single words, and a lack of noun-verb distinction, contributing to its syntactic complexity. Critically endangered due to historical suppression through colonial policies including residential schools, nsyilxcən has only a few dozen fluent speakers remaining, mostly elders over 70, with speaker numbers declining rapidly as intergenerational transmission has been disrupted. Revitalization initiatives by Syilx communities, including immersion programs, online classes, and dictionary development, aim to counteract this loss and reclaim the language's role in cultural identity and knowledge systems. The language encompasses several dialects, such as Northern and Southern Okanagan, Colville, Lakes, Sanpoil, and , with varying by geographic separation, reflecting the pre-colonial distribution of bands across diverse ecosystems from river valleys to highlands.

Classification and Dialects

Linguistic Affiliation

The Okanagan language, known endonymically as ṉsəl̓xʷcín or nsyilxcən, belongs to the Salishan language family, a group of indigenous languages primarily spoken in the region of . Within this family, it is classified under the Interior Salish branch, which encompasses languages of the inland plateau areas distinct from the coastal variants. More specifically, Okanagan forms part of the Southern Interior Salish subgroup, sharing phonological and grammatical features with neighboring dialects such as those spoken by the Colville, Sanpoil, Nespelem, and Methow peoples. This affiliation reflects a proto-language reconstruction tracing back to Proto-Interior Salish, with lexical and morphological evidence indicating divergence from other Salish branches around 2,000–3,000 years ago based on . Okanagan is often treated as a with Colville, collectively termed Colville-Okanagan, due to high and shared innovations like specific applicative constructions not found uniformly across Interior Salish. Community documentation and revitalization efforts, such as those by the Okanagan Nation Alliance, emphasize its distinct identity while acknowledging these ties.

Dialect Variations

The Okanagan language, also termed Colville-Okanagan Salish or nsyilxcən (n̓səl̓xčin̓), encompasses a dialect continuum spoken historically from the headwaters of the Okanagan River in southern British Columbia southward across the international border into northern Washington state, USA, among bands including the Syilx Okanagan, Sinixt Lakes, Sanpoil, Nespelem, Methow, and Colville Confederated Tribes. These dialects exhibit mutual intelligibility due to shared phonological, morphological, and syntactic features inherited from Proto-Southern Interior Salish, with variations arising from geographic isolation and localized adaptations post-dating the divergence around 1,000–2,000 years ago. Linguistic documentation since the late 19th century, including work by Oblate missionaries and anthropologists, has identified dialectal distinctions primarily in lexicon (e.g., terms for local flora, fauna, and terrain) and subtle phonetic traits, such as differential glottalization or vowel rounding, rather than fundamental grammatical divergence. Key dialects include Northern Okanagan (centered around communities like Vernon and , with conservative retention of certain Proto-Salish consonants), Southern Okanagan (associated with and Similkameen bands, featuring innovations in verb suffixes), Colville (spoken along the Colville River in Washington, marked by borrowings from neighboring due to early trade and intermarriage), Sanpoil (eastern variant near the Sanpoil River, with distinct nominal classifiers), and Lakes (Sinixt territory around the , showing transitional forms toward Spokane-Kalispel dialects). The Colville dialect, for instance, was among the first impacted by Euro-American settlement in the , leading to accelerated lexical shifts incorporating English terms for introduced goods. remains high—estimated at 80–95% across variants based on comparative wordlists—facilitating communication among remaining fluent speakers, though revitalization efforts often standardize toward a pan-dialectal form drawing from multiple sources. Dialect boundaries are fluid, reflecting a historical continuum rather than discrete isolates, as evidenced by shared innovations like specific patterns for diminutives absent in northern Interior Salish relatives such as . Peer-reviewed analyses, including comparative reconstructions, confirm that while some researchers propose elevating certain variants (e.g., Sanpoil) to status due to 20–30% lexical divergence, consensus favors classification given syntactic uniformity and ongoing cultural ties among speakers. Documentation challenges persist, with fewer than 100 fluent elders as of 2020, prompting community-led orthographic harmonization to preserve variation without erasure.

Historical Context

Pre-European Contact Period

The Okanagan language, known as nsyilxcən among its speakers, functioned as the primary medium of oral communication for the Syilx (Okanagan) people across their traditional territory in the Okanagan Valley, spanning present-day southern British Columbia and northern Washington state, prior to the arrival of European fur traders and explorers in the early 19th century. This Interior Salish language encoded essential knowledge of the local ecology, including seasonal resource cycles for fishing salmon, gathering roots like camas, and hunting game, which sustained semi-nomadic family bands adapted to the semi-arid plateau environment. Syilx society prior to contact was structured around groups (sqwílxw), each stewarding defined territories for and seasonal migrations, with nsyilxcən serving to transmit protocols, relations, and ceremonial practices orally across generations. The language's reflected a deep causal integration with the landscape, deriving terms from experiential learning of , , and , fostering a unified among dispersed bands that interacted through trade networks and intermarriage. No evidence exists of pre-contact writing systems, as knowledge preservation relied entirely on mnemonic , songs, and verbal embedded in daily and life. Linguistically, nsyilxcən exhibited dialectal variation corresponding to geographic subgroups—such as Northern Okanagan, Lakes, and Southern variants (including Colville)—with mutual intelligibility maintained despite subtle phonological and lexical differences shaped by local ecologies, indicating a stable, pre-contact divergence within the broader Interior Salish continuum. Population estimates for Syilx speakers remain imprecise due to the absence of contemporary records, but archaeological and ethnohistoric reconstructions suggest thousands inhabited the region, with the language's vitality tied to robust oral traditions that persisted until post-contact disruptions.

Decline and Documentation Post-Contact

Following European contact in the early via fur traders, the (nsyilxcən) language began to decline due to population losses from introduced diseases and subsequent assimilation policies that prioritized English. In , the Indian Act of 1876 imposed restrictions on Indigenous cultural practices, while the residential school system—operational from the 1880s to the 1990s—forbade children from speaking nsyilxcən, enforcing physical punishment for violations and severing intergenerational transmission. Similar U.S. boarding school policies from 1879 onward targeted Colville-Okanagan speakers on reservations, promoting English-only environments that accelerated shift away from the language. By the mid-20th century, fluent speakers were primarily elders, with rapid loss among younger generations due to these policies' intergenerational effects, including disrupted family structures and cultural suppression. As of 2018, fewer than 150 fluent speakers of nsyilxcən remained across the Okanagan Nation territory in British Columbia and Washington state, rendering the language severely endangered with minimal first-language acquisition. Early post-contact documentation was limited to fragmentary word lists and texts by missionaries and priests in the late , such as those compiled around 1893. More systematic efforts emerged in the early 20th century through anthropologists like and James Teit, who gathered ethnographic and linguistic data on Interior Salish groups, including Okanagan-related materials amid broader Plateau Salish studies from 1894 to 1922. Significant advancement occurred mid-century with fieldwork by linguists collaborating with fluent elders; Anthony Mattina's 1973 dissertation detailed Colville-Okanagan grammatical structure, followed by his compilation of a comprehensive drawing on speakers like Peter J. Seymour (1896–1979), Madeline DeSautel (1888–1979), and others. Documentation since 1968 includes audio recordings of narratives, autobiographies, and lexical resources from elders such as Pete Seymour and Clara Jack (1928–2002), preserving oral traditions and stems for revitalization.

Phonological Inventory

Consonant System

The consonant inventory of the Okanagan language (also termed Colville-Okanagan or n̕səl̓x̌cín) encompasses 37 to 40 phonemes, reflecting the elaborate phonological structure common to Southern Interior Salish languages, with contrasts in , on dorsal obstruents, and glottalized sonorants. Obstruents include voiceless unaspirated stops, s, and fricatives, lacking voiced counterparts; stops and affricates distinguish plain from glottalized (ejective) series, while fricatives are voiceless and may voice intervocalically except for /h/. Sonorants comprise nasals, lateral, and glides in plain and glottalized forms, with glottalization realized as pre-glottalization rather than ejection. Labialization marks velar and uvular obstruents and the labio-velar glide /w/, contributing to the system's complexity; no plain lateral stop exists, but a lateral fills this role. The consonants are articulated at bilabial, dental, alveolar, lateral, velar, uvular, and glottal places, with at alveolar and lateral positions. Data from the dialect (Quilchena Reserve, recorded 1977) yield 37 phonemes across three manners: stops/ (15, including glottalized), spirants/fricatives (5), and resonants (17, including glottalized). Dialectal variation is minor; northern varieties may palatalize the alveolar /c/, and the Colville dialect contrasts rounded and unrounded post-velar resonants.
Place/MannerBilabialDentalAlveolarLateralVelarLabio-velarUvularLabio-uvularGlottal
Plain stopsptkkʷqqʷʔ
Ejective stopsp’t’k’k’ʷq’q’ʷ
Plain affricatest͡s (c)t͡ɬ (λ)
Ejective affricatest͡s’ (c’)t͡ɬ’ (λ’)
Fricativesθsxxʷχχʷh
Plain nasals/liquids/glidesmnlj (y)w
Ejective nasals/liquids/glidesm’n’l’j’ (y’)w’
This aligns with Proto-Salishan patterns, featuring lateral obstruents and dorsal contrasts absent in many , though lacks pharyngeals found in some Salish varieties. clusters are permitted word-initially and medially, often without s, enabling complex onsets like /p’tq’/.

Vowel System

The language exhibits a compact system, as is common among Interior Salish languages, with a phonemic comprising four primary s derived from Proto-Salishan: high front /i/, low central /a/, high back /u/, and mid central schwa /ə/. Schwa /ə/ frequently appears as an epenthetic to break clusters and does not bear stress, serving primarily a phonetic role in unstressed syllables. Certain dialects, including the Lakes (Head-of-the-Lake) variety, incorporate a fifth phoneme, mid back /o/, which patterns with schwa as unstressed but contrasts phonemically in specific lexical items. Stress in Okanagan falls exclusively on the full vowels /i/, /a/, and /u/, which realize with greater duration and height contrast under stress, while /ə/ and /o/ remain reduced and non-prominent. This stress restriction underscores a phonological distinction between "full" and "reduced" vowels, influencing prosody and word formation across dialects. Vowel quality in is modulated by adjacent , particularly through lip rounding triggered by labialized (e.g., /kʷ/, /pʷ/), which can centralize or round preceding or following , yielding allophones such as [ɨ] from /i/ or [ɔ] from /o/. Pharyngeal and uvular may lower adjacent , contributing to anticipatory vowel lowering observed sporadically in the . These interactions highlight the interdependence of and the 's extensive inventory, though the core phonemic distinctions remain stable. Detailed phonemic analyses, such as those of the Head-of-the-Lake , confirm this five-vowel framework without length contrasts as phonemes.

Writing System

Orthographic Conventions

The Okanagan language, known endonymically as nsyilxcən, utilizes a practical derived from the Latin alphabet, tailored to capture its Interior Salish phonological features, including , , and a five-vowel system. This emerged from mid-20th-century linguistic documentation efforts by anthropologists and later refined through community-led revitalization initiatives, prioritizing accurate representation of sounds absent in English. Consonants are denoted with base letters modified by diacritics: voiceless stops appear as p, t, ts, č, k, kʷ, q, qʷ, with glottalized (ejective) counterparts marked by a superscript comma or dot, such as p̓, t̓, ts̓, č̓, k̓, k̓ʷ, q̓, q̓ʷ; fricatives include s, š, x, xʷ, χ, χʷ, h, ɬ; and resonants like m, n, l, y, w have laryngealized variants (m̓, n̓, l̓, y̓, w̓). The glottal stop is represented by ʔ. This arrangement reflects articulatory places from labial to glottal, with rounding indicated by superscript ʷ for labio-velars and labio-postvelars. Vowels consist of a (low), ə (mid-central schwa), e or i (high front), o (mid-back), and u (high back), often without length distinctions in practical writing, though stress may influence realization. Orthographic conventions emphasize phonemic fidelity over etymological spelling, with minimal use of digraphs; for instance, the lateral is ɬ rather than lh. Community variations persist, such as slight differences in symbol preferences across dialects or neighboring Colville groups, but the core system supports literacy programs and digital tools like Keyman keyboards for input.

Grammatical Structure

Nominal Morphology

Nouns in , a Southern Interior Salish , display restricted inflectional categories compared to the richly aspectual verbal system, with morphology centered on possession and occasional number marking via rather than dedicated affixes. Nominal stems often derive from roots denoting entities or states, such as p’inav "basket" or tkamilxw "woman," and may incorporate derivational affixes like the prefix s- for (e.g., s-t’ik’al "grub" from a stem meaning "feed") or suffixes such as -tn and -min for instrumentals or concrete nouns (e.g., sp9ap'=qn-tn "salmon club"). These processes highlight nouns' atemporal nature, lacking the event structure or aspectual formatives typical of verbs. Possession constitutes the primary inflectional domain, distinguishing relational nouns (e.g., body parts, kin terms) that directly host possessive prefixes from independent nouns that may require linking elements or suffixes. Prefixes include ?in- or in- (first person singular, "my"), an- (second person singular, "your"), with suffixes like -s for third person singular ("his/her/its") and -s-lx or -tt for plural possessors (e.g., ?in-qa?-xan "my shoes," an-lapnt "your "). A distinction exists between realized (actual) and unrealized (potential or generic) possession, marked by specific affixes or modes, as in in-qwacqn "my hat" (realized). Relational nouns, such as ?insxilwi "my husband," integrate these prefixes seamlessly to express . Number marking lacks obligatory ; plurality is typically contextual or conveyed through , either complete (e.g., citxw "house" → ctcitxw "houses") or partial (e.g., xmal "fly" → xxmal "flies"), though such forms may lexicalize without consistent distributive semantics. clitics like -lx can apply to possessed forms (e.g., third person -s-lx). Diminutives employ partial initial , as in k^ap "" → sJo^k^imalt "puppy" or similar baby forms. Okanagan nouns bear no case suffixes; transitive or intransitive roles emerge from verbal stems, pronominal agreement, and syntactic position rather than nominal marking. Nominal modification involves pre-nominal possessors and determiners or post-nominal adjectives, with head-initial tendencies in some dialects like Upper Nicola, where structures constrain through agreement or for emphasis.

Verbal Morphology

Verbs in , a Southern Interior Salish , form the core of predicates and exhibit polysynthetic morphology, incorporating pronominal agreement for subjects and objects, transitivity markers, aspectual modifications via and suffixes, and valency-altering affixes. are typically acategorial and notionally verbal or intransitive, with bases classified by argument : intransitive bases (e.g., denoting states or actions without objects) versus transitive bases (notionally requiring objects). Verbal relies on prefixes for objects (primarily 1st and 2nd person) and suffixes for subjects, alongside dedicated transitive paradigms. Intransitive verbs mark subject agreement through prefixes, such as kn= (1st singular), kwu= (), kw= (2nd singular), p= (), and zero or -lx for , often distinguishing controlled (active, voluntary) from uncontrolled (involuntary or stative) forms via suffixes like -s for active 3rd singular. Transitive verbs feature object prefixes (e.g., kwu= for , -s or -m for 2nd person depending on transitivity level, zero for 3rd) followed by the root, then transitive suffixes (e.g., -nt for high-control active transitive, -st for lower-control or causative-like forms) and subject suffixes (e.g., -(i)n 1st singular, -(i)s 3rd singular). The transitive system centers on four primary relational suffixes that encode subject-object hierarchies and control levels, with -nt prototypical for agentive 1st/2nd subject to 3rd object scenarios. Aspectual and derivational morphology includes patterns for continuative (CV-), distributive (CVC-), and effects, as well as suffixes like -p (inchoative or middle voice) and applicative -m (benefactive, promoting oblique to object). Lexical suffixes (e.g., denoting body parts or locations, such as -áw 'around') incorporate nominal concepts into verbs, enhancing semantic specificity without separate nouns. Directionals and modals, often suffixed, further modify verbs (e.g., -xi redirective in applicatives). This templatic structure—pre-root affixes, root, post-root modifications, and agreement—allows compact expression of complex events.

Case Marking Patterns

Okanagan employs a head-marking strategy for core arguments, with nominal case marking on NPs serving to distinguish , though it is not fully reliable for syntactic identification due to interactions with transitivity, aspect, and mood. In realis transitive clauses, the system aligns ergatively: transitive subjects receive ergative marking, while intransitive subjects and transitive objects pattern together as absolutive (often unmarked for third person). This ergative-absolutive pattern shifts in irrealis moods or neutral aspects, where genitive markers replace ergative ones for subjects. For intransitive subjects, absolutive case applies in realis perfective contexts (e.g., kʷ 'xwuý 'I went', with first-person absolutive kʷ), but genitive marking emerges in imperfective or neutral aspects. Transitive subjects in realis moods bear ergative markers, such as second-person ergative -ixʷ in p’ic’+nt -x iʔ pus 'You pinched the cat'. Transitive objects are generally unmarked for third-person singular (absolutive ) but cross-referenced via person suffixes or ergative object markers on the verb, as in first-person object kʷk in applicative constructions like kʷk xwicʔ +xt 'Give it to me'. Oblique arguments, including instruments, locatives, and non-core roles like sources (iʔ t skʔiwálx 'from '), are consistently marked with the proclitic t-, distinguishing them from core NPs; implied obliques (e.g., instruments in anticausatives) may lack overt marking. Possessors on nouns use dedicated prefixes (e.g., first-person in- in in- q’ayʔmin 'my ') and suffixes (e.g., third-person -s), syncretic with genitive subject markers, reflecting a relational encoding tied to nominal morphology rather than clause-level case. Datives and benefactives employ specialized suffixes like -x(ot) (e.g., c'ak+xit-s 'He counted it for him'), often in possessionals where the theme NP remains plain but the beneficiary receives oblique or dative treatment. Irregularities arise in non-canonical transitives, such as underspecified subjects in irrealis, where genitive supplants ergative, and in predicate types with transitive suffix , where case deviates from core patterns (e.g., plain NPs for themes in possessionals versus t--marked in datives). Ergative and genitive paradigms encode both subject and object person, but syncretisms and aspectual splits (e.g., realis ergative versus irrealis genitive) complicate alignment, with absolutive limited to subject-only marking in certain moods. These patterns underscore a system modulated by realis-irrealis distinctions, with verbal cross-referencing often overriding nominal case for argument resolution.

Syntactic Patterns

Argument Structure

Okanagan verbs exhibit a binary distinction in valency, licensing either one core in intransitive predicates or two core in transitive predicates, with a maximum of two per . Intransitive stems are either unmarked or suffixed with the pan-Salish intransitivizer -m, realizing a single subject typically marked by proclitics such as kw= (first person singular) or nominal phrases (DPs). For example, the intransitive form kw=łt'áxʷ-m encodes "I am cold," where the proclitic marks the subject and the stem specifies the predicate. Transitive predicates incorporate transitivizing suffixes to the stem, which condition the realization of agent and arguments through a combination of suffixes and proclitics, reflecting an ergative-absolutive alignment in pronominal marking. High-transitivity markers like -nt denote bounded or punctual events and pair with ergative subject suffixes (e.g., -s for third person) and object markers, as in wik-nt-s ("he saw you"), where -nt licenses the agent-subject and patient-object. Low-transitivity markers like -st indicate ongoing or habitual actions, altering person-marking paradigms, such as wik-st-m ("we usually see you"), with -m for second-person object in this context. Other transitivizers, including -xit and -it, extend valency for applicative-like structures, adding a or goal without exceeding two core syntactic arguments. Lexical suffixes integrate semantic content akin to incorporated nouns, modulating argument interpretation without increasing syntactic valency or requiring additional NPs; for instance, suffixes like =qan ("head") specify patient details within the transitive frame, as in łt'áxʷ-m =qan ("he raised his head"), preserving the single-argument structure. Full noun phrases, when present, appear as optional DPs flanking the predicate, often in verb-initial or free word order, but pronominal affixes on the verb constitute the primary argument realization. Equative constructions, lacking a copula, juxtapose two DPs (e.g., proper name preceding an iʔ-marked DP) to equate arguments without verbal mediation, imposing exhaustivity via the determiner's semantics. This system aligns with broader Interior Salish patterns, where transitivizers not only valence but also aspectually frame the theta roles of agentivity and affectedness.

Oblique and Complement Roles

In Okanagan, a Southern Interior Salish language, oblique roles encompass non-core arguments such as benefactives, goals, instruments, locatives, and comitatives, which are morphologically flagged by the prefix t- rather than incorporated via verbal pronominal clitics or suffixes typical of subjects and direct objects. This marker positions the oblique nominal immediately after the predicate in clause-initial word order, with core arguments following if explicitly realized outside pronominal agreement on the verb. The t- prefix does not alter the verb's transitivity but signals semantic relations external to the event's theme or patient, as in applicative-like constructions where verbal suffixes (e.g., -xi- for certain benefactives) may compete or co-occur depending on dialectal variation. Empirical data from Upper Nicola Okanagan dialects confirm that t--marked obliques resist pronominalization on the verb, distinguishing them from direct objects, and exhibit fixed positioning to avoid ambiguity in predicate-initial syntax. Complement roles in Okanagan primarily involve clausal embeddings under matrix predicates of cognition, perception, or speech, often realized as bare or minimally nominalized clauses without obligatory t- marking, unlike nominal obliques. For instance, complements to verbs like 'know' or 'see' appear as predicate-initial embedded clauses sharing subjects via control or nominalization, preserving the language's head-marking tendencies without case flagging on the clause boundary. This contrasts with adjunct clauses, which may employ determiners or particles for subordination, and reflects a broader Salish pattern where complement clauses maintain verbal status to encode tense-aspect distinctions inherited from the matrix. Dialectal evidence from Colville-Okanagan corpora indicates that while some complements nominalize via aspectual prefixes (e.g., for irrealis events), overt oblique marking emerges only if the complement functions attributively within a larger NP, linking it to a head noun. The interplay between oblique and complement roles highlights Okanagan's reliance on pragmatic inference over rigid case hierarchies, with t- serving multifunctional duties in relativization: subject and object relatives omit it, but oblique-gap relatives deploy t- to gap the non-core position, as verified in elicited Upper Nicola data where movement analyses fail to capture surface forms without base-generation of obliques. This system aligns with comparative Interior Salish syntax, where obliques absorb thematic roles not promoted via applicatives, ensuring complements remain syntactically lightweight to facilitate clause chaining in . Revitalization efforts, drawing on archival texts from the –, underscore these patterns' resilience, though variation in t--allomorphy across dialects (e.g., Okanagan vs. Colville) requires corpus-based verification for precise role assignment.

Lexical and Semantic Features

Spatial and Temporal Expressions

In the Okanagan language, also known as Colville-Okanagan, spatial relations are predominantly encoded through lexical suffixes—bound morphemes incorporating body-part origins that extend semantically to locative, directional, and relational concepts via metaphor and metonymy. These suffixes, numbering over a dozen in the language's inventory, map physical orientations such as front, back, side, and inside onto broader spatial configurations, often influenced by predicate semantics and cultural associations. For instance, the suffix -ink/-nak*, derived from 'abdomen', denotes underside, front, or internal endpoints, as in n-wxw=ink 'hang underneath' or n-skwt=ink 'half the ribs' (implying containment). Similarly, -ikii/n (from 'back') extends to behind, surface, top, or across, exemplified by n-lkwkw-lx=ikii 'a ways behind' or n-yaʔ~=kh-čət 'look behind oneself'. The suffix -ina? (ear) signals side or corner positions, as in k-s-kwt=ina? 'the other side'. Such mechanisms align with cross-Salish patterns, where anatomical adjacency and shape abstraction facilitate spatial abstraction, though Interior Salish variants like Okanagan exhibit branch-specific relational nuances. Material-culture-derived suffixes further contribute to spatial encoding; for example, -i?a? (hide) implies wrapping or outer layers, yielding forms like k-plk=i?a? 'roll or wrap'. Multiple suffixes may co-occur on roots, compounding spatial precision, as in *n-as-(a)0(t)-x(w)nii, blending relational elements. These suffixes integrate with predicates to specify trajectories or endpoints, such as final locations in motion events, rather than relying on free-standing prepositions or adpositions common in . Empirical analysis of Okanagan corpora confirms these extensions as productive, with over 350 examples per major suffix demonstrating consistent spatial utility across dialects. Temporal expressions in Okanagan lack dedicated inflectional categories for tense, instead employing aspectual markers, modal prefixes, and free particles to convey time reference. Future time, for instance, is realized through temporal particles (e.g., denoting forthcoming events) combined with a modal prefix signaling or , as opposed to grammaticalized future morphology. Present and past references rely on contextual aspect—such as continuative or completive—and particles, with spatial metaphors often blurring into temporal domains; lexical suffixes and roots intertwine time-space concepts, reflecting a holistic conceptualization where motion predicates encode duration or sequence via locative extensions. This system prioritizes event-internal aspect over absolute tense, consistent with broader Salish typology, though Okanagan particles provide deictic anchoring for sequencing. Documentation from speaker elicitations and texts underscores the reliance on pragmatic context for disambiguation, with no evidence of rigid linear tense paradigms. The Okanagan language, a Southern Interior Salish tongue also known as Nsyilxcən, utilizes a set of clausal particles to encode modality, including epistemic possibility, conjecture, and conditionality. These particles, which cannot predicate alone, typically follow the main predicate and modify its illocutionary force without altering aspectual or categorial structure. For instance, the particle mt expresses conjectural modality akin to "maybe" or "perhaps," as in reconstructions across Interior Salish where it reconstructs to mt. Similarly, c̕əw (or variants) conveys conditional or obligational senses like "should" or "would." Epistemic modals such as mat and cmay further nuance speaker commitment to propositions, paralleling evidential functions observed in related Salish languages where such elements quantify over evidence states. Evidential particles in Okanagan overlap with modal semantics, marking inferential or sensory bases for assertions. The particle ti indicates "as it appears" or evidential inference, aligning with broader Salish patterns where evidentials behave as epistemic modals by restricting possibility to observed evidence. This is distinct from assertive particles but shares distributional traits, often cliticizing to predicates in predicate-initial clauses. Reconstructions suggest Proto-Interior Salish nukw for observational evidentials, though Okanagan favors ti for apparent states.
Modal/Evidential ParticleFunctionExample Context in Interior Salish
mtConjectural ("maybe")Attached post-predicate for .
c̕əwConditional ("should/would")Modifies for hypothetical .
tiEvidential ("as it appears")Infers from visual or apparent .
mat, cmayEpistemic possibilityQuantifies speaker's evidential commitment.
Directional elements primarily manifest as prepositional particles and specialized adverbs, integrating motion with spatial reference in verb phrases or adverbial slots. Prepositional particles include kl for "to/toward" (motion centripetal) and tl for "from" (motion centrifugal), which relationalize s to locations without case marking on nouns. These reconstruct to Proto-Interior Salish kal and tal, respectively, and attach as clitics in complex predicates. Demonstrative adverbs extend locative forms to encode directionality, distinguishing proximal (a-vowel) from distal (i-vowel) perspectives. Forms like atláʔ (proximal toward) and itlíʔ (distal toward) signal movement toward a deictic center, often in contexts to track participant trajectories, as in ixíʔ itlíʔ s-n-xt̕s-íw̓s-m-s ("he went on [toward there]"). Distal directionals predominate in texts (60.6% overall usage), reflecting discourse emphasis on remote or sequential events. These elements do not inflect for tense but interact with aspectual suffixes in root serialization.
Directional ElementForm VariantsFunction
Prepositional particleskl (to/toward), tl (from)Encode motion direction relative to goals/sources.
Demonstrative adverbsProximal: atláʔ, ak̕láʔ; Distal: itlíʔ, ik̕líʔMark deictic movement toward/away, often adverbially.

Current Status and Revitalization

Speaker Demographics

As of the , 710 individuals reported the ability to speak (Okanagan) well enough to hold a , with 240 identifying it as their mother tongue. In , where the majority of speakers reside, the First Peoples' Cultural Council's 2023 report documented 81 fluent speakers and 418 semi-speakers among a of approximately 6,331, primarily in southern Interior Salish communities such as the Indian Band, Penticton Indian Band, and Westbank First Nation. An additional 1,016 learners were reported, representing 16% of the , indicating growing efforts. Fluent speakers are overwhelmingly elderly, with 61.9% aged 65 or older, and no first-language acquisition among those under 50. Semi-speakers skew younger, with 21.3% under 25, reflecting revitalization programs' impact on intermediate proficiency. In the United States, speakers are concentrated on the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington state, with estimates of fluent first-language speakers ranging from 30 elders to around 190 native speakers as of the mid-2010s, though recent tribal accounts suggest numbers as low as four fully fluent individuals. Overall, Colville-Okanagan (encompassing both Canadian and U.S. variants) has fewer than 150 remaining first-language fluent speakers, predominantly in Canada, with the language classified as moribund due to intergenerational transmission failure. Demographic trends show declining fluent speakers but rising semi-speakers and learners, driven by community-led immersion in urban centers like Kelowna and Vernon, British Columbia.

Efforts in Canada

Community-led initiatives by the Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) have implemented revitalization strategies including immersion schools, language nests, , web-based tools, and books to preserve nsyilxcən, the language spoken by Okanagan peoples. The ONA's Cultural Education Centre collaborates with entities such as the En’owkin Centre, Paul Creek Language Association, Interior Salish Language Associations, and the First Peoples Cultural Council to integrate nsyilxcən into educational resources and programs. The Syilx Language House, a non-profit association, offers immersion classes, teacher training, and publishes language materials to promote fluency and community use. Its four-year program, developed through partnerships with Nation governments and bands, builds on grassroots efforts to create new speakers and document elders via digitization projects that expand digital language archives. Educational institutions have advanced higher-level proficiency; in March 2021, the University of British Columbia Okanagan announced Canada's first in Indigenous language fluency focused on nsyilxcən, aiming to extend the language across community domains. On June 8, 2023, eight Okanagan students received the first degrees taught entirely in nsyilxcən, marking a historic milestone in immersion-based higher education. Provincial support includes British Columbia's $50 million grant to the First Peoples' Cultural Council in 2018 for recovery, addressing intergenerational loss from residential schools. Local bands, such as Westbank First Nation, recognize nsyilxcən as an and incorporate it into school curricula, supported by organizations like the Language House. Despite fewer than two dozen fluent elders remaining as of , these efforts emphasize elder recordings and sequenced immersion to foster grassroots fluency.

Efforts in the United States

Revitalization efforts for the Okanagan language in the United States focus on the Colville-Okanagan dialect, known as nsəlxcin or n̓səl̓xčin̓, primarily led by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington state. The Colville Tribal Language Preservation Program, headquartered in Nespelem, maintains digital resources including a phonetic alphabet, dictionary, and curricula encompassing kinship terms, greetings, numbers, colors, animals, body parts, tools, and traditional stories such as those featuring Bullfrog and Seymour. An office in Omak supports these initiatives with contact available via (509) 422-7406. The Salish School of Spokane pioneers reclamation for n̓səl̓xčin̓, leveraging audio recordings from approximately 30 fluent elder speakers to develop immersion-based teaching methods aimed at producing advanced fluent adults. This school collaborates on broader Southern Interior Salish language programs, addressing the critical endangerment of dialects with limited remaining first-language speakers. Supporting these efforts, the Fluency Transfer System (ILFTS), developed by the Salish School of Spokane and the Paul Creek Language Association, offers a sequenced with eight textbooks across four proficiency levels, plus supplementary materials like a parent-child , guide, resources, , songs, and a (TPR) teacher's manual featuring 10 units of 6-8 lessons each. These tools facilitate immersion in settings and home-based parent-child language use, contributing to systematic fluency acquisition. The Confederated Tribes' Language Department has also produced specialized materials, such as the nsəlxcin Parent-Child , to integrate language into family and early education contexts.

Empirical Outcomes and Challenges

Immersion programs have demonstrated limited but measurable progress in building basic proficiency among learners. The Nkmaplqs immersion school, operational since approximately 2005, has enabled participating children to acquire significant receptive and productive vocabularies after five years of instruction. In a 2011 pilot, the Chopaka adult immersion house advanced five learners from beginner to low-intermediate levels over five months of intensive exposure. Despite such initiatives, broader metrics reveal stagnation: the First Peoples' Cultural Council reported 132 fluent speakers in 2018, down from 194 in 2014, representing just 3.2% of the roughly 5,700 Syilx population. Statistics Canada recorded 710 individuals with conversational knowledge in 2021 data (published 2025), including 240 mother-tongue speakers, indicating persistent but marginal gains amid overall decline. Key challenges stem from the acute scarcity of fluent elders, with fewer than 150 first-language speakers remaining, nearly all over 70 years old and concentrated in . This demographic bottleneck impedes authentic transmission, as programs rely heavily on aging fluent consultants for material development and instruction. After three decades of varied efforts—including language houses, nests, and classes—no new fully fluent speakers have been produced, with adult learners frequently stalling at beginner proficiency due to inconsistent immersion intensity and limited teacher availability. Internal community dynamics exacerbate these issues, including "politics of distraction" such as bureaucratic hurdles and skepticism toward intensive methods, which divert resources from core revitalization. The COVID-19 pandemic forced a pivot to online formats in 2020, disrupting in-person immersion critical for oral Salish languages like nsyilxcən. Recent activities, such as the Okanagan Nation Alliance's four first-speakers gatherings in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, aim to document and share elder knowledge, but empirical evidence of scaled fluency outcomes remains scarce.

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