Montana Salish language
| Salish | |
|---|---|
| Séliš | |
| Region | Montana |
| Ethnicity | 8,000 Pend d'Oreilles (Kalispel), Flathead, Spokane peoples (1977–1997) |
|
Native speakers
|
66 (2005) |
|
Salishan
|
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either: fla – Flathead spo – Spokane |
| Glottolog | kali1307 |
The Salish or Séliš language /ˈseɪlɪʃ/, also known as Kalispel–Pend d'oreille, Kalispel–Spokane–Flathead, or, to distinguish it from the Salish language family to which it gave its name, Montana Salish, is a Salishan language spoken (as of 2005) by about 64 elders of the Flathead Nation in north-central Montana and of the Kalispel Indian Reservation in northeastern Washington state, and by another 50 elders (as of 2000) of the Spokane Indian Reservation of Washington. As of 2012, Salish is "critically endangered" in Montana and Idaho according to UNESCO.
Dialects are spoken by the Spokane (Npoqínišcn), Kalispel (Qalispé), Pend d'Oreilles, and Bitterroot Salish (Séliš). The total ethnic population was 8,000 in 1977, but most have switched to English.
As with many other languages of northern North America, Salish is polysynthetic; like other languages of the Mosan language area, there is no clear distinction between nouns and verbs. Salish is famous for native translations that treat all lexical Salish words as verbs or clauses in English, for instance translating a two-word Salish clause that would appear to mean "I-killed a-deer" into English as I killed it. It was a deer.
Salish is taught at the Nkwusm Salish Immersion School, in Arlee, Montana. Public schools in Kalispell, Montana offer language classes, a language nest, and intensive training for adults. An online Salish Language Tutor and online Kalispel Salish curriculum are available. A dictionary, "Seliš nyoʔnuntn: Medicine for the Salish Language," was expanded from 186 to 816 pages in 2009; children's books and language CDs are also available.
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