Tsimshianic languages
| Tsimshianic | |
|---|---|
| Tsmksian | |
| Ethnicity: | Tsimshian |
| Geographic distribution: |
British Columbia, Alaska |
| Linguistic classification: |
Penutian ?
|
| Subdivisions: |
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| Glottolog: | tsim1258 |
Pre-contact distribution of Tsimshianic languages
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The Tsimshianic languages are a family of languages spoken in northwestern British Columbia and in Southeast Alaska on Annette Island and Ketchikan. About 2,170 people of the ethnic Tsimshian /ˈsɪmʃiən/ population in Canada still speak a Tsimshian language; about 50 of the 1,300 Tsimshian people living in Alaska still speak Coast Tsimshian. Tsimshianic languages are considered by most linguists to be an isolate group of languages, with four main languages or lects: Coast Tsimshian, Southern Tsimshian, Nisg̱a’a, and Gitksan.
The Tsimshianic languages were included by Edward Sapir in his Penutian hypothesis, a theory which is currently not widely accepted but is undergoing investigation by Marie-Lucie Tarpent.
Tsimshianic consists of 4 lects:
Coast Tsimshian is spoken along the lower Skeena River in Northwestern British Columbia, on some neighbouring islands, and to the north at New Metlakatla, Alaska. Southern Tsimshian is spoken on an island quite far south of the Skeena River in the village of Klemtu. Southern Tsimshian is severely endangered, nearing extinction. Nisga’a is spoken along the Nass River. Gitksan is spoken along the Upper Skeena River around Hazelton and other areas.
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