View source for Salishan languages

{{Short description|Indigenous language family of western Canada and the US}}
{{About|the family of languages|the language spoken in Montana and Washington State|Salish–Spokane–Kalispel language|other uses|Salish (disambiguation)}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox language family
| name          = Salishan
| region        = [[Pacific Northwest]] and [[Interior Plateau]]/[[Columbia Plateau]] in [[Canada]] and the [[United States]]
| ethnicity     = [[Salish peoples]]
| familycolor   = salishan
| family        = One of the world's primary [[language family|language families]]
| child1        = ''[[Nuxalk language|Nuxalk]]''
| child2        = [[Coast Salish languages|Central (Coast) Salish]]
| child3        = [[Tsamosan languages|Tsamosan]]
| iso2          = sal
| iso5          = sal
| glotto        = sali1255
| glottorefname = Salishan
| map           = Salishan langs.png
| mapcaption    = Pre-contact distribution of Salishan languages (in red)
| altname       = Salish
| child4        = ''[[Tillamook language|Tillamook]]''
| child5        = [[Interior Salish languages|Interior Salish]]
}}

The '''Salishan languages''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|eɪ|l|ɪ|ʃ|@n}} {{respell|SAY|lish|ən}}), also known as the '''Salish languages''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|eɪ|l|ɪ|ʃ}} {{respell|SAY|lish}}), are a [[Language family|family of languages]] found in the [[Pacific Northwest]] in North America, namely the Canadian province of [[British Columbia]] and the American states of [[Washington (state)|Washington]], [[Oregon]], [[Idaho]], and [[Montana]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=First Nations Culture Areas Index |url=http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/tresors/ethno/etb0170e.shtml |website=the Canadian Museum of Civilization}}</ref> They are characterised by [[agglutinative|agglutinativity]] and [[syllabic consonant]]s. For instance the [[Nuxalk language|Nuxalk]] word {{audio|Xłp̓x̣ʷłtłpłłskʷc̓.ogg|{{lang|blc|clhp’xwlhtlhplhhskwts’}}|help=no}} ({{IPA|sal|xɬpʼχʷɬtʰɬpʰɬːskʷʰt͡sʼ|IPA}}), meaning 'he had had [in his possession] a [[Cornus canadensis|bunchberry plant]]',<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bagemihl |first=Bruce |date=1991 |title=Syllable Structure in Bella Coola |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4178744 |journal=Linguistic Inquiry |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=589–646 |issn=0024-3892 |jstor=4178744}}</ref> has twelve [[obstruent]] consonants in a row with no phonetic or phonemic vowels.

The Salishan languages are a geographically contiguous block, with the exception of the Nuxalk (Bella Coola), in the [[British Columbia Coast|Central Coast of British Columbia]], and the extinct [[Tillamook language]], to the south on the central coast of Oregon.

The terms ''Salish'' and ''Salishan'' are used interchangeably by [[linguists]] and [[anthropologists]]. The name ''Salish'' or ''Selisch'' is the [[endonym]] of the [[Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation|Flathead Nation]]. Linguists later applied the name Salish to related languages in the Pacific Northwest. Many of the peoples do not have self-designations ([[Exonym and endonym|autonyms]]) in their languages; they frequently have specific names for local dialects, as the local group was more important culturally than larger tribal relations.

All Salishan languages are considered critically [[endangered language|endangered]], some extremely so with only three or four speakers left. Those languages considered [[extinct language|extinct]] are often referred to as "dormant languages", in that no speakers exist currently, but still serve as a symbol of ethnic identity to an ethnic group. In the early 21st century, few Salish languages have more than 2,000 speakers. Fluent daily speakers of almost all Salishan languages are generally over sixty years of age; many languages have only speakers over eighty.

Salishan languages are most commonly written using the [[Americanist phonetic notation]] to account for the various vowels and consonants that do not exist in most modern alphabets.{{citation needed|date=March 2014}}  Many groups have evolved their own distinctive uses of the Latin alphabet, however, such as the [[Saanich people|Saanich]].

== Family division ==
The Salishan language family consists of twenty-three languages. The family is typically organized into five main divisions with variation: Central Salish (Central division, a.k.a. Coast Salish), [[Tsamosan languages|Tsamosan]] (a.k.a. Olympic Salish), Interior Salish (Interior division), Tillamook, and Nuxalk.{{Efn|Also known as Bella Coola}}{{Sfn|Thompson|Kinkade|1990|p=33}}{{Sfn|Jorgensen|1969|p=21}}{{Sfn|Jorgensen|1969|p=105}} Nuxalk is sometimes classified as part of the Coastal Division of languages.{{Efn|Nuxalk is classified as a Coast Salish language in Thompson & Kinkade 1990.}}{{Sfn|Thompson|Kinkade|1990|p=33}} Tillamook is also sometimes classified as part of the Coast Division.{{Efn|Tillamook is classified as a Coast Salish language in Thompson & Kinkade 1990.}}{{Sfn|Jorgensen|1969|p=21}} It was proposed by [[Morris Swadesh]] that the Olympic branch of Coast Salishan languages is a natural subdivision within the family, although linguists today generally accept the Olympic branch as a subgrouping within the Coast Salish division.{{Sfn|Elmendorf|1969|p=225}} The Interior Salish languages have a higher degree of closeness to each other than the more distant Coast Salish languages.{{Sfn|Jorgensen|1969|p=105}}

=== Language tree ===
Below is a list of Salishan languages, dialects, and subdialects. The genetic unity among the Salish languages is evident. Neighboring groups have communicated often, to the point that it is difficult to untangle the influence each dialect and language has upon others. This list is a linguistic classification that may not correspond to political divisions. In contrast to classifications made by linguistic scholars, many Salishan groups consider their particular variety of speech to be a separate language rather than a [[dialect]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}[[File:Salishan.svg|thumb|Distribution of Salishan languages at the beginning of the 19th century]]

Languages or dialects with no living native speakers are marked with {{extinct}} at the highest level.

==== Reduced overview ====
{| class="mw-collapsible"
|{{tree list}}
* '''Salishan'''
** ''Nuxalk''
*** '''[[Nuxalk language|Nuxalk]]'''
** ''Central (Coast) Salish''
*** '''[[Comox language|Comox]]''' 
*** '''[[Halkomelem language|Halkomelem]]'''
*** '''[[Lushootseed]]''' {{extinct}}{{efn|Currently undergoing revitalization.|name=rev1}}
*** '''[[Nooksack language|Nooksack]]''' {{extinct}}{{efn|name=rev1}}
*** '''[[Pentlatch language|Pentlatch]]''' {{extinct}}{{efn|name=rev1}}
*** '''[[Shíshálh language|Sechelt]]'''
*** '''[[Squamish language|Squamish]]'''
*** Straits Salish group
**** '''[[Klallam language|Klallam]]''' {{extinct}}{{efn|name=rev1}}
**** '''[[North Straits Salish languages|Northern Straits]]'''
*** '''[[Twana language|Twana]]''' {{extinct}}
** Tsamosan {{extinct}}{{efn|name=rev1}}
*** Inland division {{extinct}}{{efn|name=rev1}}
**** '''[[Cowlitz language|Cowlitz]]''' {{extinct}}{{efn|name=rev1}}
**** '''[[Upper Chehalis]]''' {{extinct}}
*** Maritime division {{extinct}}
**** '''[[Lower Chehalis]]''' {{extinct}}
**** '''[[Quinault language|Quinault]]''' {{extinct}}
** ''Tillamook'' {{extinct}}
*** '''[[Tillamook language|Tillamook]]''' {{extinct}}
** ''Interior Salish''
*** Northern
**** '''[[Shuswap language|Shuswap]]'''
**** '''[[Lillooet language|Lillooet]]'''
**** '''[[Thompson language|Thompson River Salish]]'''
*** Southern
**** '''[[Coeur d'Alene language|Coeur d’Alene]]'''
**** '''[[Columbia-Moses language|Columbia-Moses]]''' {{extinct}}{{efn|name=rev1}}
**** '''[[Colville-Okanagan]]'''
**** '''[[Montana Salish]]'''
{{tree list/end}}
|}

==== Detailed overview ====
{| class="mw-collapsible"
|+
|-
|{{tree list}}
* '''[[Nuxalk language|Nuxalk]]''' (also: Bella Coola, Salmon River)
** [[Kimsquit]]
** [[Nuxalk]]
** [[Kwatna]]
** [[Tallheo]]
{{tree list/end}}
|-
|{{tree list}}
* '''[[Central Salish languages|Central Salish]]''' (a.k.a. Coast Salish)
** '''[[Comox language|Comox]]''' (Also: Éyɂáɂjuuthem)
*** [[Island Comox]] (also: ʔayʔajusəm, Qʼómox̣ʷs, Kʼómoks) {{extinct}}
*** [[Mainland Comox]] (also: ʔayajuθəm, Sliammon, Tla A'min)
** '''[[Halkomelem language|Halkomelem]]'''
*** Island (also: Hulʼq̱ʼumiʼnumʼ, Həl̕q̓əmín̓əm̓)
**** [[Cowichan Tribes|Cowichan]]
**** [[Snuneymuxw First Nation|Snuneymuxw]] and [[Nanoose First Nation|Snaw-Na-Was]]
**** [[Halalt First Nation|Halalt]]
**** [[Stz'uminus First Nation|Stz'uminus (Chemainus)]]
**** [[Lamalcha]]
**** [[Malahat First Nation|Malahat]]
**** [[Penelakut]]
**** [[Lyackson First Nation|Lyackson]]
**** [[Lake Cowichan First Nation|Lake Cowichan]]
*** Downriver (also: Hunqʼumʔiʔnumʔ)
**** [[Musqueam Indian Band|Musqueam]]
**** [[Katzie]]
**** [[Kwantlen First Nation|Kwantlen]]
**** [[Snokomish]]
**** [[Tsawwassen First Nation|Tsawwassen]]
**** [[Kwikwetlem]]
**** [[Tsleil-waututh First Nation|Tsleil-waututh]]
*** Upriver (also: Upper Sto:lō, Halqʼəméyləm)
**** [[Sts'Ailes]]
**** Chilliwack area bands
**** Tait
**** [[Skway]]
** '''[[Lushootseed]]''' (also: dxʷləšucid, Puget Salish, Skagit-Nisqually) {{extinct}}{{efn|name=rev1}}
*** Northern
**** [[Skagit (language)|Skagit]] (also: sqaǰət)
**** [[Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe of Washington#Language|Sauk-Suiattle]] (also: saʔqʷəbixʷ)
**** [[Snohomish (tribe)|Snohomish]] (also: sduhubš)
*** [[Southern Lushootseed|Southern]]
**** [[Duwamish (tribe)|Duwamish-Suquamish]] (also: dxʷdəwʔabš)
**** [[Puyallup (tribe)|Puyallup]] (also: spuyaləpabš)
**** [[Nisqually (tribe)|Nisqually]] (also: dxʷsqʷaliʔabš)
** '''[[Nooksack language|Nooksack]]''' (also: Łə́čələsəm, Łə́čælosəm) {{extinct}}{{efn|name=rev1}}
** '''[[Pentlatch language|Pentlatch]]''' (also: Pənƛ̕áč) {{extinct}}{{efn|name=rev1}}
** '''[[Shíshálh language|Sechelt]]''' ({{lang|sec|sháshíshalh-em}})<ref>{{Cite web |title=sháshíshalh-em |url=https://www.firstvoices.com/she-shashishalhem/words/7b88188b-52f8-40da-862b-46325f40b893 |website=[[FirstVoices]]}}</ref>
** '''[[Squamish language|Squamish]]''' (also: Sḵwx̱wú7mesh snichim, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Sqwxwu7mish, Sqʷx̣ʷúʔməš)
** Straits Salish group (also: Straits)
*** '''[[Klallam language|Klallam]]''' (also: Clallam, nəxʷsƛ̕áy̓emúcən) {{extinct}}{{efn|name=rev1}}
**** Becher Bay
**** Eastern
**** Western
*** '''[[North Straits Salish languages|Northern Straits]]''' (also: Straits)
**** [[Lummi dialect|Lummi]] (also: Xwlemiʼchosen, Xʷləmiʔčósən) {{extinct}}{{efn|name=rev1}}
**** [[Saanich dialect|Saanich]] (also: SENĆOŦEN, Sənčáθən, Sénəčqən)
**** [[North Straits Salish language|Samish]] (also: Siʔneməš)
**** [[Semiahmoo people|Semiahmoo]] (also: Tah-tu-lo) {{extinct}}
**** [[T'Sou-ke Nation|T'Sou-ke]] (also: Sooke, C̓awk) {{extinct}}
**** [[Songhees]] (also: Lək̓ʷəŋín̓əŋ) {{extinct}}
** '''[[Twana language|Twana]]''' (also: Skokomish, Sqʷuqʷúʔbəšq, Tuwáduqutšad) {{extinct}}
*** [[Quilcene]]
*** [[Skokomish (tribe)|Skokomish]] (also: Sqʷuqʷúʔbəšq)
{{tree list/end}}
|-
|{{tree list}}
* {{vanchor|'''[[Tsamosan languages|Tsamosan]]'''}} (a.k.a. Olympic Salish) {{extinct}}{{efn|name=rev1}}
** Inland division {{extinct}} 
*** '''[[Cowlitz language|Cowlitz]]''' (also: ƛʼpúlmixq) {{extinct}}{{efn|name=rev1}}
*** '''[[Upper Chehalis]]''' (also: Q̉ʷay̓áyiɬq̉) {{extinct}}
**** Oakville Chehalis
**** Satsop
**** Tenino Chehalis
** Maritime division {{extinct}}
*** '''[[Lower Chehalis]]''' (also: Łəw̓ál̕məš) {{extinct}}
**** [[Humptulips]]
**** Westport-Shoalwater
**** Wynoochee
*** '''[[Quinault language|Quinault]]''' (also: Kʷínayɬ) {{extinct}}
**** [[Queets]]
**** [[Quinault people|Quinault]]
{{tree list/end}}
|-
|{{tree list}}
* '''[[Tillamook language|Tillamook]]''' (also: Hutyéyu) {{extinct}}
** [[Siletz (tribe)|Siletz]]
** Tillamook
*** Garibaldi-Nestucca
*** [[Nehalem (people)|Nehalem]]
{{tree list/end}}
|-
|{{tree list}}
* '''Interior Salish'''
** Northern
*** '''[[Shuswap language|Shuswap]]''' (also: Secwepemctsín, səxwəpməxcín)
**** Eastern
***** Kinbasket
***** Shuswap Lake
**** Western
***** Canim Lake
***** Chu Chua
***** Deadman's Creek–Kamloops
***** Fraser River
***** Pavilion-Bonaparte
*** '''[[Lillooet language|Lillooet]]''' (also: Lilloet, St'át'imcets)
**** Lillooet-Fountain
**** Mount Currie–Douglas
*** '''[[Thompson language|Thompson River Salish]]''' (also: Nlakaʼpamux, Ntlakapmuk, nɬeʔkepmxcín, Thompson River, Thompson Salish, Thompson, known in frontier times as the Hakamaugh, Klackarpun, Couteau or Knife Indians)
**** Lytton
**** Nicola Valley
**** [[Spuzzum First Nation|Spuzzum]]–Boston Bar
**** Thompson Canyon
** Southern
*** '''[[Coeur d'Alene language|Coeur d’Alene]]''' (also: Snchitsuʼumshtsn, snčícuʔumšcn)
*** '''[[Columbia-Moses language|Columbia-Moses]]''' (also: Columbia, Nxaʔamxcín) {{extinct}}{{efn|name=rev1}}
**** Chelan
**** Entiat
**** [[Sinkiuse-Columbia|Columbian]]
**** Wenatchee (also: Pesquous)
*** '''[[Colville-Okanagan]]''' (also: Okanagan, Nsilxcín, Nsíylxcən, ta nukunaqínxcən)
**** Northern
***** Quilchena & Spaxomin
***** [[Sinixt dialect|Sinixt sn-selxcin]]
***** Penticton
***** Similkameen
***** Vernon
**** Southern
***** Colville-Inchelium
***** Methow
***** San Poil–Nespelem
***** Southern Okanogan
*** '''[[Montana Salish]]''' (Kalispel–Pend d'Oreille language, Spokane–Kalispel–Bitterroot Salish–Upper Pend d'Oreille)
**** [[Bitterroot Salish]] (also: Séliš, Bitterroot, Flathead)
**** Kalispel
***** [[Chewelah]]
***** [[Salish-Spokane-Kalispel language|Kalispel]] (also: Qalispé, Lower Pend d'Oreille, Lower Kalispel)
***** Upper Pend d’Oreille (also: Sɫq̓etk͏ʷmsčin̓t, Čłqetkʷmcin, Qlispé, Upper Kalispel)
**** [[Spokane (tribe)|Spokane]] (also: Npoqínišcn)
{{tree list/end}}
|}

== Genetic relations ==
No relationship to any other language family is well established.

[[Edward Sapir]] suggested that the Salishan languages might be related to the [[Wakashan languages|Wakashan]] and [[Chimakuan languages]] in a hypothetical [[Mosan languages|Mosan]] family. This proposal persists primarily through Sapir's stature: with little evidence for such a family, no progress has been made in reconstructing it.<ref>Beck (2000).</ref>

The Salishan languages, principally [[Chehalis language|Chehalis]], contributed greatly to the vocabulary of the [[Chinook Jargon]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

== Family features ==

* Post-velar [[vowel harmony|harmony]] (more areal)
* Presence of syllables without vowels
* Grammatical [[reduplication]]
* Nonconcatenation ([[infix]]es, [[Metathesis (linguistics)|metathesis]], [[glottalization]])
* Tenselessness
* Nounlessness (controversial)

== Syntax ==
The syntax of Salish languages is notable for its word order (verb-initial), its valency-marking, and the use of several forms of negation.

=== Word order ===
Although there is a wide array of Salish languages, they all share some basic traits. All are verb initial languages, with VSO (verb-subject-object) being the most common word order. Some Salishan languages allow for VOS and SVO as well. There is no case marking, but central noun phrases will often be preceded by determiners while non-central NPs will take prepositions. Some Salishan languages are [[Ergative-absolute|ergative]], or [[Split ergativity|split-ergative]], and many take unique object agreement forms in passive statements. In the St'át'imcets (Lillooet Salish) language, for example, absolutive relative clauses (including a head, like "the beans", and a restricting clause, like "that she re-fried", which references the head) omit person markers, while ergative relative clauses keep person makers on the subject, and sometimes use the topic morpheme ''-tali''. Thus, St'át'imcets is split-ergative, as it is not ergative all the time.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Roberts |first=Taylor |date=1999 |title=Grammatical Relations and Ergativity in St'át'imcets (Lillooet Salish) |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/466391 |journal=International Journal of American Linguistics |language=en |volume=65 |issue=3 |pages=275–302 |doi=10.1086/466391 |issn=0020-7071 |jstor=1265788 |s2cid=143415352 |access-date=9 December 2020|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Subject and object pronouns usually take the form of affixes that attach to the verb. All Salish languages are head-marking. Possession is marked on the possessed noun phrase as either a prefix or a suffix, while person is marked on predicates. In Central Salish languages like Tillamook and Shuswap, only one plain NP is permitted aside from the subject.

=== Valency-marking ===

Salishan languages are known for their polysynthetic nature. A verb stem will often have at least one [[affix]], which is typically a suffix. These suffixes perform a variety of functions, such as [[Transitivity (grammar)|transitive]], [[causative]], [[Reciprocal construction|reciprocal]], [[Reflexive verb|reflexive]], and [[Applicative voice|applicative]]. Applicative affixes seem to be present on the verb when the direct object is central to the event being discussed, but is not the theme of the sentence. The direct object may be a recipient, for example. It may also refer to a related noun phrase, like the goal a verb intends to achieve, or the instrument used in carrying out the action of the verb. In the sentence ‘The man used the axe to chop the log with’, the axe is the instrument and is indicated in Salish through an applicative affix on the verb.

Applicative affixes increase the number of affixes a verb can take on, that is, its syntactic [[Valency (linguistics)|valence]]. They are also known as "transitivizers" because they can change a verb from intransitive to transitive. For example, in the sentence 'I got scared.', 'scared' is intransitive. However, with the addition of an applicative affix, which is syntactically transitive, the verb in Salish becomes transitive and the sentence can come to mean ‘I got scared of you.’. In some Salishan languages, such as Sḵwx̲wú7mesh, the transitive forms of verbs are morphologically distinctive and marked with a suffix, while the intransitive forms are not.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kuipers |first=Aert H. |date=1968 |title=The categories verb-noun and transitive-intransitive in English and Squamish |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0024384168900806 |journal=Lingua |language=en |volume=21 |pages=610–626 |doi=10.1016/0024-3841(68)90080-6 |access-date=18 November 2020|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In others such as Halkomelem, intransitive forms have a suffix as well. In some Salish languages, transitivizers can be either controlled (the subject conducted the action on purpose) or limited-control (the subject did not intend to conduct the action, or only managed to conduct a difficult action).<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Jacobs |first=Peter William |title=Control in Skwxwú7mesh |date=2011 |publisher=University of British Columbia |url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0071786 |doi=10.14288/1.0071786 |location=Vancouver |access-date=17 December 2020}}</ref>

These transitivizers can be followed by object suffixes, which come to modern Salishan languages via Proto-Salish. Proto-Salish had two types of object suffixes, neutral (regular transitive) and causative (when a verb causes the object to do something or be in a certain state), that were then divided into first, second, and third persons, and either singular or plural. Tentative reconstructions of these suffixes include the neutral singular *-c (1st person), *-ci (2nd person), and *-∅ (3rd person), the causative singular *-mx (1st), *-mi (2nd), and *-∅ (3rd), the neutral plural *-al or *-muɬ (1st), *-ulm or *-muɬ (2nd), and the causative plural *-muɬ (1st and 2nd). In Salishan languages spoken since Proto-Salish, the forms of those suffixes have been subject to vowel shifts, borrowing pronoun forms from other languages (such as Kutenai), and merging of neutral and causative forms (as in Secwepemc, Nlaka'pamuctsin, Twana, Straits Salishan languages, and Halkomelem).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Newman |first=Stanley |date=1979 |title=The Salish Object Forms |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/465612 |journal=International Journal of American Linguistics |language=en |volume=45 |issue=4 |pages=299–308 |doi=10.1086/465612 |issn=0020-7071 |jstor=1264720 |s2cid=143874319 |access-date=7 December 2020|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Three patterns of negation ===
There are three general patterns of negation among the Salishan languages. The most common pattern involves a negative predicate in the form of an impersonal and intransitive stative verb, which occurs in sentence initial position. The second pattern involves a sentence initial negative particle that is often attached to the sentence's subject, and the last pattern simply involves a sentence initial negative particle without any change in inflectional morphology or a determiner/complementizer. In addition, there is a fourth restricted pattern that has been noted only in Squamish.

== Nounlessness ==
Salishan languages (along with the [[Wakashan]] and the extinct [[Chimakuan]] languages) exhibit predicate/argument flexibility. All content words are able to occur as the head of the [[predicate (grammar)|predicate]] (including words with typically 'noun-like' meanings that refer to entities) or in an [[argument (linguistics)|argument]] (including those with 'verb-like' meanings that refer to events). Words with noun-like meanings are automatically equivalent to [be + NOUN] when used predicatively, such as [[Lushootseed]] {{lang|lut|sbiaw}} which means '(is a) coyote'. Words with more verb-like meanings, when used as arguments, are equivalent to [one that VERBs] or [VERB+er]. For example, Lushootseed {{lang|lut|ʔux̌ʷ}} means '(one that) goes'.

The following examples are from [[Lushootseed]].

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Sentence (1a)
| colspan="3" style="text-align:center" | {{lang|lut|ʔux̌ʷ ti sbiaw}}
|-
! Morphemes
| {{lang|lut|'''ʔux̌ʷ'''}} || {{lang|lut|ti}} || {{lang|lut|'''sbiaw'''}}
|-
! Gloss
| go || SPEC || coyote
|-
! Kinkade interpretation
| goes || that which || is a coyote
|-
! Syntax
| Predicate || colspan="2" style="text-align:center" | Subject
|-
! Translation
| colspan="3" style="text-align:left" | The/a coyote goes.
|-
|-
| colspan="4" style="text-align:left" |
|-
! Sentence (1b)
| colspan="3" style="text-align:center" | {{lang|lut|sbiaw ti ʔux̌ʷ}}
|-
! Morphemes
| {{lang|lut|'''sbiaw'''}} || {{lang|lut|ti}} || {{lang|lut|'''ʔux̌ʷ'''}}
|-
! Gloss
| coyote || SPEC || go
|-
! Kinkade interpretation
| is a coyote || that which || goes
|-
! Syntax
| Predicate || colspan="2" style="text-align:center" | Subject
|-
! Translation
| colspan="3" style="text-align:left" | The one who goes is a coyote.
|}

An almost identical pair of sentences from [[St’át’imcets]] demonstrates that this phenomenon is not restricted to Lushootseed.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Sentence (2a)
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center" | {{lang|lil|t’ak tink’yápa}}
|-
! Morphemes
| {{lang|lil|'''t’ak'''}} || {{lang|lil|ti-}} || {{lang|lil|'''nk’yap'''}} || {{lang|lil|-a}}
|-
! Gloss
| go.along || DET- || coyote || -DET
|-
! Kinkade interpretation
| goes along || that which || is a coyote ||
|-
! Syntax
| Predicate || colspan="3" style="text-align:center" | Subject
|-
! Translation
| colspan="4" style="text-align:left" | The/a coyote goes along.
|-
|-
| colspan="5" style="text-align:left" |
|-
! Sentence (2b)
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center" | {{lang|lil|nk’yap tit’áka}}
|-
! Morphemes
| {{lang|lil|'''nk’yap'''}} || {{lang|lil|ti-}} || {{lang|lil|'''t’ak'''}} || {{lang|lil|-a}}
|-
! Gloss
| coyote || DET- || go.along || -DET
|-
! Kinkade interpretation
| is a coyote || that which || goes along ||
|-
! Syntax
| Predicate || colspan="3" style="text-align:center" | Subject
|-
! Translation
| colspan="4" style="text-align:left" | The one going along is a coyote.
|}

This and similar behaviour in other Salish and Wakashan languages has been used as evidence for a complete lack of a lexical distinction between nouns and verbs in these families. This has become controversial in recent years. David Beck of the University of Alberta contends that there is evidence for distinct lexical categories of 'noun' and 'verb' by arguing that, although any distinction is neutralised in predicative positions, words that can be categorised as 'verbs' are marked when used in syntactic argument positions. He argues that Salishan languages are omnipredicative, but only have 'uni-directional flexibility' (not 'bi-directional flexibility'), which makes Salishan languages no different from other omnipredicative languages such as [[Arabic]] and [[Nahuatl]], which have a clear lexical noun-verb distinction.

Beck does concede, however, that the Lushootseed argument {{lang|lut|ti ʔux̌ʷ}} ('the one who goes', shown in example sentence (1b) above) does represent an example of an unmarked 'verb' used as an argument and that further research may potentially substantiate [[Dale Kinkade]]'s 1983 position that all Salishan content words are essentially 'verbs' (such as {{lang|lut|ʔux̌ʷ}} 'goes' and {{lang|lut|sbiaw}} 'is a coyote') and that the use of any content word as an argument involves an underlying relative clause. For example, with the determiner {{lang|lut|ti}} translated as 'that which', the arguments {{lang|lut|ti ʔux̌ʷ}} and {{lang|lut|ti sbiaw}} would be most literally translated as 'that which goes' and 'that which is a coyote' respectively.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rijkhoff |first1=Jan |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/26032/chapter/193935978 |title=Flexible word classes: typological studies of underspecified parts of speech |last2=Lier |first2=Eva Helena van |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-966844-1 |edition=1 |location=Oxford |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199668441.003.0007 |access-date=2013-11-20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Cable |first=Seth |url=http://people.umass.edu/scable/PNWSeminar/handouts/Lex/Lexical-Categories.pdf |title=Lexical Categories in the Salish and Wakashan Languages |access-date=2013-11-20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kinkade |first=M. Dale |author-link=Dale Kinkade |date=1983-05-01 |title=Salish evidence against the universality of 'noun' and 'verb' |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0024-3841%2883%2990045-1 |journal=Lingua |volume=60 |issue=1 |pages=25–39 |doi=10.1016/0024-3841(83)90045-1 |issn=0024-3841|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== Historical linguistics ==

There are twenty-three languages in the Salishan language family. They occupy the [[Pacific Northwest]], with all but two of them being concentrated together in a single large area. It is clear that these languages are related, but it is difficult to track the development of each because their histories are so interwoven. The different speech communities have interacted a great deal, making it nearly impossible to decipher the influences of varying dialects and languages on one another. However, there are several trends and patterns that can be historically traced to generalize the development of the Salishan languages over the years.

The variation between the Salishan languages seems to depend on two main factors: the distance between speech communities and the geographic barriers between them. The diversity between the languages corresponds directly to the distance between them. Closer proximity often entails more contact between speakers, and more linguistic similarities are the result. Geographic barriers like mountains impede contact, so two communities that are relatively close together may still vary considerably in their language use if there is a mountain separating them.

The rate of change between neighboring Salishan languages often depends on their environments. If for some reason two communities diverge, their adaptation to a new environment can separate them linguistically from each other. The need to create names for tools, animals, and plants creates an array of new vocabulary that divides speech communities. However, these new names may come from borrowing from neighboring languages, in which case two languages or dialects can grow more alike rather than apart. Interactions with outside influences through trade and intermarriage often result in language change as well.

Some cultural elements are more resilient to language change, namely, religion and folklore. Salishan language communities that have demonstrated change in technology and environmental vocabulary have often remained more consistent with their religious terminology. Religion and heavily ingrained cultural traditions are often regarded as sacred, and so are less likely to undergo any sort of change. Indeed, cognate lists between various Salishan languages show more similarities in religious terminology than they do in technology and environment vocabulary.  Other categories with noticeable similarities include words for body parts, colors, and numbers. There would be little need to change such vocabulary, so it is more likely to remain the same despite other changes between languages. The Coast Salishan languages are less similar to each other than are the Interior Salishan languages, probably because the Coast communities have more access to outside influences.

Another example of language change in the Salishan language family is word taboo, which is a cultural expression of the belief in the power of words.  Among the Coast languages, [[Taboo against naming the dead|a person's name becomes a taboo word immediately following their death]]. This taboo is lifted when the name of the deceased is given to a new member of their lineage. In the meantime, the deceased person's name and words that are phonetically similar to the name are considered taboo and can only be expressed via descriptive phrases. In some cases these taboo words are permanently replaced by their chosen descriptive phrases, resulting in language change.

== In popular culture ==
[[Stanley Evans (author)|Stanley Evans]] has written a series of crime fiction novels that use Salish lore and language.{{Clarify|reason=What book series?|date=June 2023}}

An episode of ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' ("[[Stargate SG-1 (season 2)#ep35|Spirits]]", 2x13) features a culture of extraterrestrial humans loosely inspired by Pacific coastal First Nations culture, and who speak a language referred to as "ancient Salish".

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist|25em}}

== Bibliography ==
*Beck, David. (2000). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/30028547 Grammatical Convergence and the Genesis of Diversity in the Northwest Coast Sprachbund]. ''Anthropological Linguistics'' 42, 147–213.
* [[Franz Boas|Boas, Franz]], et al. (1917). ''Folk-Tales of Salishan and Sahaptin Tribes''. Memoirs of the American Folk-Lore Society, 11. Lancaster, Pa: American Folk-Lore Society.
* Czaykowska-Higgins, Ewa; & [[Dale Kinkade|Kinkade, M. Dale]] (Eds.). (1997). ''Salish Languages and Linguistics: Theoretical and Descriptive Perspectives''. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. {{ISBN|3-11-015492-7}}.
* Davis, Henry. (2005). [https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/430577 On the Syntax and Semantics of Negation in Salish]. International Journal of American Linguistics 71.1, January 2005.
* Davis, Henry. and [[Lisa Matthewson|Matthewson, Lisa]]. (2009). Issues in Salish Syntax and Semantics. Language and Linguistics Compass, 3: 1097–1166. Online.
* {{Cite journal |last=Elmendorf |first=William W. |date=1969 |title=Geographic Ordering, Subgrouping, and Olympic Salish |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1264689 |journal=International Journal of American Linguistics |volume=35 |issue=3 |pages=220–225 |doi=10.1086/465057 |jstor=1264689 |issn=0020-7071|url-access=subscription }}
* Flathead Culture Committee. (1981). ''Common Names of the Flathead Language''. St. Ignatius, Mont: The Committee.
* {{Cite book |last=Jorgensen |first=Joseph G. |url=https://archive.org/details/salishlanguagecu0003jorg |title=Salish Language and Culture: A Statistical Analysis of Internal Relationships, History, and Evolution |publisher=[[Indiana University Publications]] |year=1969 |series=Language Science Monographs |volume=3 |location=Bloomington, IN}}
* Kiyosawa, Kaoru; Donna B. Gerdts. (2010). ''Salish Applicatives''. Leiden, Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV.
* Kroeber, Paul D. (1999). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=8cG3O582tWEC The Salish Language Family: Reconstructing Syntax]''. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press in cooperation with the American Indian Studies Research Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington.
* Kuipers, Aert H. (2002). ''Salish Etymological Dictionary''. Missoula, MT: Linguistics Laboratory, University of Montana. {{ISBN|1-879763-16-8}}
* Liedtke, Stefan. (1995). ''Wakashan, Salishan and Penutian and Wider Connections Cognate Sets''. Linguistic Data on Diskette Series, no. 09. Munchen: Lincom Europa.
* Pilling, James Constantine. (1893). ''Bibliography of the Salishan Languages''. Washington: G.P.O.
* Pilling, James Constantine (2007). ''Bibliography of the Salishan Languages''. Reprint by Gardners Books. {{ISBN|978-1-4304-6927-8}}
* Silver, Shirley; Wick R. Miller. (1997). ''American Indian languages: Cultural and Social Contexts''. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
*{{Cite book |last=Hamill |first=Chad |url=http://www.songsofpowerandprayer.com/media/ |title=Songs of power and prayer in the Columbia Plateau: the Jesuit, the medicine man, and the Indian hymn singer |date=2012 |publisher=Oregon State University Press |isbn=978-0-87071-675-1 |location=Corvallis |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925162712/http://www.songsofpowerandprayer.com/media/ |archive-date=2015-09-25 |url-status=dead}} Salishan language hymns.
* Thompson, Laurence C. (1973). The Northwest. In T. A. Sebeok (Ed.), ''Linguistics in North America'' (pp.&nbsp;979–1045). Current Trends in Linguistics (Vol. 10). The Hague: Mouton.
* Thompson, Laurence C. (1979). Salishan and the Northwest. In L. Campbell & M. Mithun (Eds.), ''The Languages of Native America: Historical and Comparative Assessment'' (pp.&nbsp;692–765). Austin: University of Texas Press.
* {{Cite book |last1=Thompson |first1=Laurence C. |title=Northwest Coast |last2=Kinkade |first2=M. Dale |author-link2=Dale Kinkade |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]] |year=1990 |series=Handbook of North American Indians |volume=7 |pages=30–51 |chapter=Languages}}

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary|Salish}}
{{sister project |project=wiktionary |text=[[Wiktionary]] has a list of reconstructed forms at '''''[[Wiktionary:Appendix:Proto-Salishan reconstructions|Appendix:Proto-Salishan reconstructions]]'''''}}
* [https://www.ydli.org/biblios/salbib.htm Bibliography of Materials on Salishan Languages] <small>(YDLI)</small>
* [https://web.archive.org/web/19970219200228/http://grizzly.umt.edu/ling/umopl/titles.htm University of Montana Occasional Papers in Linguistics (UMOPL)] <small>(Native languages of the Northwest)</small>
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061011010514/http://home.istar.ca/~bthom/salish-rev.htm Coast Salish Culture: an Outline Bibliography]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050611084224/http://collections.ic.gc.ca/salish/ph2/trad/salish.htm Coast Salish Collections]
* [https://sites.itservices.cas.unt.edu/~montler/salishan/icsnl.htm International Conference on Salish and Neighboring Languages]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051022090907/http://listserv.linguistlist.org/archives/salishan.html The Salishan Studies List] <small>(Linguist List)</small>
* [https://www.sfu.ca/halk-ethnobiology/ Native Peoples, Plants & Animals: Halkomelem]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051023061528/http://www.ling.unt.edu/~montler/Saanich/ Saanich] <small>([[Timothy Montler]]'s site)</small>
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050420013044/http://www.ling.unt.edu/~montler/Klallam/index.htm Klallam] <small>(Timothy Montler's site)</small>
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050629021725/http://www.lib.montana.edu/~bcoon/nwcst.html A Bibliography of Northwest Coast Linguistics]
* [http://www.ydli.org/bcother/bclist.htm#sal Classification of the Salishan languages reflecting current scholarship]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061004020749/http://salishworld.com/ Nkwusm Salish Language Institute]
* [https://tulaliplushootseed.com/ Tulalip Lushootseed Language Web Site]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080105071939/http://archive.phonetics.ucla.edu/Language/FLA/FLA.html Recordings of Montana Salish Wordlists with phonetic transcription] <small> by [[Peter Ladefoged]] </small>

{{Salishan languages}}
{{Language families}}
{{North American languages}}

{{Indigenous peoples in Washington}}

[[Category:Salishan languages| ]]
[[Category:Agglutinative languages]]
[[Category:Language families]]
[[Category:Mosan languages]]