The Gitxsan language /ˈɡɪtsæn/,[2] or Gitxsanimaax (also rendered Gitksan, Giatikshan, Gityskyan, Giklsan and Sim Algyax[3]), is an endangered Tsimshianic language of northwestern British Columbia, closely related to the neighboring Nisga’a language. The two groups are, however, politically separate and prefer to refer to Gitxsan and Nisga'a as distinct languages. According to the Report on the status of B.C First Nations Languages[4] there are 523 fluent speakers, 639 that understand or somewhat speak and 344 learning speakers.[4]
| Gitxsan | |
|---|---|
| Gitxsanimaax, Gitxsanimx | |
| Native to | Canada |
| Region | Skeena region, British Columbia |
| Ethnicity | 5,680 Gitxsan |
Native speakers | 1,020 (2016 census)[1] |
Tsimshianic
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | git |
| Glottolog | gitx1241 |
| ELP | Gitsenimx̱ |
 Gitksan is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
| People | Gitx̱san |
|---|---|
| Language | Gitxsanimaax |
| Country | Gitx̱san Lax̱yip |
Gitxsan means "People of the Skeena River" (Ksan being the name of the Skeena in Gitxsan).
Dialects
editGitxsan language is primarily separated into Geenix[3] or Eastern and Gyeets[3] or Western Gitxsan, although each village has its own dialect. The Geenix[3] or Eastern villages include Kispiox (Ansbayaxw), Glen Vowell (Sigit'ox), and Hazelton (Git-an'maaxs). The Gyeets[3] or Western villages include Kitwanga (Gjtwjngax), Gitanyow (Git-antaaw) and Kitseguecla (Gijigyukwhla). The main differences between dialects include a lexical shift in vowels and stop lenition use present only in the Eastern dialects. The largest differences in language and culture exist between Eastern and Western Gitxsan, rather than between each village.[5]
History and usage
editThe University of Northern British Columbia and Siiwiixo'osxwim Wilnataahl Gitksan Society (Gitksan Language Society) set up a Developmental Standard Term Certificate program offered through Northwest Community College, with all courses offered in Hazelton, BC. The program is designed to help revitalize Gitxsan language by allowing those who complete it to teach language and culture courses at the elementary and secondary school level in the community.[6]
In the spring of 2018, an online dictionary app was released in collaboration with members of Gitksan Nation and researchers at the University of British Columbia. The app includes various dialects of Gitxsan, and includes audio from different villages. Flashcards, stories, and histories are also included in addition to functioning as a dictionary. This app is based on a print dictionary produced in 1973 by Lonnie Hindle and Bruce Rigsby. With its launch, the app briefly held a top spot in Google Play's education category and accumulated around 500 downloads in its first week.[7]
Phonology
editThe Gitxsan inventory is as follows:[5][8]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i iː | u uː | |
| Mid | eː | ə | oː |
| Low | a aː |
The mid and high vowels are nearly in complementary distribution, suggesting that Gitxsan once had a three-vowel system. Short mid vowels are emerging. Schwa only occurs in unstressed syllables. /eː/ and /oː/ have short allophones [e] and [o] in certain positions.
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Pre-velar | Labialized velar |
Uvular | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| central | lateral | ||||||||
| Stop | plain | p | t | kʲ ⟨k⟩ | kʷ ⟨kw⟩ | q ⟨ḵ⟩ | ʔ ⟨ꞌ⟩ | ||
| glottalized | pˀ | tˀ | kʲˀ ⟨kꞌ⟩ | kʷˀ ⟨kwꞌ⟩ | qˀ ⟨ḵꞌ⟩ | ||||
| Affricate | plain | t͡s ⟨ts⟩ | |||||||
| glottalized | t͡sˀ ⟨tsꞌ⟩ | t͡ɬˀ ⟨tlꞌ⟩ | |||||||
| Fricative | s | ɬ ⟨hl⟩ | xʲ ⟨x⟩ | xʷ ⟨xw⟩ | χ ⟨x̱⟩ | h | |||
| Sonorant | plain | m | n | l | j ⟨y⟩ | w | |||
| glottalized | mˀ ⟨ꞌm⟩ | nˀ ⟨ꞌn⟩ | lˀ ⟨ꞌl⟩ | jˀ ⟨ꞌy⟩ | wˀ ⟨ꞌw⟩ | ||||
Voiceless stops have voiced allophones [b d d͡z ɡʲ ɡʷ ɢ]. The pre-velar obstruents become velar before /s/ and /l/. The lax glottalized stops "display a creaky voice quality at the margin of the vowel in pretonic (and syllable-final) environments."[8] The glottalized consonants may be ejective in word-initial position, but otherwise "are characterized by glottal closure preceding the oral closure." The ejective allophones are lenis, and are therefore sometimes perceived as voiced. Lenis ejectives are unusual for the area, but are also found in neighboring Witsuwitʼen. The glottalized sonorants are preglottalized even in word-initial position. Glottalization ranges from a full glottal stop [ʔC] to creaky voice [C̰].[5]
References
edit- ^ "Language Highlight Tables, 2016 Census - Aboriginal mother tongue, Aboriginal language spoken most often at home and Other Aboriginal language(s) spoken regularly at home for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census – 100% Data". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Government of Canada, Statistics. 2 August 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
- ^ "Pronunciation Guide to First Nations in British Columbia". Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. Archived from the original on 2014-01-23. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
- ^ a b c d e "GITXSAN LANGUAGE RESOURCES". GITXSAN LANGUAGE RESOURCES. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
- ^ a b Report on the Status of B.C. First Nations Languages 2018. Britt Dunlop, Suzanne Gessner, Tracey Herbert. Brentwood Bay, BC, CA. 2018. ISBN 978-0-9868401-9-7. OCLC 1138040760.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ a b c Brown, Jason; Davis, Henry; Schwan, Michael; Sennott, Barbara (2016). "Gitksan". Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 46 (3): 367–378. doi:10.1017/S0025100315000432.
- ^ "Gitksan Students Complete Coursework". University of Northern British Columbia. August 10, 2005. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
- ^ Muir, Cassidy (May 22, 2019). "Gitksan Dictionary Goes Mobile". The Interior News. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
- ^ a b Rigsby, Bruce; Ingram, John (1990). "Obstruent Voicing and Glottalic Obstruents in Gitksan". International Journal of American Linguistics. 56 (2): 251–263. doi:10.1086/466152. JSTOR 1265131. S2CID 143894491.
Further reading
edit- Bicevskis, Katie; Davis, Henry; Matthewson, Lisa (2017). "Quantification in Gitksan". In Paperno, Denis; Keenan, Edward L. (eds.). Handbook of Quantifiers in Natural Language: Volume II. Studies in Linguistics and Philosophy. Vol. II. Springer. pp. 281–382. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-44330-0_6. ISBN 978-3-319-44328-7.
- Brown, Jason; Davis, Henry; Schwan, Michael; Sennott, Barbara (2016). "Gitksan". Illustrations of the IPA. Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 46 (3): 367–378. doi:10.1017/S0025100315000432.
- Halpin, Marjorie, and Margaret Seguin (1990) "Tsimshian Peoples: Southern Tsimshian, Coast Tsimshian, Nishga, and Gitksan." In Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 7: Northwest Coast, ed. by Wayne Suttles, pp. 267–284. Washington: Smithsonian Institution).
- Hindle, Lonnie and Bruce Rigsby (1973) A Short Practical Dictionary of the Gitksan language, Northwest Anthropological Research Notes 1:1-60.
- Matthewson, Lisa (2013). "Gitksan Modals". International Journal of American Linguistics. 79 (3): 349–394. doi:10.1086/670751. S2CID 224806943.
External links
edit- Official website of the Gitxsan People
- First Voices Gitsenimx̱ community language portal
- First Nations Languages of British Columbia Gitksan page, with link to bibliography
- A Selection of Prayers Translated from the Book of Common Prayer in the Giatikshan Language for Use at the Public Services 1881 translation by Anglican missionary William Ridley
- OLAC resources in and about the Gitxsan language
- ELAR archive of Gitskan