Gitxsan language

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gitxsan
gitxsanimaax
Spoken in: Canada 
Region: Skeena region (B.C.)
Total speakers: 1000
Language family: Gitxsan
 Gitxsan
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2:
ISO 639-3: git

Gitxsan (or Gitxsanimaax) is a First Nations language of northwestern British Columbia. It is a Tsimshianic language, 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. Gitxsanimaax is an endangered language, currently estimated to have no more than 1,000 speakers, of whom the great majority are elders. Few if any children grow up speaking it at home.

[edit] Bibliography

  • 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.
  • Rigsby, Bruce (1986) Gitksan Grammar. Unpublished manuscript, University of Queensland, Australia.

[edit] External links