| Haisla | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in | Central British Columbia coast inlet, Douglas Channel head, near Kitimat |
| Ethnicity | Haisla people |
| Native speakers | 250 (date missing) |
| Language family |
Wakashan
|
| Dialects |
Kitamaat
Kitlope
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | has |
The Haisla language is a First Nations language spoken by the Haisla people of the North Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, who are based in the village of Kitaamat 10 km from the town of Kitimat at the head of the Douglas Channel, a 120 km fjord that serves as a waterway for the Haisla as well as for the aluminum smelter and accompanying port of the town of Kitimat. The Haisla and their language, along with that of the neighbouring Heiltsuk and Wuikinuxv peoples, were in the past incorrectly called "Northern Kwakiutl".
The name Haisla is derived from the Haisla word x̣àʼisla or x̣àʼisəla '(those) living at the rivermouth, living downriver'.
Haisla is a Northern Wakashan (Kwakiutlan) language spoken by several hundred people. Haisla is geographically the northernmost Wakashan language. Its nearest Wakashan neighbor is Oowekyala. Haisla is related to the other North Wakashan languages, Oowekyala, Heiltsuk, and Kwak'wala. The Haisla language consists of two dialects, sometimes defined as sublanguages – Kitamaat and Kitlope (also known as X̣enaksialak’ala).