Heiltsuk dialect

Heiltsuk
Bella Bella
Spoken in Northern Central Coast Regional District, British Columbia, Canada
Ethnicity Heiltsuk people
Language family
Wakashan
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Linguist List hei-hai
  hei-bel
  hei-bbl

Heiltsuk (English pronunciation: /ˈheɪltsʊk/), also known as Bella Bella and Haihais, is a dialect of the North Wakashan (Kwakiutlan) language Heiltsuk-Oowekyala that is spoken by the Haihai (Xai'xais) and Bella Bella First Nations peoples of the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, around the communities of Bella Bella and Klemtu, British Columbia. Bella Bella is the headquarters of the Heiltsuk Nation government.

Heiltsuk is considered to be a subdialect of Heiltsuk-Oowekyala, which like neighbouring Haisla and Kwak'wala are part of the Northern Wakashan language group.

External links

Bibliography