Columbia-Moses language

Moses-Columbia
Columbia-Wenatchi
Nxaʔamxcín
Native toUnited States of America
Regionnorthern Idaho, eastern Washington
Ethnicity230 Wenatchi, Chelan, Sinkiuse-Columbia, Entiat (2000 census)[1]
ExtinctMay 2, 2023, with the death of Pauline Stensgar[1]
Salishan
Dialects
  • Columbian †
  • Wenatchi †
Language codes
ISO 639-3col
Glottologcolu1241
ELPColumbian
Columbian is classified as Extinct by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Moses-Columbia, or Columbia-Wenatchi (in Moses-Columbia: Nxaʔamxcín), is an extinct Southern Interior Salish language, also known as Nxaảmxcín. Speakers traditionally lived in the Colville Indian Reservation. The Columbia people were followers of Chief Moses.

There were two dialects, Columbia (Sinkiuse, Columbian) and Wenatchi (Wenatchee, Entiat, Chelan). Wenatchi was the heritage language of the Wenatchi, Chelan, and Entiat tribes, Columbian of the Sinkiuse-Columbia.

Pauline Stensgar, who died on May 2, 2023 at age 96, is reported to have been the last known fully fluent speaker.[2]

Phonology

Phonological inventory of the Columbia-Wenatchi dialect:

Consonants
Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal
central sibilant lateral plain lab. plain lab. plain lab.
Plosive/
Affricate 		plain p t ts k kʷ q qʷ ʔ
glottalized pʼ tʼ tsʼ tɬʼ kʼ kʷ’ qʼ qʷ’
Fricative s ɬ x xʷ χ χʷ ħ ħʷ h
Sonorant plain m n l j w ʕ ʕʷ
glottalized mˀ nˀ lˀ jˀ wˀ ʕˀ ʕʷˀ
Trill plain r
glottalized rˀ

The three vowels in Moses-Columbia are /i/, /a/, /u/. They are sometimes transcribed as [e]; /i/, [o]; /u/, and [æ]; /a/, and could also tend to sound unstressed, almost as a schwa sound, /ə/.

Vocabulary

Here is a Nxaʔamxcín sample word

  • Snkɬxwpáw’stn = ‘clothesline’ (Czaykowska-Higgins & Willett 1997) [3]

References

  1. ^ a b Moses-Columbia at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Hanlon, James (May 5, 2023). "Last fluent speaker of n̓xaʔm̓xčín̓ language dies at 96". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  3. ^ "View Chapters".

Further reading

  • Czaykowska-Higgins, Ewa and Paul Proulx. 2000. "REVIEWS - What's in a Word? Structure in Moses-Columbia Salish". International Journal of American Linguistics. 66, no. 3: 410.
  • Kinkade, M. Dale. Dictionary of the Moses-Columbia Language (Nxaʔamxcín). Nespelem, Wash: Colville Confederated Tribes, 1981.
  • Mattina, Nancy. 2006. "Determiner Phrases in Moses-Columbia Salish". International Journal of American Linguistics. 72, no. 1: 97.
  • Willet, Marie Louise. 2003." A Grammatical Sketch of Nxa'amxcin" PhD Thesis, University of Victoria.


Stub icon

This article related to the Indigenous languages of the Americas is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Stub icon

This Washington-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Stub icon

This language-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.