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Nuxálk language
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Nuxálk (also Bella Coola) is a Salishan language spoken in the vicinity of the Canadian town Bella Coola, British Columbia by approximately 20-30 elders. Until recently, the language was called Bella Coola, but the native designation Nuxálk is now preferred.
Though the number of truly fluent speakers has not increased, the language is now taught in both the provincial school system and the Nuxálk Nation's own school, Acwsalcta, which means "a place of learning".
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Encyclopedia
Nuxálk (also Bella Coola) is a Salishan language spoken in the vicinity of the Canadian town Bella Coola, British Columbia by approximately 20-30 elders. Until recently, the language was called Bella Coola, but the native designation Nuxálk is now preferred.
Though the number of truly fluent speakers has not increased, the language is now taught in both the provincial school system and the Nuxálk Nation's own school, Acwsalcta, which means "a place of learning". Nuxálk language classes, if taken to at least the Grade 11 level, are considered adequate second language qualifications for entry to the major B.C. universities.
Sounds
Consonants
The 28 consonants of Nuxálk:
Vowels
| | Front | Central | Back |
|---|
| High | | | | | Low | | | |
Syllables
The notion of syllable is challenged by Nuxálk in that it allows long strings of consonants without any intervening vowel or other sonorant. Salishan languages, and especially Nuxálk, are famous for this. For instance, the following word contains only obstruents:
-
-
- 'he had had in his possession a bunchberry plant.'
- (Nater 1984, cited in Bagemihl 1991: 16)
Other examples are:
'shape, mold'
'bend'
'bunchberry'
'he arrived'
'little boy'
'saliva'
'northeast wind'
'cut with scissors'
'animal fat'
'that's my animal fat over there'
'seal fat'
'strong'
'go to shore'
'crooked'
Linguists disagree as to how to count the syllables in such words, what if anything constitutes the nuclei of those syllables, and if the concept of 'syllable' is even applicable to Nuxálk. Some assign every stop consonant in such words to a separate syllable, whereas others attempt to consolidate them. For example, 'strong' at first appears to be a single syllable with as the syllable nucleus. However, 'little boy' (phonemically ) may be thought of as having one syllable or two . If one, would make an unusual nucleus, with the syllable onset; and if two, both and would be considered nuclei, since most theoretical approaches require every syllable to have a nucleus, as part of the definition of 'syllable'. If that assumption is relaxed, so that Nuxálk syllables can be modeled without nuclei, then 'strong' could be thought of as onset and coda of a single syllable, but it would still not be clear if the and of 'little boy' should be considered onset and coda of one syllable, or two onset-only syllables.
Grammar
Events
The first element in a sentence expresses the event of the proposition. It inflects for the person and number of one (in the intransitive paradigm) or two (in the transative paradigm) participants.
| Intr. inflection | Singular | Plural |
|---|
| First Person | -c | -(i)l |
|---|
| Second Person | -nu | -(n)ap |
|---|
| Third Person | -Ø or -s | -(n)aw |
|---|
E.g. ??ikm-Ø ti-wac?-tx 'the dog is running'.
Whether the parenthesized segments are included in the suffix depends on whether the stem ends in an underlying resonant (vowel, liquid, nasal) and whether it is non-syllabic. So qa?la 'drink' becomes qa?la-l 'we drink', qa?la-nap 'you (pl.) drink', qa?la-naw 'they drink', but nuyaml 'sing' becomes nuyaml-il 'we're singing', nuyaml-ap 'you (pl.) are singing', nuyaml-aw 'they're singing'.
However, the choice of the 3ps marker -Ø or -s is conditioned by semantics rather than phonetics. For example, the sentences tix-s ti-?imlk-tx and tix-Ø ti-?imlk-tx could both be glossed 'it's the man', but the first is appropriate if the man is the one who is normally chosen, while the second is making an assertation that it is the man (as opposed to someone else, as might otherwise be thought) who is chosen.
The following are the possible person markers for transitive verbs, with empty cells indications non-occurring combinations and '--' identifying semantic combinations which require the reflexive suffix -cut- followed by the appropriate intransitive suffix:
Transitive
inflection | Experiencer: |
|---|
| Singular | Plural |
|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|
| Executor | Sg | 1 | -- | -cinu | -ic | | -tulap | -tic |
|---|
| 2 | -cx? | -- | -ix? | -tulnu | | -tix? |
|---|
| 3 | -cs | -ct | -is | -tuls | -tap | -tis |
|---|
| Pl | 1 | | -tulnu | -il | -- | -tulap | -til |
|---|
| 2 | -cap | | -ip | -tulp | -- | -tip |
|---|
| 3 | -cant | -ct | -it | -tult | -tap | -tit |
|---|
|
E.g. sp?-is ti-?imlk-tx ti-stn-tx 'the man struck the tree'.
Whether a word can serve as an event isn't determined lexically, e.g. ?immllki-Ø ti-nus?ul?-tx 'the thief is a boy', nus?ul?-Ø ti-q?s-tx 'the one who is ill is a thief'.
There is a further causative paradigm whose suffixes may be used instead:
Transitive
inflection | Experiencer: |
|---|
| Singular | Plural |
|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|
| Executor | Sg | 1 | -- | -tuminu | -tuc | | -tumulap | -tutic |
|---|
| 2 | -tumx? | -- | -tux? | -tumulx? | | -tutix? |
|---|
| 3 | -tum | -tumt | -tus | -tumuls | -tutap | -tutis |
|---|
| Pl | 1 | | -tumulnu | -tul | -- | -tumulap | -tutil |
|---|
| 2 | -tumanp | | -tup | -tumulp | -- | -tutip |
|---|
| 3 | -tumant | -tumt | -tut | -tumult | -tutap | -tutit |
|---|
|
This has a passive counterpart:
| Passive Causative | Singular | Plural |
|---|
| First Person | -tuminic | -tuminil |
|---|
| Second Person | -tumt | -tutap |
|---|
| Third Person | -tum | -tutim |
|---|
|
This may also have a benefactive gloss when used with events involving less activity of their participant (e.g. nuyaml-tus ti-?imlk-tx ti-?immllki-tx 'the man made/let the boy sing'/'the man sang for the boy'), while in events will more active participants only the causative gloss is possible. In the later group even more active verbs have a preference for the affix-lx- (implying passive experience) before the causative suffix.
The executor in a transitive sentence always precedes the experiencer. However, when an event is proceeded by a lone participant, the semantic content of the event determines whether the participant is an executor or an experiencer. This can only be determined syntactically if the participant is marked by the preposition ?ul-, which marks the experience.
Some events are inherently transitive or intransitive, but some may accept multiple valencies (e.g. ?anayk 'to be needy'/'to want [something]').
Prepositions may mark experiencers, and must mark implements. Any participants which are not marked by prepositions are focussed. There are three voices, which allow either the executor, the experiencer, or both to have focus:
- Active voice - neither is marked with prepositions.
- Passive voice - the event may have different suffixes, and the executor may be omitted or marked with a preposition
- Antipassive voice - the event is marked with the affix -a- before personal markers, and the experiencer is marked with a preposition
The affix -amk- (-yamk- after the antipassive marker -a-) allows an implement to have its preposition removed and to be focused. For example:
- nuyaml-Ø ti-man-tx ?ul-ti-mna-s-tx x-ti-syut-tx 'the father sang the song to his son'
- nuyaml-amk-is ti-man-tx ti-syut-tx ?ul-ti-mna-s-tx 'the father sang the song to his son'
Prepositions
There are four prepositions which have broad usage in Nuxálk. According to (Davis and Saunders, 1997) the distinctions between them can be summed up by this table:
| Prepositions | Proximal | Distal |
|---|
| Stative | x- | ?al- |
|---|
| Active | ?ul- | wixll- |
|---|
|
Deixis
Nuxálk has a set of deictic prefixes and suffixes which serve to identify items as instantiations of domains rather than domains themselves and to locate them in deictic space. Thus the sentences wac?-Ø ti-??ikm-tx and ti-wac?-Ø ti-??ikm-tx, both 'the one that's running is a dog', are slightly different - similar to the difference between the English sentences 'the visitor is Canadian' and 'the visitor is a Canadian' respectively.
The deixis system has a proximal/medial/distal and a non-demonstrative/demonstrative distinction. Demonstratives may be used when finger pointing would be appropriate (or in distal space when something previously mentioned is being referred to).
Proximal demonstrative space roughly corresponds to the area of conversation, and proximal non-demonstrative may be viewed as the area in which one could attract another's attention without raising one's voice. Visible space beyond this is middle demonstrative, space outside of this but within the invisible neighborhood is medial non-demonstrative. Everything else is distal, and non-demonstrative if not mentioned earlier.
The deictic prefixes and suffixes are as follows:
Deictic
Suffixes | Proximal | Medial | Distal |
|---|
Non-Demon-
strative | Demon-
strative | Non-Demon-
strative | Demon-
strative | Non-Demon-
strative | Demon-
strative |
|---|
| Masculine | -tx | -t?ayx | -l | -t?a? | -t? | -ta? |
|---|
| Feminine | -cx | -c?ayx | -l | -?il?ayl | -?il | -?il |
|---|
| Plural | -c | -?ac | -l | -t?a?? | -t?? | -tu? |
|---|
|
Female affixes are used only when the particular is singular and identified as female; if not, even if the particular is inanimate, masculine or plural is used.
The deictic suffixes only have a proximal vs. non-proximal distinction, and no demonstrative distinction:
Deictic
Prefixes | Proximal | Medial and Distal |
|---|
| Masculine | ti- | ta- |
|---|
| Feminine | ci- | la- (?il-) |
|---|
| Plural | wa- | ta- (tu-) |
|---|
|
tu- is used in earlier varieties and some types of narratives, except for middle non-demonstrative, and the variant ?il- may be used "in the same collection of deictic space".
While events are not explicitely marked for tense per se, deixis plays a strong role in determining when the proposition is being asserted to occur. So in a sentence like mus-is ti-?immllki-tx ta-q?lsx?-t?a? 'the boy felt that rope', the sentence is perceived as having a near-past (same day) interpretation, as the boy cannot be touching the rope in middle space from proximal space. However this does not hold for some events, like k?x 'to see'.
A distal suffix on any participant lends the event a distant past interpretation (before the past day), a medial suffix and no distal suffix lends a near past time, and if the participants are marked as proximal the time is present.
Not every distal participant occurs in past-tense sentences, and vice versa -- rather, the deictic suffixes must either represent positions in space, time, or both.
Pronouns
| Pronouns | Singular | Plural |
|---|
| Speaker | ?nc | lmil |
|---|
| Listener | ?inu | lup |
|---|
Non-speaker/
listener | tix,cix | wix |
|---|
|
See also
Bibliography
- Bruce Bagemihl (1998). Maximality in Bella Coola (Nuxalk). In E. Czaykowska-Higgins & M. D. Kinkade (Eds.), Salish languages and linguistics: Theoretical and descriptive perspectives (pp. 71-98). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
- Philip W. Davis & Ross Saunders (1978). Bella Coola syntax. In E.-D. Cook & J. Kaye (Eds.), Linguistic studies of native Canada (pp. 37-66). Vancouver: University of British Columbia.
- Philip W. Davis & Ross Saunders (1980). Bella Coola texts. British Columbia Provincial Museum heritage record (No. 10). Victoria: British Columbia Provincial Museum. ISBN 0-7718-8206-8.
- Philip W. Davis & Ross Saunders (1997). A grammar of Bella Coola. University of Montana occasional papers in linguistics (No. 13). Missoula, MT: University of Montana. ISBN 1-8797-6313-3.
- Forrest, Linda. (1994). The de-transitive clause in Bella Coola: Passive vs inverse. In T. Givón (Ed.), Voice and inversion (pp. 147-168). Amsterdam: Benjamins.
- Mithun, Marianne. (1999). The languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23228-7 (hbk); ISBN 0-521-29875-X.
- Montler, Timothy. (2004-2005). (Handouts on Salishan language family).
- Nater, Hank F. (1977). Stem list of the Bella Coola language. Lisse: Peter de Ridder.
- Nater, Hank F. (1984). The Bella Coola language. Mercury series; Canadian ethonology service (No. 92). Ottawa: National Museums of Canada.
- Nater, Hank F. (1990). A concise Nuxalk-English dictionary. Mercury series; Canadian ethonology service (No. 115). Hull, Quebec: Canadian Museum of Civilization. ISBN 0-6601-0798-8.
- Newman, Stanley. (1947). Bella Coola I: Phonology. International Journal of American Linguistics, 13, 129-134.
- Newman, Stanley. (1969). Bella Coola grammatical processes and form classes. International Journal of American Linguistics, 35, 175-179.
- Newman, Stanley. (1969). Bella Coola paradigms. International Journal of American Linguistics, 37, 299-306.
- Newman, Stanley. (1971). Bella Coola reduplication. International Journal of American Linguistics, 37, 34-38.
- Newman, Stanley. (1974). Language retention and diffusion in Bella Coola. Language in Society, 3, 201-214.
- Newman, Stanley. (1976). Salish and Bella Coola prefixes. International Journal of American Linguistics, 42, 228-242.
- Newman, Stanley. (1989). Lexical morphemes in Bella Coola. In M. R. Key & H. Hoenigswald (Eds.), General and Amerindian ethnolinguistics: In remembrance of Stanley Newman (pp. 289-301). Contributions to the sociology of language (No. 55). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 0-8992-5519-1.
- Davis, Phillip W., and Ross Saunders. A Grammer of Bella Coola. University of Montana, 1997.
External links
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- . Phonology information on Languagegeek.
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