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Saanich dialect

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saanich
SENĆOŦEN
Pronunciation[sənˈt͡ʃas̪ən]
Native toCanada, United States
RegionBritish Columbia, Washington
EthnicitySaanich people
Native speakers
ca. 5 (2014)[1]
SENĆOŦEN
Sometimes NAPA
Official status
Official language in
Pauquachin
Tsawout
Tsartlip
Tseycum
Language codes
ISO 639-3str (under Straits Salish)
Glottologsaan1246
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.
PeopleW̱SÁNEĆ
LanguageSENĆOŦEN
CountryÁLEṈENEȻ (TŦE W̱SÁNEĆ)[2][3][4]

Saanich (Saanich: SENĆOŦEN IPA: [sənˈt͡ʃas̪ən]) is the variety of North Straits Salish spoken by the Saanich people in the Pacific Northwest of North America. North Straits Salish is a dialect continuum, the varieties of which are closely related to the Klallam language.

Language revitalization efforts

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"The W̱SÁNEĆ School Board, together with the FirstVoices program for revitalizing Aboriginal languages, is working to teach a new generation to speak SENĆOŦEN" at the ȽÁU¸WELṈEW̱ Tribal School.[5][6] The first Grade 12 class is scheduled to graduate in June 2026.[7]

SENĆOŦEN texting, mobile app and portal

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A Saanich texting app was released in 2012.[8] A SENĆOŦEN iPhone app was released in October 2011.[9] An online dictionary, phrasebook, and language learning portal is available at the First Voices SENĆOŦEN Community Portal.[10]

Phonology

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Vowels

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Saanich has no rounded vowels in native vocabulary. As in many languages, vowels are strongly affected by uvular consonants.

Type Front Central Back
High i[a] u[b]
Mid e[c] ə[d]
Low ɑ[e]
  1. ^ /i/ is [ɪ] adjacent to a uvular or labio-uvular consonant, or preceding /ʔ/.[i]
  2. ^ The rounded close high back vowel /u/ is found only in loanwords, such as CEPU (/kəˈpu/) "coat", ultimately from French capote.[ii]
  3. ^ /e/ is [e̽]—rarely as low as [ɛ]—adjacent to a uvular or labio-uvular consonant or preceding /ʔ/. It is closer—almost [i]—next to a lateral, post-alveolar, or /w/.[iii] Montler (1986) had formerly stated this vowel never occurs as [æ], but later contradicted this claim in Montler (2018).[11]
  4. ^ /ə/ is generally mid central, but becomes [ɑ̽] adjacent to a uvular or labio-uvular, or a laryngeal obstruent, and especially between two such consonants, whether or not it is stressed. When unstressed, it is a close central [ɨ] following post-alveolars and before sonorants (including /ɴ/), and it is central rounded [ʉ] before the labialized obstruents.[iv]
  5. ^ /ɑ/ is [ɐ] before /j/. It is also affected by uvulars and /ʔ/, being more backed.[v]

Consonants

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The following table includes all the sounds found in the North Straits dialects. No one dialect includes them all. Plosives are not aspirated, but are not voiced either. Ejectives have weak glottalization.

Consonants[12][13][11]
Type Bilabial Dental Alveolar Post-
alveolar 		Velar Uvular Glottal
median lateral plain lab. plain lab.
Stop plain p t tʃ (k)[a] kʷ q qʷ ʔ
ejective pʼ t̪s̪ʼ[b] tʼ tɬʼ tʃʼ kʼʷ qʼ qʼʷ
Fricative s̪[b] s ɬ ʃ xʷ χ χʷ h
Sonorant plain m n l j w ɴ
glottalic m̰[c] n̰[c] l̰[c] j̰[c] w̰[c] ɴ̰[c]
  1. ^ The plain velar stop /k/ is found only in loanwords, as in CEPU (/kəˈpu/) above.[vi]
  2. ^ a b The dentals are most often realized as grooved fricatives, [s̪, t̪s̪ʼ], and are only rarely interdental as [θ, t̪θʼ].[vii]
  3. ^ a b c d e f The phonemic status of the glottalized sonorants (also known as resonants) in Salish languages is not agreed upon. Some linguists analyze them as unit phonemes, others as sequences of a plain sonorant and a glottal stop /ʔ/. For Saanich, Montler (1986) analyzes them as typically creaky voiced, though as [ʔR] following stress and [Rʔ] preceding stress; they do not occur in word-initial position.[viii] Montler (2018) reaffirms the creaky voice analysis.[11]

Montler (1986) originally described the dorsal consonants /k, xʷ, q, χ, ɴ/ (as well as their labialized and glottalic counterparts) as more fronted in their place of articulation than their typical IPA values, noting the velars to be articulated as pre-velar [k̟, x̟ʷ],[ix] and the uvulars as post-velar [k̠, x̠, ŋ̠].[x] However, later sources do not maintain this distinction, and simply describe them as velar and uvular.[14] This includes an updated description from Montler (2018), noting the velars as equivalent to English counterparts,[a] and the uvulars as having the tongue backed toward the uvula.[11]

Stress

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Saanich stress is phonemic. Each full word has one stressed syllable, either in the root or in a suffix, the position of which is lexically determined. "Secondary stress" is sometimes described, but this is merely a way of distinguishing lexical schwas (with "secondary stress", like all other vowels in a word) from epenthetic schwas ("unstressed").

Orthography

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Saanich alphabet
SENĆOŦEN
Sənčáθən
Script type
Period
1978 to present
LanguagesNorth Straits Salish language
Saanich language
Related scripts
Parent systems
ISO 15924
ISO 15924Latn (215), ​Latin
Unicode
Unicode alias
Latin
U+0000 to U+007E Basic Latin and punctuation

U+00CD (Í)
U+0106 (Ć)
U+015A (Ś)
U+0166 (Ŧ)
U+023A (Ⱥ)
U+023B (Ȼ)
U+023D (Ƚ)
U+023E (Ⱦ)
U+1E30 (Ḱ)

U+1DF48 (𝽈) [in the Unicode pipeline, approved for Unicode 18][15]
 This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

The Saanich orthography was created by Dave Elliott in 1978, by using a typewriter to combine Latin characters with other marks to create new characters.[16] It is a unicase alphabet, using only uppercase letters with the single exception of a lower-case s for the third person possessive suffix.[17]

SENĆOŦEN Orthography[18][11]
A Á Ⱥ B C Ć Ȼ D E H I Í
/e/ /ej/ /pʼ/ /k/ /tʃ/ /kʷ/ /tʼ/ /ə/ /h/ /i/ /əj/, /ɑj/
[ɛ ~ æ] [e]
J K 𝽈 (₭) Ḵ Ḱ L L¸ Ƚ M M¸ N N¸
/tʃʼ/ /qʼ/ /qʼʷ/ /q/ /qʷ/ /l/ /l̰/ /ɬ/ /m/ /m̰/ /n/ /n̰/
Ṉ Ṉ¸ O P Q S Ś T Ⱦ Ṯ Ŧ
/ɴ/ /ɴ̰/ /ɑ/ /p/ /kʼʷ/ /s/ /ʃ/ /t/ /t̪s̪ʼ/ /tɬʼ/ /s̪/
U U¸ W W̱ X X̱ Y Y¸ Z ¸ s
/u/, /w/ /əw̰/, /uʔ/ /w/ /xʷ/ /χ/ /χʷ/ /j/ /j̰/ /z/ /ʔ/ /-s/

The glottal stop /ʔ/ is written with a spacing cedilla ⟨¸⟩, or less formally with a comma ⟨,⟩. It is omitted at the beginning of words, and may be ignored in other contexts. The comma was the original orthography, but caused problems with electronic document searches and the like; Saanich dictionaries, spell-check, and increasingly common usage have switched to the cedilla, and in 2025 Unicode defined the spacing cedilla as a letter to prevent word breaks, another problem with the comma.

The suffixing ⟨-s⟩ is used to indicate third-person possessive (as in English his, hers, theirs, its). Occasionally, a prefixing /s/ is written as lowercase and attached instead to a previous word. According to Montler (2018), it also may appear in the middle of a word for unknown reasons.[11]

The vowel /e/ is usually written ⟨Á⟩, unless it occurs next to a uvular consonant (/q qʷ qʼ qʷʼ χ χʷ ɴ ɴʷ/), in which case it is written ⟨A⟩, and pronounced with a more open realization. The latter is rare in the language.[11]

The glottal stop ⟨¸⟩, glottalized sonorants ⟨L¸ M¸ N¸ Ṉ¸ U¸ Y¸⟩, and suffixing ⟨-s⟩ are not included in alphabetization. On the other hand, the letter ⟨Z⟩ is included as the last letter of the alphabet, as can be seen on the W̱SÁNEĆ School Board's official SENĆOŦEN website.[18] It is an outlier, as linguists have never mentioned the letter or sound in their studies, neither as a phoneme nor as an allophone of any other phonemes; according to the FirstVoices website, it only appears in SENĆOŦEN names.[19] It is not included as part of the alphabet in Montler (2018)'s dictionary.[11]

/VR̰/ often surfaces as [VʔR] when stressed, and this may be reflected in the orthography. For instance, [ʔeʔˈeʔlkʷəɴ] is spelled Á¸Á¸LȻEṈ rather than phonemic *Á¸ÁL¸ȻEṈ /ʔeʔˈel̰kʷəɴ/ in the Saanich dictionary, and [ʔaʔnχsət] is O¸NXSET rather than *ON¸XSET /ʔan̰χsət/.[20]

Example text

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Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

Saanich: EWENE SÁN E TŦE U¸ MEQ EȽTÁLṈEW̱ Ȼ SNI¸S SQÍEŦ E TŦE XĆṈINS.
U¸ XENENEȻEL TŦE U¸ MEQ EȽTÁLṈEW̱ E Ȼ SI¸ÁM¸TEṈS.
ĆŚḰÁLEȻEN TŦE U¸ MEQ SÁN.
͸ Ȼ S¸Á¸ITEṈS TŦE U¸ MEQ SÁN X̱EN¸IṈ E TŦE SĆÁ¸ĆE¸S.
IPA: /əwənə sen ə t̪s̪ʼə əw̰ məkʼʷ əɬtelɴəxʷ kʷ sniʔs skʼʷɑjəs̪ ə t̪s̪ʼə χt͡ʃɴins/
/əw̰ χənənəkʷəl t̪s̪ʼə əw̰ məkʼʷ əɬtelɴəxʷ kʷ siʔemʔtəɴs/
/t͡ʃʃqʷeləkʷen t̪s̪ʼə əw̰ məkʼʷ sen/
/əj̰ kʷ sʔeʔiteɴs t̪s̪ʼə əw̰ mekʼʷ sen χʷənʔiɴ ə t̪s̪ʼə st͡ʃeʔt͡ʃəʔs/
English original: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

Unicode

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In 2004, four letters from the Saanich alphabet were added to the Unicode standard,[21] and the barred K was accepted in 2024.[15] In 2025, the properties of the spacing cedilla were changed to accommodate Saanich.[22]

Grammar

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Metathesis

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In Saanich, metathesis is used as a grammatical device to indicate "actual" aspect. The actual aspect is most commonly translated into English using the be + -ing progressive construction. It is formed from the “nonactual” verb form through a CV → VC metathesis process, in which the consonant and vowel switch positions.

     ŦX̱ÉT 'shove' (nonactual) → ŦÉX̱T 'shoving' (actual)
     ṮPÉX̱ 'scatter' (nonactual) → ṮÉPX̱ 'scattering' (actual)
     ȾȽÉQ 'pinch' (nonactual) → ȾÉȽQ 'pinching' (actual)

Notes

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  1. ^ With the comparisons /k/ with kick /kɪk/, /kʷ/ with quick /kwɪk/, /w/ with wow /waʊ/, and /xʷ/ with which /hwɪtʃ/
  1. ^ Montler (1986), §1.2.1
  2. ^ Montler (1986), §1.2
  3. ^ Montler (1986), §1.2.2
  4. ^ Montler (1986), §1.2.4
  5. ^ Montler (1986), §1.2.3
  6. ^ Montler (1986), §1.1
  7. ^ Montler (1986), §1.1.1.2
  8. ^ Montler (1986), §1.1.2
  9. ^ Montler (1986), §1.1.1.6
  10. ^ Montler (1986), §1.1.1.7-8

References

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  1. ^ There were 6 speakers of North Straits Salish in 8 of the 10 communities in 2014,[1] and 3 speakers of the only other surviving dialect in 2011.[2] Archived 2016-05-13 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Á¸LEṈENEȻ ȽTE – Our Homeland". W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council. W̱SÁNEĆ Nation. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  3. ^ "SENĆOŦEN Survival School". W̱SÁNEĆ School Board. W̱SÁNEĆ Nation. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  4. ^ W̱SÁNEĆ School Board; Swallow, Tye (30 November 2018). "Chapter 9 – Learning from the Homeland: An Emerging Process for Indigenizing Education". In Williams, Wanosts'a7 Lorna; Snively, Gloria (eds.). Knowing Home: Braiding Indigenous Science with Western Science, Book 2. ePublishing Services, University of Victoria Libraries. ÁLEṈENEȻ means "homeland" in the SENĆOŦEN language.
  5. ^ "Daily Fact #9: There are over 50 First Nations languages in Canada". Miss Teen Southern British Columbia. Archived from the original on 2017-11-27. Retrieved 2013-06-02.
  6. ^ "ȽÁU¸WELṈEW̱ Tribal School". Archived from the original on 2 January 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  7. ^ McKay, Jackie (March 2, 2025). "Refuge for the people". CBC News. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  8. ^ Renee Lewis (2012-08-02). "Indigenous tap new app to save old languages". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  9. ^ "FirstVoices Apps". FirstVoices. Retrieved 2012-10-04.
  10. ^ "FirstVoices: SENĆOŦEN Community Portal". Retrieved 2025-07-15.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h Montler, Timothy (2018). SENĆOŦEN: A Dictionary of the Saanich Language (PDF) (Electronic ed.). University of Washington Press & W̱SÁNEĆ School Board. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-12-13.
  12. ^ Leonard, Janet (2009), "Preliminary Investigation of the Relationship between Morphology and Phonology in SENĆOŦEN (Saanich)", Working Papers of the Linguistics Circle, 19 (1): 141–152, ISSN 1920-440X
  13. ^ Bird, Sonya; Leonard, Janet (2009), "Universality of Articulatory Conflict Resolution: Evidence from Salish Languages" (PDF), Northwest Journal of Linguistics, 3 (2): 1–29
  14. ^ Leonard, Janet (2007), "A Preliminary Account of Stress in SENĆOŦEN" (PDF), Northwest Journal of Linguistics, 1 (4): 1–59
  15. ^ a b L2/24-234r, pp. 6, 14-15
  16. ^ Dave Elliott and the SENÇOÎEN Alphabet
  17. ^ Bill, Cayou & Jim (2003: 15)
  18. ^ a b "Alphabet". SENĆOŦEN.ORG.
  19. ^ "Alphabet | SENĆOŦEN". FirstVoices.
  20. ^ "SENĆOŦEN Word List: English Index". Archived from the original on 2019-08-28. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
  21. ^ Elliot, John (May 5, 2004). "Proposal to Add Four SENĆOŦEN Latin Charaters" (PDF). Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  22. ^ Unicode® Standard Annex #29 - Unicode Text Segmentation

Bibliography

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  • Bill, Adriane; Cayou, Roxanne; Jim, Jacquelin (2003), NEȾE NEḰȺ SḴELÁLṈEW̱ [One Green Tree], Victoria, B.C.: First Peoples' Cultural Foundation & ȽÁU¸WELṈEW̱ Tribal School, ISBN 1-4120-0626-0
  • 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 (1986), "An Outline of the Morphology and Phonology of Saanich, North Straits Salish", Occasional Papers in Linguistics (4), Missoula, MT: University of Montana Linguistics Laboratory (Web version of the author's PhD dissertation, University of Hawaiʻi).
  • Montler, Timothy. (1996). Languages and Dialects in Straits Salishan. Proceedings of the International Conference on Salish and Neighboring Languages, 31, 249–256.
  • Montler, Timothy. (1999). Language and Dialect Variation in Straits Salishan. Anthropological Linguistics, 41 (4), 462–502.
  • Montler, Timothy. (2018). SENĆOŦEN: A Dictionary of the Saanich Language. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
  • Thompson, Laurence; Thompson, M. Terry; & Efrat, Barbara. (1974). Some Phonological Developments in Straits Salish. International Journal of American Linguistics, 40, 182–196.
  • YELḰÁTȾE [Claxton, Earl, Sr.]; & STOLȻEȽ [Elliot, John, Sr.]. (1994). Reef Net Technology of the Saltwater People. Brentwood Bay, B.C.: Saanich Indian School Board.
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