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Changing short description from "Endangered Tsimshianic language of Canada" to "Tsimshianic language of Canada" |
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{{Short description|Tsimshianic language of Canada}}
{{Infobox language
| name = Gitxsan
| nativename = {{lang|git|Gitxsanimaax}}, {{lang|git|Gitxsanimx}}
| states = [[Canada]]
| region = [[Skeena River|Skeena region]], [[British Columbia]]
| ethnicity = 5,680 [[Gitxsan people|Gitxsan]]
| speakers = 1,020
| date = 2016 census
| ref = <ref name="census">{{Cite web
| familycolor =
| fam1 = [[Tsimshianic languages|Tsimshianic]]
| fam2 = [[Nisga'a language|Nass]]–Gitksan
| iso3 = git
| glotto = gitx1241
| glottorefname = Gitxsan
| map = File:Tsimshianic_map.svg
| mapcaption = {{legend|#fd9d7d|Gitxsan}}
| map2 = Lang Status 40-SE.svg
| mapcaption2 = {{center|{{small|Gitksan is classified as Severely Endangered by the [[UNESCO]] ''[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]''}}}}
}}
{{Infobox ethnonym|root=|person=|people=[[Gitxsan|Gitx̱san]]|language=Gitxsanimaax|country=Gitx̱san Lax̱yip}}
'''Gitxsan''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|ɪ|t|s|æ|n}},<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pronunciation Guide to First Nations in British Columbia |url=http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100022848/1100100022849 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140123044647/http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100022848/1100100022849 |archive-date=2014-01-23 |access-date=2014-01-07 |website=Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada |language=en}}</ref> or '''''Gitxsanimaax''''' (also rendered ''Gitksan, Giatikshan, Gityskyan, Giklsan and Sim Algyax''<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=GITXSAN LANGUAGE RESOURCES |url=http://www.gitxsansimalgyax.com/ |access-date=2022-12-22 |website=GITXSAN LANGUAGE RESOURCES |language=en}}</ref>), is an endangered [[Tsimshianic languages|Tsimshianic language]] of northwestern [[British Columbia]], closely related to the neighboring [[Nisga’a language]]. The two groups are, however, politically separate and prefer to refer to Gitxsan and Nisga'a as distinct languages. According to the Report on the status of B.C First Nations Languages<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=Report on the Status of B.C. First Nations Languages 2018 |date=2018 |others=Britt Dunlop, Suzanne Gessner, Tracey Herbert |isbn=978-0-9868401-9-7 |___location=Brentwood Bay, BC, CA |oclc=1138040760}}</ref> there are 523 fluent speakers, 639 that understand or somewhat speak and 344 learning speakers.<ref name=":1" />
[[Gitxsan]] means "People of the [[Skeena River]]" ({{lang|git|Ksan}} being the name of the Skeena in Gitxsan).
== Dialects ==
Gitxsan language is primarily separated into Geenix<ref name=":0" /> or Eastern and Gyeets<ref name=":0" /> or Western Gitxsan, although each village has its own dialect. The Geenix<ref name=":0" /> or Eastern villages include [[Kispiox]] (Ansbayaxw), [[Glen Vowell]] (Sigit'ox), and [[Hazelton, British Columbia|Hazelton]] (Git-an'maaxs). The Gyeets<ref name=":0" /> or Western villages include [[Kitwanga]] (Gjtwjngax), [[Gitanyow]] (Git-antaaw) and [[Gitsegukla|Kitseguecla]] (Gijigyukwhla). The main differences between dialects include a lexical shift in vowels and stop lenition use present only in the Eastern dialects. The largest differences in language and culture exist between Eastern and Western Gitxsan, rather than between each village.<ref name="IPA">{{Cite journal |last1=Brown
The University of Northern British Columbia and Siiwiixo'osxwim Wilnataahl Gitksan Society (Gitksan Language Society) set up a Developmental Standard Term Certificate program offered through Northwest Community College, with all courses offered in Hazelton, BC. The program is designed to help revitalize Gitxsan language by allowing those who complete it to teach language and culture courses at the elementary and secondary school level in the community.
In the spring of 2018, an online dictionary app was released in collaboration with members of Gitksan Nation and researchers at the University of British Columbia. The app includes various dialects of Gitxsan, and includes audio from different villages. Flashcards, stories, and histories are also included in addition to functioning as a dictionary. This app is based on a print dictionary produced in 1973 by Lonnie Hindle and Bruce Rigsby. With its launch, the app briefly held a top spot in Google Play's education category and accumulated around 500 downloads in its first week.<ref>{{Cite news
==Phonology==
The Gitxsan inventory is as follows:<ref name=IPA/><ref name=JIPA>
{|class="wikitable
|+Gitxsan vowels
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[High vowel|High]]
| {{IPA link|i}} {{IPA link|iː}} || || {{IPA link|u}} {{IPA link|uː}}
|-
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|eː}} || {{IPA link|ə}} || {{IPA link|oː}}
|-
![[Low vowel|Low]]
| || {{IPA link|a}} {{IPA link|aː}} ||
|}
The mid and high vowels are nearly in complementary distribution, suggesting that Gitxsan once had a three-vowel system. Short mid vowels are emerging. Schwa only occurs in unstressed syllables. /
{| class="wikitable
|+Gitxsan consonants
|-
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! rowspan="2" | [[Stop consonant|Stop]]
!<small>plain</small>
| {{IPA link|p}}
| {{IPA link|t}}
|
|
| {{IPA link|kʲ}} {{angbr|k}}
| {{IPA link|kʷ}} {{angbr|kw}}
| {{IPA link|q}} {{angbr|ḵ}}
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ʔ}} {{angbr|ꞌ}}
|-
![[
| {{IPA link|pˀ}}
| {{IPA link|tˀ}}
|
|
| {{IPA link|kʲˀ}} {{angbr|kꞌ}}
| {{IPA link|kʷˀ}} {{angbr|kwꞌ}}
| {{IPA link|qˀ}} {{angbr|ḵꞌ}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Affricate]]
!<small>plain</small>
|
| {{IPA link|t͡s}} {{angbr|ts}}
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
![[
|
| {{IPA link|t͡sˀ}} {{angbr|tsꞌ}}
| {{IPA link|t͡ɬˀ}} {{angbr|tlꞌ}}
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Fricative]]
|
| {{IPA link|s}}
| {{IPA link|ɬ}} {{angbr|hl}}
|
| {{IPA link|xʲ}} {{angbr|x}}
| {{IPA link|xʷ}} {{angbr|xw}}
| {{IPA link|χ}} {{angbr|x̱}}
| {{IPA link|h}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[
!<small>plain</small>
| {{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA link|n}}
| {{IPA link|l}}
| {{IPA link|j}} {{angbr|y}}
|
| {{IPA link|w}}
|
|
|-
![[Glottalic consonant|<small>glottalized</small>]]
| {{IPA link|mˀ}} {{angbr|ꞌm}}
| {{IPA link|nˀ}} {{angbr|ꞌn}}
| {{IPA link|lˀ}} {{angbr|ꞌl}}
| {{IPA link|jˀ}} {{angbr|ꞌy}}
|
| {{IPA link|wˀ}} {{angbr|ꞌw}}
|
|
|}
Voiceless stops have voiced allophones {{IPA|[b d d͡z ɡʲ ɡʷ ɢ]}}. The pre-velar obstruents become velar before {{IPA|/s/}} and {{IPA|/l/}}.
The lax glottalized stops "display a creaky voice quality at the margin of the vowel in pretonic (and syllable-final) environments."<ref name=JIPA/>
The glottalized consonants may be [[ejective]] in word-initial position, but otherwise "are characterized by glottal closure preceding the oral closure." The ejective allophones are [[lenis]], and are therefore sometimes perceived as voiced. Lenis ejectives are unusual for the area, but are also found in neighboring [[Witsuwitʼen language|Witsuwitʼen]]. The glottalized sonorants are preglottalized even in word-initial position. Glottalization ranges from a full glottal stop {{IPA|[ʔC]}} to creaky voice {{IPA|[C̰]}}.<ref name=IPA/>
==References==
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==Further reading==
* {{
* {{Cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=Jason |last2=Davis |first2=Henry |last3=Schwan |first3=Michael |last4=Sennott |first4=Barbara |date=2016 |title=Gitksan |department=Illustrations of the IPA |journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association |language=en |volume=46 |issue=3 |pages=367–378 |doi=10.1017/S0025100315000432 |doi-access=free}}
* [[Marjorie Halpin|Halpin, Marjorie]], and Margaret Seguin (1990) "Tsimshian Peoples: Southern Tsimshian, Coast Tsimshian, Nishga, and Gitksan." In ''Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 7: Northwest Coast,'' ed. by Wayne Suttles, pp. 267–284. Washington: Smithsonian Institution).
* Hindle, Lonnie and Bruce Rigsby (1973) ''A Short Practical Dictionary of the Gitksan language,'' Northwest Anthropological Research Notes 1:1-60.
* {{Cite journal |last=Matthewson |first=Lisa |date=2013 |title=Gitksan Modals |journal=International Journal of American Linguistics |language=en |volume=79 |issue=3 |pages=349–394 |doi=10.1086/670751 |s2cid=224806943}}
==External links==
* [http://www.gitxsan.com Official website of the Gitxsan People]
* [https://archive.today/20130116081110/http://www.firstvoices.ca/scripts/WebObjects.exe/FirstVoices.woa/wa/enterLanguageArchive?archive=02d830a123efe761 First Voices Gitsenimx̱ community language portal]
* [http://www.ydli.org/langs/gitksan.htm First Nations Languages of British Columbia Gitksan page, with link to bibliography]
* [http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/Canada/gitxsan.htm A Selection of Prayers Translated from the Book of Common Prayer in the Giatikshan Language for Use at the Public Services] 1881 translation by Anglican missionary [[William Ridley (bishop)|William Ridley]]
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{{Penutian languages}}
[[Category:Gitxsan|*L01]]
[[Category:Tsimshianic languages]]
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