Gitxsan language: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Endangered Tsimshianic language of Canada}}

{{Infobox language

| name = Gitxsan

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| glotto = gitx1241

| glottorefname = Gitxsan

| map = Lang Status 40-SEFile: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}}

The '''Gitxsan language''' {{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 |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1138040760 |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 |first1=Jason |last2=Davis |first2=Henry |last3=Schwan |first3=Michael |last4=Sennott |first4=Barbara |date=2016 |title=Gitksan |journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association |language=en |volume=46 |issue=3 |pages=367–378 |doi=10.1017/S0025100315000432|doi-access=free }}</ref>

== History and usage ==

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The Gitxsan inventory is as follows:<ref name=IPA/><ref name=JIPA>{{Cite journal |last1=Rigsby |first1=Bruce |last2=Ingram |first2=John |date=1990 |title=Obstruent Voicing and Glottalic Obstruents in Gitksan |journal=International Journal of American Linguistics |language=en |volume=56 |issue=2 |pages=251–263 |doi=10.1086/466152 |jstor=1265131|s2cid=143894491 }}</ref>

{|class="wikitable IPA" style=text-align:center

|+Gitxsan vowels

!

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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. /eː/ and /oː/ have short allophones [e] and [o] in certain positions.

{| class="wikitable IPA" style=text-align:center

|+Gitxsan consonants

|-

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! rowspan="2" | [[Stop consonant|Stop]]

!<small>plain</small>

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|p}}

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|t}}

|

|

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|kʲ}} {{angbr|k}}

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|kʷ}} {{angbr|kw}}

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|q}} {{angbr|ḵ}}

| rowspan="2" | {{IPAlinkIPA link|ʔ}} {{angbr|ꞌ}}

|-

![[glottalic consonant|<small>glottalized</small>]]

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|pˀ}}

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|tˀ}}

|

|

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|kʲˀ}} {{angbr|kꞌ}}

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|kʷˀ}} {{angbr|kwꞌ}}

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|qˀ}} {{angbr|ḵꞌ}}

|-

! rowspan="2" | [[Affricate]]

!<small>plain</small>

|

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|t͡s}} {{angbr|ts}}

|

|

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![[glottalic consonant|<small>glottalized</small>]]

|

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|t͡sˀ}} {{angbr|tsꞌ}}

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|t͡ɬˀ}} {{angbr|tlꞌ}}

|

|

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! colspan="2" | [[Fricative]]

|

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|s}}

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|ɬ}} {{angbr|hl}}

|

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|xʲ}} {{angbr|x}}

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|xʷ}} {{angbr|xw}}

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|χ}} {{angbr|x̱}}

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|h}}

|-

! rowspan="2" | [[Sonorant]]

!<small>plain</small>

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|m}}

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|n}}

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|l}}

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|j}} {{angbr|y}}

|

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|w}}

|

|

|-

![[Glottalic consonant|<small>glottalized</small>]]

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|mˀ}} {{angbr|ꞌm}}

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|nˀ}} {{angbr|ꞌn}}

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|lˀ}} {{angbr|ꞌl}}

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|jˀ}} {{angbr|ꞌy}}

|

| {{IPAlinkIPA link|wˀ}} {{angbr|ꞌw}}

|

|

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==Further reading==

* {{Cite book |last1=Bicevskis |first1=Katie |last2=Davis |first2=Henry |last3=Matthewson |first3=Lisa |title=Handbook of Quantifiers in Natural Language: Volume II |date=2017 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-44328-7 |editor-last=Paperno |editor-first=Denis |series=Studies in Linguistics and Philosophy |volume=II |pages=281–382 |chapter=Quantification in Gitksan |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-44330-0_6 |editor-last2=Keenan |editor-first2=Edward L.}}

* {{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.&nbsp;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}}

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{{Penutian languages}}

[[Category:Gitxsan|*L01]]

[[Category:Tsimshianic languages]]