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Cowlitz language facts for kids

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Cowlitz
Native to United States
Region Southwestern Washington
Ethnicity 200 Cowlitz people (1990)
Extinct 1960se25
Language family
Salishan
  • Coast
    • Tsamosan
      • Inland
        • Cowlitz

The Cowlitz language is a member of the Tsamosan branch of the Coast Salish family of Salishan languages.

Cowlitz people

The Cowlitz people were originally two distinct tribes: the Lower Cowlitz and the Upper Cowlitz. Only the Lower Cowlitz spoke Cowlitz; the Upper Cowlitz, a Sahaptin tribe, spoke a dialect of Yakama.

Phonology

Consonants
Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
central sibilant lateral plain lab. plain lab.
Plosive/
Affricate
plain p t ts k q ʔ
ejective tsʼ tɬʼ tʃʼ kʷʼ qʷʼ
Fricative s ɬ ʃ x χ χʷ h
Sonorant plain m n l j w
glottalized
Vowels
Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid e ə
Open a

Vocabulary

Cowlitz is most similar to Lower Chehalis, another Tsamosan language, although it contains some oddities, such as the word for one, utsus (in contrast to the Lower Chehalis paw).

English Cowlitz
Lower Cowlitz tribe Sł'púlmš
one (number) utsus
two salli
three kałi
four mus
five tsilats
to sing ilani
moon/sun Łuqał
dog kaxa
water kal'l
man siłimx
woman kuwił

See also

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