Halkomelem facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hul'qumi'num'
Halq̓eméylem / Hul̓q̓umín̓um̓ / hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓
Native to	Canada, United States
Region	Southwestern British Columbia into Northern Washington
Ethnicity	Salish peoples
Native speakers	ca. 100 to 260 in Canada  (2014)e21 25 in US (1997)
Language family	Salishan Coast Salish Central Hul'qumi'num'
Writing system	NAPA
Halkomelem is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
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Halkomelem is a language spoken by several First Nations groups along the British Columbia Coast. You can find it spoken in parts of British Columbia, Canada, and northern Washington, USA. It's used on southeastern Vancouver Island, near Nanaimo, and in the Lower Mainland along the Fraser River.

Halkomelem belongs to the Salishan languages family. It's part of the Central Salish branch. Other languages in this family include Tsamosan, Interior Salish, Bella Coola, and Tillamook. People who speak Central and Tsamosan languages are often called "Coast Salish" in old writings.

The name Halkomelem is an English version of the language's original name, Hul'qumi'num. This language has three main types, called dialects:

• Hul'qumi'num (Island dialect): This is also known as "Cowichan." It's spoken by First Nations on Vancouver Island and nearby islands. These groups include the Snuneymuxw (Nanaimo), Snaw-naw-as (Nanoose), Stz'uminus (Chemainus), and Cowichan Tribes.
• Hunquminum (Downriver dialect): This is sometimes called "Musqueam." Seven First Nations in the Lower Mainland, around Vancouver and the Fraser River Delta, speak this dialect. They include the Musqueam, Tsawwassen, and Kwantlen.
• Halqemeylem (Upriver dialect): This is known as "Stó:lō." It's spoken by 24 Sto:lo First Nations. These groups live along the Fraser River, upstream from Matsqui to Yale.

The Island and Upriver dialects have the biggest differences in sounds and words. The Downriver dialect helps connect them. These differences grew because people from the Island often traveled to the Fraser River for salmon fishing. Marriages between people from different language areas also helped create connections.

Saving the Halkomelem Language

The Halkomelem language is in danger of disappearing. In 2000, there were fewer than 25 people who could speak it fluently. Most of these speakers were middle-aged or older. Many also spoke English, as English-speaking settlers arrived in the area in the mid-1800s.

But there are efforts to save the language! Programs have started at the Stó:lō Nation, Seabird Island First Nation, and Cowichan First Nation. The Musqueam and the University of British Columbia also work together on a language program for adults.

In 2009, a book called Dictionary of Upriver Halkomelem was published by linguist Brent Galloway. In 2011, a Halkomelem iPhone app was released. An Android version followed in 2016. These apps were made by the FirstVoices website, which also has 1754 words and 690 phrases archived.

By 2014, the number of fluent speakers had grown to 263. That same year, 21 "Head Start Programs" were running. These included a special language-nest preschool where children learn the language through immersion.

How Halkomelem Sounds

Halkomelem has some interesting sounds. It has five main vowel sounds. These can be short or long. For example, the sound for 'i' can change depending on the sounds around it.

The language also has many consonant sounds. Some of these are similar to English, but many are unique. For instance, it has sounds made with a quick burst of air, called "ejectives." It also has sounds made in the back of the throat, called "uvulars."

In the Downriver dialect, some sounds like /b/, /d/, /j/, /f/, and /r/ are only found in words borrowed from other languages or words that imitate sounds.

Writing Halkomelem

In 1997, the Musqueam First Nation officially started using the Americanist phonetic alphabet to write Halkomelem. This alphabet does not use capital letters.

Here's a look at some of the letters used in the Musqueam (hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓) alphabet:

Different groups have used slightly different ways to write Halkomelem sounds. Here's a comparison:

How Words Are Built

Halkomelem is a polysynthetic language. This means words can be very long and complex. They are built by adding many small parts, called affixes, to a main word part, called a root.

In Halkomelem, many words can act as verbs, nouns, or adjectives. This is different from English. For example, a word might mean "to run" (verb), "a run" (noun), or "running" (adjective).

Words can change their meaning by:

• Reduplication: Repeating part of the word. For example, céləx means "hand," and cəlcéləx means "hands."
• Adding affixes: Small pieces added to the beginning (prefixes), middle (infixes), or end (suffixes) of a word. These change the word's meaning or how it's used in a sentence.

For example, to show who owns something, Halkomelem uses special affixes. These are added to the word that is owned or to the word before it.

• kʷθə sqʷəmeyʔ-s ɫe sɫeniʔ means "the woman's dog." Here, '-s' is added to 'dog' to show it belongs to someone.

Basic Halkomelem Words and Phrases

Here are some common words and phrases in the Halq̓eméylem dialect:

See also

• List of Halkomelem-speaking peoples
• Brent Galloway
• Donna Gerdts
• Patricia Shaw
• Wayne Suttles