Kwakʼwala facts for kids

The user wants me to rewrite the provided MediaWiki text about the Kwakʼwala language for a 12-15 year old audience. I need to adhere to strict MediaWiki markup, avoiding all Markdown. I must keep the Infobox and categories. I need to simplify complex linguistic terms and remove highly technical sections (like detailed phonology and morphosyntax tables). Paragraphs should be short (max 5 lines) and sentences concise (max 20 words). I must start with a lead section (no heading). Headings must follow `== Heading ==`, `=== Subheading ===`, `==== Section ====`, be descriptive, include keywords, and be 60-70 characters long. All separate image tags must include `|thumb|image_caption`. Images inside templates (like Infobox or Gallery) should not have `|thumb`. If I remove a section that contains an image, I must move that image to a special "Images" gallery section at the bottom. The total word count for the article body (excluding Infobox and markup) must be under 1500 words.

Let's go through the original content section by section:

1. Infobox language: Keep as is. 2. Lead section: Simplify the language, explain "Indigenous language," "Wakashan language family," "fluent speakers," "elders," "long-term viability," and "revitalization projects." 3. ==Dialects==: Keep, simplify the explanation of dialectal differences and Liqʼwala. 4. ==Phonology==: This section is highly technical. I will remove the detailed tables and descriptions of consonants, vowels, and suprasegmentals. I will provide a very brief, high-level overview of how the language sounds, focusing on unique aspects in simple terms. * `=== Consonants ===`: Remove. * `=== Vowels ===`: Remove. * `=== Suprasegmentals ===`: Remove. 5. ===Morphophonology===: This is also very technical. I will remove the detailed tables and explanations of "Hardening and weakening" and "Stem expansion." I will keep a very brief, simple sentence about how words are built using suffixes. * `====Hardening and weakening====`: Remove. * `====Stem expansion====`: Remove. * `====Other word-formation processes====`: Keep this very brief, simple sentence. 6. ==Morphosyntax==: This section is extremely technical. I will remove all the detailed tables and explanations of "Stem-forming suffixes," "Inflectional suffixes," "Verbal inflection," and "Nominal inflection." I will simplify the "Syntax" part to explain basic word order and how words are categorized in Kwakʼwala, avoiding complex linguistic terms like "clitic," "deixis," "case," "accusative," "instrumental," "periphrastic auxiliary," "genitive constructions," "prenominal," "postnominal," "reflexive verb." * `===Stem-forming suffixes===`: Remove the list and examples. * `===Inflectional suffixes===`: Remove. * `===Verbal inflection===`: Remove the table and detailed explanation. * `===Nominal inflection===`: Remove all tables and detailed explanations. 7. ==Orthography==: Keep this section. Simplify the language, explain the different orthographies (Hall, Boas/Hunt, Grubb, U'mista) and why they changed. Remove the technical tables comparing IPA, Boas, Grubb, and U'mista orthographies, as they are too complex. * `=== U'mista Cultural Society alphabet ===`: Remove the table. 8. ==History and revitalization efforts==: Keep this section. Simplify the language, explain "assimilationist policies" and "residential schools" in a kid-safe way. Emphasize the positive revitalization efforts. 9. ==Kwakʼwala mobile app and portal==: Keep this section, it's relevant and interesting for kids. 10. Categories: Keep as is.

11. Images: The original text has one image outside the infobox: `

The T'lisalagi'lakw School near Alert Bay has made efforts to restore Kwakʼwala.

`. This image is in the "History and revitalization efforts" section. Since I'm keeping that section, I will keep the image there with the `thumb` directive. If I had removed the section, I would move it to the gallery at the bottom.

Word Count Check: I need to keep the final output under 1500 words. I will monitor this during the rewrite.

Self-Check Requirements:

• NO # symbols for headings (use `==`, `===`, `====`)
• NO ** or * for formatting (use `'`, ``)
• NO - for lists (use `*`)
• ONLY MediaWiki syntax used.
• NO Markdown syntax.
• NO change to height/width in gallery tags.
• NO extraction of images from gallery templates.
• NO change of curly brackets to square brackets.
• NO

at the end.

• NO removal/change of categories.
• All SEPARATE wiki image tags include `thumb`.
• NO deletion of original images; move to gallery if section deleted.
• NO new images.
• Start with LEAD section.
• NO markdown enclosure for the answer.

Let's start the rewrite.

```mediawiki

Quick facts for kids Kwakʼwala
Kwak̓wala
Marianne Nicolson's The House of the Ghosts, 2008. Text in Kwakʼwala and English at the Vancouver Art Gallery
Native to	Canada
Region	along the Queen Charlotte Strait
Ethnicity	3,665 Kwakwakaʼwakw
Native speakers	450  (2016 census)
Language family	Wakashan Northern Kwakʼwala
Dialects	T̓łat̓łasik̓wala G̱uc̓ala Nak̕wala Liq̓ʷala
Dialects of Kwakʼwala
Kwak'wala is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters.

Kwakʼwala (pronounced kwa-KWAH-la), also known as Kwak̓wala, is an Indigenous language. It is spoken by the Kwakwakaʼwakw people in Western Canada. The name Kwakwakaʼwakw means "those who speak Kwakʼwala." This language is part of the Wakashan language family.

Today, there are fewer than 200 people who speak Kwakʼwala fluently. Most of these speakers are elders. Very few children learn Kwakʼwala as their first language. This means the language is in danger of disappearing. However, many Kwakwakaʼwakw people want to save their language. They are working on projects to help keep it alive.

Understanding Kwakʼwala Dialects

The name Kwakwakaʼwakw means "speakers of Kwakʼwala." This shows that different tribes are connected by speaking the same language. However, the way Kwakʼwala is spoken can be different from tribe to tribe. These are called dialects. Sometimes the differences can be quite big.

There are four main dialects of Kwakʼwala:

• Kwak̓wala
• ʼNak̓wala
• G̱uc̓ala
• T̓łat̓łasik̓wala

Some Kwakwakaʼwakw tribes also speak Liqʼwala. Sometimes Liqʼwala is seen as a dialect of Kwakʼwala. Other times, it is thought of as its own language. The way Liqʼwala is written looks very different from how Kwakʼwala is usually written. This makes the two languages seem more different than they might be.

How Kwakʼwala Sounds

Kwakʼwala has many sounds that are common in languages from the Northwest Coast. It has many different consonant sounds but fewer vowel sounds. Some consonants are made with a quick puff of air, called "ejectives." Others are made by stopping and then releasing air, like "plosives."

The language also uses a special short vowel sound, like the "a" in "about." Some consonants can be "glottalized," meaning they are made with a tight feeling in the throat.

Building Words in Kwakʼwala

Kwakʼwala has a very rich system for building words. It uses many endings, called suffixes, added to the end of words. These suffixes can change the meaning of a word in complex ways. For example, adding a suffix can make a word stronger or weaker in sound. It can also make a word longer or cause parts of it to repeat.

This system helps turn a small number of basic words into a large and very specific vocabulary.

How Sentences Work in Kwakʼwala

In Kwakʼwala, words are grouped into three main types:

• Predicates/substantives: These are like verbs (actions) or nouns (things).
• Particles: These are small words that add meaning, like "the" or "a."
• Exclamatory forms: These are words that show strong feelings, like "Wow!"

Nouns and verbs are mostly told apart by how they are used in a sentence. For example, the word kʼʷasʼ means "sit" as a verb. But if you add a particle, jəχa kʼʷasʼ means "the one who sits."

A sentence in Kwakʼwala can be very short, sometimes just one word. But that one word can carry a lot of meaning! For example, ɢaɢakʼʲənt͡ɬut͡ɬ means "I shall try to get you to be my wife."

When sentences are more complex, the words usually follow a specific order:

• The main action or idea (predicate)
• The subject (who or what is doing the action)
• The direct object (who or what the action is done to)
• The instrument (what is used to do the action)

For example, to say "The man clubbed the sea-otter with his club," it would be:

• kʷixidida (clubbed)
• bəɡʷanəmaχa (the man)
• qʼasasis (the sea otter)
• tʼəlwaɢaju (his club)

This shows how the language builds meaning by adding parts to words and putting them in a certain order.

Writing Kwakʼwala Down

People started writing down Kwakʼwala in the 1700s. One of the first people to do this in a careful way was Rev Alfred James Hall. He was an English missionary who arrived in British Columbia in 1881. He learned Kwakʼwala and created a way to write it using the English alphabet. He translated parts of the Bible into Kwakʼwala.

Later, a famous scientist named Franz Boas and a Kwakwakaʼwakw helper named George Hunt worked together. They wrote down tens of thousands of pages of the language. They created a writing system that captured almost all the important sounds of Kwakʼwala.

However, this system was hard for Kwakʼwala speakers to use. It had many special symbols that couldn't be typed easily. So, a Kwakwakaʼwakw language expert named David Grubb created a simpler way to write the language. This became the standard system.

Today, the U'mista Cultural Society promotes a similar writing system. It's designed to be easier to type on computers. For example, instead of putting an apostrophe above a letter for certain sounds, it's placed right after the letter.

Efforts to Save Kwakʼwala

The T'lisalagi'lakw School near Alert Bay has made efforts to restore Kwakʼwala.

The number of Kwakʼwala speakers dropped a lot in the 1800s and 1900s. This was mainly because of Canadian government policies that tried to make Indigenous people adopt Canadian culture. A big reason for this was the residential schools, where Kwakwa'wakw children were forced to go. These schools often stopped children from speaking their language.

Because of these challenges, there are not many Kwakʼwala speakers left today. Most are older people, which makes it hard for the language to be passed down to children.

However, many people are now working hard to bring Kwakʼwala back. There's a plan to build a Kwakwakaʼwakw First Nations Centre for Language and Culture. In 2021, a Culture Camp for young people called Nawalakw (meaning "Supernatural" in Kwakʼwala) was started. The goal of this camp is to help people of all ages speak Kwakʼwala fluently.

The language is also taught at The U'mista Cultural Center in Alert Bay, British Columbia. In 2012, the Nuyumbalees Cultural Centre on Quadra Island received money to help display its collection of First Nations books for Kwakʼwala speakers. These efforts show that there is still hope to fully bring Kwakʼwala back to life.

Kwakʼwala on Your Phone!

In December 2011, a Kwakʼwala iPhone app was released. This app helps people learn the language. You can also find an online dictionary, a phrasebook, and a language learning website at the First Voices Kwakʼwala Community Portal. In 2020, parts of the Kwakʼwala Bible were put online by the Canadian Bible Society.