Lushootseed facts for kids

Lushootseed (also called txʷəlšucid or dxʷləšúcid) is a language spoken by several Salish tribes in what is now Washington state. It's like a group of different ways of speaking that are all connected. Lushootseed is part of the Coast Salish languages, which is one of the two main groups in the larger Salishan language family.

Sounds of Lushootseed (Phonology)

Lushootseed has some interesting sounds! It has many different consonant sounds and four main vowel sounds. Some of its sounds are made by adding a puff of air (called ejective sounds) or by tightening your throat (called glottalized sounds).

Consonant Sounds

Lushootseed has a wide range of consonant sounds. Some are similar to English, like 'b' or 'd'. Others are unique, like sounds made by pushing air out quickly from the back of your throat.

Vowel Sounds

The language has four main vowel sounds. These sounds can change slightly depending on how they are used in words.

How Sentences Work (Syntax)

Lushootseed is an agglutinating language. This means words are often built by adding many small parts (like prefixes or suffixes) to a base word. It's like building with LEGOs, where each small piece adds more meaning.

The usual word order in Lushootseed is verb-subject-object (VSO). This means the action word (verb) comes first, then who or what is doing the action (subject), and then who or what the action is done to (object). For example, instead of "The dog chased the ball," it might be "Chased the dog the ball."

Sometimes, a Lushootseed sentence can make sense with just a verb, and you understand the rest from the situation. For example, ʔuʔəy’dub means "[someone] managed to find [someone/something]." Also, sentences don't always need a verb! Lushootseed doesn't have a word like "is" or "are." So, stab əẃə tiʔiɫ means "What [is] that?"

Even though VSO is common, you can change the word order to subject-verb-object (SVO) or verb-object-subject (VOS). When you do this, a special small word called ʔə is used to show the change.

Most prepositions (words like "on," "in," "beside") in Lushootseed are handled by one word: ʔal. This word can mean many things, like 'on,' 'above,' 'in,' 'beside,' or 'around.' It comes before the word it describes, just like in English. Here are some examples:

• stab əẃə tiʔiɫ ʔal tə stuləkʷ means 'What is that in the river?'
• ʔuyayus ti dbad ʔal tudiʔ means 'My Father is working over there.'
• šəqabac ʔal ti piit means 'On top of the bed.

Words that describe nouns (like "the" or "this") usually come before the noun. These words can also show if something is "masculine" or "feminine." For example, tiʔiɫ means 'that,' and tsiʔiɫ is the "feminine" version of 'that.'

Lushootseed has four main subject pronouns:

• čəd means 'I'
• čəɫ means 'we'
• čəxʷ means 'you' (for one person)
• čələp means 'you folks' (for more than one person)

The subject pronoun always comes second in a sentence. For example, dxʷləbiʔ čəxʷ ʔu means 'Are you Lummi?'

To say "no" or "not," Lushootseed uses the word xʷiʔ. This word always comes at the very beginning of a sentence when you want to make it negative.

Related Languages and Current Status

Lushootseed is closely related to the Twana language. Both are part of the Southern Coast Salish group within the larger Salishan family. Many different tribes around the Puget Sound area in Washington state used to speak Lushootseed. These include the Duwamish, Suquamish, Muckleshoot, Snoqualmie, Nisqually, Puyallup, Snohomish, Stillaguamish, Skagit, and Swinomish tribes.

Bust of Chief Seattle with accompanying text in Lushootseed: ti šišəgʷł gʷəl al tiʔəʔəxʷ sgʷaʔčəł səxʷəsłałlilčəł siʔał dəgʷi gʷəl liiiiləxʷ dʔiišəd cəłul’ul’ cəł ʔəslax̌ədxʷ ti gʷaalapu

Sadly, by the late 1990s, only a few older people still spoke Lushootseed fluently. A very important tribal elder named Vi Hilbert (who passed away in 2008) helped linguists study and record the language. She was one of the last people who spoke Lushootseed perfectly.

Bringing the Language Back (Language Revitalization)

Even though there are not many fluent speakers left, many people are working hard to bring Lushootseed back to life!

• The Tulalip Tribes have a Lushootseed Language Department. They teach classes and even have a "phrase of the week" with audio on their website. The Tulalip Montessori School also teaches Lushootseed to young children.
• The Wa He Lut Indian School teaches Lushootseed to Native elementary school children as part of their language and culture program.
• Every year, a Lushootseed conference is held at Seattle University. You can also take courses in Lushootseed language and literature at Evergreen State College.
• Lushootseed has been used in environmental history classes at Pacific Lutheran University. It's also spoken during the yearly Tribal Canoe Journey events that happen around the Salish Sea.
• The Puyallup Tribe is also working to teach the language. They update their website and social media often for anyone who wants to learn.
• In 2016, the first special program for adults to learn Lushootseed by speaking it all the time was held at the University of Washington's Tacoma campus. Another similar program was planned for 2019.

Different Kinds of Lushootseed (Subdivisions)

Lushootseed has two main groups of dialects, which are like different versions of the language. These can be broken down even further:

• Northern Lushootseed (also called Northern Puget Sound Salish)
  • Snohomish (They spoke a dialect that was a mix between Northern and Southern Lushootseed. Today, as part of the Tulalip Tribes of Washington, they helped create the Tulalip Lushootseed dialect.)
  • Stillaguamish (They had their own dialect. Many are now part of the Tulalip Tribes of Washington and also helped develop the Tulalip Lushootseed dialect.)
  • Skagit, Skaǰət-Swinomish or Lower Skagit-Swinomish dialects
    • Lower Skagit (from the Skagit River and Whidbey Island)
    • Upper Skagit (from the upper Skagit River)
    • Swinomish (from the mouth of the Skagit Rivers and northern Whidbey Island)
    • Kikiallus (from between Lower Skagit and Swinomish lands)
  • Sauk-Suiattle (from the Sauk River and Suiattle River)
• Southern Lushootseed (also called Whulshootseed or Twulshootseed, or Southern Puget Sound Salish)
  • Skykomish
  • Snoqualmie (from along the Tolt River and Snoqualmie River)
  • Steilacoom
  • Suquamish
  • Duwamish
  • Muckleshoot (from the Green and White rivers)
  • Puyallup (from the Puyallup River basin, Gig Harbor, Wollochet Bay, and Vashon Island)
  • Nisqually
  • Sahewamish
  • Snohomish (from around the Puget Sound area, north of Seattle)
  • Squaxin Island Tribe

Writing Lushootseed (Alphabet)

Lushootseed uses a special writing system that helps show the basic parts of words, even if the pronunciation changes a little when other parts are added. It's a way to keep the spelling consistent.

Some Lushootseed Words (Vocabulary)

The Lushootseed language comes from the coastal area of Northwest Washington State and the Southwest coast of Canada. Because of this, many words in Lushootseed are about the environment, especially fishing, which was very important to the Salish tribes. The tables below show some words from different Lushootseed dialects related to salmon fishing and the coast.

See also

In Spanish: Idioma lushootseed para niños