Nicola language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Nicola |
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| Native to | Canada | |||
| Region | British Columbia | |||
| Ethnicity | Nicola Athapaskans | |||
| Extinct | c. Early 1900s | |||
| Language family |
Dené–Yeniseian?
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| Linguist List | qs7 | |||
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The Nicola language was an Athabaskan language once spoken in British Columbia, Canada. It was used by a group of people known as the Nicola Athapaskans. This language is now extinct, meaning no one speaks it anymore. It died out around the early 1900s.
The Nicola people lived in the Similkameen and Nicola Countries areas of British Columbia. Today, the name "Nicola people" often refers to different groups of Salishan-speaking people who live in the same region.
What We Know About Nicola Language
Very little information exists about the Nicola language. The famous anthropologist Franz Boas published only three pages of notes on it. Because so little was written down, we don't even know what the Nicola people called their own language or themselves.
The Thompson language Indians, who are Salishan-speaking people, later welcomed some of the Nicola people into their communities. The Thompson people called the Nicola people [stuwix], which means "the strangers."
Classifying the Nicola Language
Because so little is known about the Nicola language, it's hard for experts to classify it precisely. We know it belongs to the Athabaskan language family. However, beyond that, its exact place in the family tree is unclear.
Some linguists have suggested that Nicola might have been a dialect of Chilcotin, another Athabaskan language. But there isn't enough evidence to confirm this idea. More research would be needed to make a final decision.
