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Southern Tsimshian dialect facts for kids

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Southern Tsimshian
Sgüüx̣s
Native to Canada
Region northwest British Columbia
Ethnicity Tsimshian people
Extinct 2013, with the death of Violet Neasloss
Language family
Tsimshianic
  • Maritime Tsimshian
    • Southern Tsimshian
Linguist List tsi-sou

Southern Tsimshian, Sgüüx̣s (pronounced: /skiːxs/) or Sgüümk, is the southern dialect of the Tsimshian language, spoken by the Gitga'ata and Kitasoo Tsimshians in Klemtu, B.C. It became extinct with the death of the last remaining speaker, Violet Neasloss.

Sgüüx̣s is close to Coast Tsimshian and has been described as a highly conservative dialect, however the two may not have been mutually intelligible with Coast Tsimshian. The name Sgüüx̣s means "the language beside."

Specialist John Asher Dunn wrote several articles on the language, from which the term Southern Tsimshian arose.

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