Languages of the coast
Halkomelem, Squamish, Comox, Saanich, Lummi and Nooksack are among the Coast Salish languages. They are spoken in coastal British Columbia and Washington, in communities with long relationships to the sea, rivers and land.
Languages
A family of languages across the Pacific Northwest
The Salish language family is a group of related languages spoken across the Pacific Northwest. It sits alongside other Indigenous language families and languages, and its future depends on the communities who are teaching, learning and using it.
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The Salish language family
The Salish languages are spoken by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest, across what is now British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. The family is usually divided into two broad branches: Coast Salish and Interior Salish.
The languages share structural features and a deep history, but they are not mutually intelligible. Each language has its own sound system, grammar, vocabulary and ways of speaking. Many have several dialects and several names.
The conference brings together work across the whole family. A paper on one language often speaks to questions that matter in another, whether the topic is a sound change, a grammatical pattern or a way of teaching.
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Two branches and their neighbours
The examples below are not a complete list. They show the range of the family and the conference.
Languages of the interior
Okanagan (Nsyilxcən), Secwépemc (often called Shuswap in English) and the language known in English as Flathead are among the Interior Salish languages. They are spoken across the interior of British Columbia, Washington, Idaho and Montana.
The conference also makes room for neighbouring languages and families, including Wakashan languages such as Nuu‑chah‑nulth, Tsimshianic languages, Haida, Dakelh and Chinookan. These are distinct from the Salish family. They are included because language work in the region is connected, and because the conference is committed to a wider conversation.
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Why the work matters
Many Salish and neighbouring languages are endangered or critically endangered. This is the result of colonial policies, including residential schools, the suppression of Indigenous languages and the disruption of the families and communities that carry them.
Revitalization is led by communities. It takes many forms: immersion programs, adult learning, curriculum development, archives, place name work, dictionaries and everyday use in the home. Research can support that work, but it cannot substitute for it.
The conference is one place where research and practice meet. It is most useful when it listens first and when the questions it asks are the questions communities want answered.
A note on language
Names and spellings vary between communities, generations and writing systems. Where a community or speaker has a preferred form, that form should be used. This page uses common English forms for readability, not as a judgment on any community's practice.
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Learning more responsibly
Readers who want to go further should begin with community led resources and with the published work of speakers and language workers. The resource page collects independent databases, community organizations, archives and rights documents.
Further reading
Independent organizations and resources. ICSNL is not responsible for their content.