Klallam > LINGUIST List Language Search
Name:
Klallam
Type:
Language
Alternate Names:
Clallam; S'klallam; Na'klallam; Nəxʷsƛ'áy'əmucən; Klellam; nəxʷsƛʼáyʼəmʼucən
Spoken in:
USA
Number of speakers:
10 (1997 T. Montler), decreasing. Ethnic population: Several thousands (1997 T. Montler)
(Ethnologue)
Number of speakers:
2
(UNESCO)
Number of speakers:
10
(World Oral Literature Project)
Code:
clm
Code Standard:
ISO 639-3
Documentation:
SIL
Families:
Salishan (Salish)
Parent Subgroup:
Central Salish; Coast Salish (csal)
Child Dialects:
Becher Bay (clm-bec)
Western (clm-wes)
Eastern (clm-eas)
Brief Description:
"Clallam (Klallam) is the Central Salish language of the north shore of the Olympic Peninsula in the State of Washington, closely related to Northern Straits Salish (the two languages are sometimes grouped together as 'Straits Salish'). The principal Klallam communities are at three small reservations, Port Gamble, Lower Elwha, and Jamestown. There is also a Klallam community on the Becher Bay Reserve on Vancouver Island. There are very few first-language speakers remaining (two of them at Becher Bay), none fully fluent. The language is used in ceremonies and for tribal identity and there is considerable interest in revival." Victor Golla, Atlas of the World's Languages 2007 pg. 13
UNESCO Status: Critically endangered Ethnologue Status: Nearly Extinct Sutherland's Red List: Critically Endangered
Endangerment Status
UNESCO Status: Critically endangered Ethnologue Status: Nearly Extinct Sutherland's Red List: Critically Endangered
Map of Klallam
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