Okanagan language

{{Short description|Endangered Salish language of North America}} {{Copy edit |date=January 2026 |reason=consistent terminology, clarity, and understandability}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2025}} {{Infobox language | name = Colville-Okanagan | altname = Okanagan, Colville | nativename = {{lang|oka|n̓səl̓xčin̓}}, {{lang|oka|Nsyilxcən}}, {{lang|oka|n̓syil̓xčn̓}} | states = Canada, United States | region = Southern Interior of British Columbia, Central-northern State of Washington | ethnicity = Okanagan, Colville, Lakes, Methow | speakers = 50 | date = 2007–2014 | ref = e18 | speakers2 = 75 L2 speakers (2007) | familycolor = salishan | fam1 = Salishan | fam2 = Interior Salish | fam3 = Southern | dia1 = Northern Okanagan | dia2 = Colville ({{lang|oka|n̓x̌ʷʔiłpcən}}) | dia3 = Lakes/Sinixt dialect ({{lang|oka|snslxcin}}) | dia4 = San-poil ({{lang|oka|Nespelem}}) | dia5 = Southern Okanagan | dia6 = Methow | iso3 = oka | glotto = okan1243 | glottorefname = Okanagan | map = Lang Status 60-DE.svg | mapcaption = {{center|Okanagan is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO ''Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger''.}} | notice = IPA }}

'''Okanagan''', '''Colville-Okanagan''', or {{lang|oka|italic=no|'''Nsyilxcən'''}} ({{lang|oka|italic=no|'''n̓səl̓xcin̓'''}} or {{lang|oka|italic=no|'''n̓syilxčn̓'''}}) is a Salish language that originated among the Indigenous peoples of the southern Interior Plateau. It was primarily spoken in the Okanagan and Columbia River basins of present-day Canada and the United States in the precolonial era. Following British, American, and Canadian colonization during the 19th century and the subsequent forced assimilation of Salishan tribes, the use of the language declined significantly.

Colville-Okanagan is considered highly endangered. Approximately 50 fluent first language speakers remain, the majority of whom reside in British Columbia.<ref>Gordon, Raymond G. Ed. (2005). [http://www.ethnologue.com/15/web.asp Salishan: Ethnologue] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104114629/http://www.ethnologue.com///15/web.asp |date=2012-11-04 }}. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 15th ed. Retrieved April 14, 2014.</ref> The language is currently classified as moribund, with no first language speakers under the age of 50. Despite this, Colville-Okanagan remains the second-most spoken Salish language after Shuswap. Although it is rarely acquired as a first language, it is currently being learned as a second language by more than 40 adults and 35 children in Spokane, Washington, as well as by dozens of adults on the Colville Indian Reservation and within the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia.

==History and description== Colville-Okanagan descended from Proto Southern Interior Salish, a language originally spoken in the Columbia River Basin. Prior to European contact, the language had developed into three distinct dialects: Colville, Okanagan, and Lakes. These dialects exhibit a low degree of divergence, with variations primarily limited to minor differences in pronunciation rather than significant shifts in vocabulary or grammar.

The vast majority of the Colville-Okanagan lexicon is derived from Proto-Salish or Proto-Interior Salish. Some vocabulary is shared with or borrowed from neighboring Salish, Sahaptian, and Kutenai languages, while more recent loanwords have been adopted from English and French. Colville-Okanagan remained an exclusively oral language until the late 19th century, when missionaries and linguists began transcribing it to produce word lists, dictionaries, and grammars. Today, the language is written in Latin script using the American Phonetic Alphabet.

In the native tongue, the language is referred to as {{lang|oka|n̓səl̓xčin̓}} or {{lang|oka|nsyilxcn}}. Historically, speakers occupied the northern Columbia Basin, ranging from the Methow River in the west to Kootenay Lake in the east, and extending north along the Columbia River, the Arrow Lakes, and the Slocan Valley. All {{lang|oka|nsyilxcn}}-speaking bands are grouped under the ethnic label {{lang|oka|syil̓x}}. This term is cognate of the Spokane-Kalispel word {{lang|fla|séliš}}, which is the ethnonym for the Bitterroot Salish of Montana.

Colville-Okanagan is the heritage language of several groups, including:

* British Columbia: The Westbank First Nation, Lower Similkameen, Upper Similkameen, Osoyoos, Penticton, Okanagan, and Upper Nicola Indian bands. * Washington State: The Colville, Sanpoil, Okanogan, Lakes, Nespelem, and Methow bands of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

Words in the language are traditionally not capitalized. This practice reflects Colville-Okanagan ethics; as noted by practitioners, capitalization can imply a hierarchy of importance that contradicts the egalitarian values of their society.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kilawna |first=Kelsie |date=2021-08-19 |title=syilx family explains how wildfire impacts their ceremonies |url=https://indiginews.com/okanagan/syilx-family-explains-how-wildfire-impacts-their-ceremonies |website=Indiginews}}</ref>

== Revitalization == In 2012, the CBC reported on a family teaching Okanagan to their children at home.<ref>{{Cite news | title = First Voices: bringing aboriginal language to the dinner table. The Bent family, who live near Penticton, are teaching their young children both English and Nsyilxcen | work = Daybreak South - CBC Player | access-date = 2012-08-05 | date = 2012-06-20 | url = http://www.cbc.ca/player/AudioMobile/Daybreak+South/ID/2248216369/?sort=MostRecent }}</ref> Seven nonprofit organizations currently support Okanagan language acquisition and revitalization:

* Paul Creek Language Association: Keremeos, British Columbia<ref>{{Cite web |title=Interior Salish: Enduring Languages of the Columbian Plateau |url=http://www.interiorsalish.com/nselxcincurriculum.html |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=www.interiorsalish.com}}</ref> * {{lang|oka|italic=no|Syilx}} Language House:<ref>{{Cite web |title=SYILX LANGUAGE HOUSE |url=https://www.thelanguagehouse.ca/ |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=SYILX LANGUAGE HOUSE |language=en}}</ref> Penticton, British Columbia * {{lang|oka|italic=no|En'owkin}} Centre:<ref>{{Cite web |title=En'owkin Centre |url=https://enowkincentre.ca/ |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=enowkincentre.ca}}</ref> Penticton, British Columbia * Osoyoos Indian Band Language House:<ref>{{Cite web |title=OIB Language House Oliver |url=https://oiblang.wixsite.com/website |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=OIB Language House |language=en}}</ref> Oliver, British Columbia * Hearts Gathered Waterfall Montessori: Omak, Washington * Salish School of Spokane: Spokane, Washington * Inchelium Language and Culture Association: Inchelium, Washington

=== Revitalization in the United States ===

Revitalization efforts in the United States include early childhood instruction and intensive adult speaker training. The Concentrated Tribes of the Colville Reservation actively promote preservation by allocating local and federal funds for cultural projects.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}} The Tribes' primary objectives include establishing three language programs, developing comprehensive dictionaries, providing translation services, and maintaining regular language classes with 30 or more consistent participants.<ref>[http://www.colvilletribes.com/language.php The Confederated Tribes Of The Colville Reservation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424175305/http://www.colvilletribes.com/language.php |date=2014-04-24 }}. Retrieved May 8, 2014</ref>

==== Salish School of Spokane ==== The Salish School of Spokane (SSOS) ({{lang|oka|sƛ̓x̌atkʷ nsəl̓xčin̓ sn̓maʔmáyaʔtn̓}}) implements a comprehensive community revitalization strategy serving the Spokane metropolitan area. The school provides Okanagan immersion education for students ranging from one year old through the 9th grade. In classrooms for grades P-6, instruction is conducted entirely in Okanagan, covering core subjects such as mathematics, literacy, science, art, music and physical education.{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}} The curriculum is designed to foster full fluency by age 15, and students are expected to use the language exclusively while on campus. As of 2022, the school also provides intensive training for over 40 adults.{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}}

Twenty-eight staff members at SSOS are enrolled in the Salish Language Educator Development (SLED) program at SSOS. These staff members receive 90 minutes of immersion training daily as part of their work. Another 16 adults, parents of SSOS students, participate in paid afternoon and evening fluency track training. All SSOS parents commit to completing at least 60 hours of Okanagan language classes per year in order for their children to be eligible to attend the school. SSOS offers free, beginning language classes on evenings and weekends for SSOS parents and other community members. At Salish School of Spokane, there are 35 intergenerational pairs: 35 immersion school students who have at least one parent who is studying Okanagan in a fluency-track program.<ref>[http://www.salishschoolofspokane.org/?home Salish School of Spokane]. Retrieved May 1, 2014</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://salishschoolofspokane.org/programs.html |title=iʔ sck̓ʷul̓tət / Programs |website=salishschoolofspokane.org |access-date=July 9, 2022}}</ref>

Salish School of Spokane aims to increase the availability of educational material by maintaining a variety of audio resources and curricula to advance Okanagan revitalization. Along with these efforts, the school provides, develops and translates curricula. The Salish School works alongside organizations such as the Paul Creek Language Association, a nonprofit based in British Columbia, on the {{lang|oka|italic=no|N̓səl̓xcin̓}} Curriculum Project.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Johnson|first=Sʔímlaʔx Michele K.|date=May 2017|title=Breathing Life into New Speakers: nsyilxcn and Tlingit Sequenced Curriculum, Direct Acquisition, and Assessments|journal=Canadian Modern Language Review|language=en|volume=73|issue=2|pages=109–132|doi=10.3138/cmlr.3549|s2cid=151866033|issn=0008-4506}}</ref> The {{lang|oka|italic=no|N̓səl̓xcin̓}} Project aims to create foundational lesson plans from which language teachers can draw. The project is spearheaded by Christopher Parkin, and is translated primarily by the elder Sarah Peterson, with the additional help of Hazel Abrahamson and Herman Edwards.

The project is composed of six textbooks divided into three levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.<ref name=":0" /> Each level consists of a language book which contains a number of audio recordings, language, and learning software to ease language teaching. Additionally, each level includes a literature book. The literature book provides entertainment for language learners when outside of class and also reinforces sentence construction for Okanagan. The project also contains daily quizzes, midterm-style tests, and both oral and written final exams for evaluation.<ref name=":0" /> The curriculum developed by the {{lang|oka|italic=no|N̓səl̓xcin̓}} Curriculum Project is available in electronic format online free of charge.<ref>[http://www.interiorsalish.com/nselxcincurriculum.html The Nsəlxcin Curriculum Project]. (2011). Interior Salish: Enduring Languages of the Columbian Plateau. Retrieved May 8, 2014</ref>{{Overly detailed inline|date=March 2026}}

=== Revitalization in Canada ===

The Certificate of Aboriginal Language Revitalization is offered by the {{lang|oka|italic=no|En'owkin}} Centre in partnership with the University of Victoria,<ref name="enowkincentre">{{Cite web |title=Certificate Indigenous Language Revitilization |url=http://www.enowkincentre.ca/programs-calr.html |access-date=2026-03-13 |website=www.enowkincentre.ca}}</ref> taught by linguist Maxine Baptiste.{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}} Additionally, the centre offers a certification to become a Certified Early Childhood Education Assistant in partnership with Nicola Valley Institute of Technology.<ref name="enowkincentre" />{{Failed verification|date=March 2026}} The certificate does not qualify one to teach at the secondary level, but does ensure employability in daycare and pre-K.{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}} These certificates aim to give potential teachers easy access to college credits from centers of higher learning like the University of Victoria, and potential education assistants can be involved in childhood education, thus establishing fluency in Okanagan early on.

The {{lang|oka|italic=no|En'owkin}} Centre also emphasizes its college readiness programs;{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}} many native students perform poorly in school and the high school dropout rate for aboriginal high schoolers is very high.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Cohen |first=William Alexander |title=School failed coyote so fox made a new school : Indigenous Okanagan knowledge transforms educational pedagogy |date=2010 |publisher=University of British Columbia |url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/soa/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0071499 |language=en}}</ref>{{Explain|date=March 2026}}

Additionally, a "language house" was developed in 2015 in British Columbia aiming to create 10 fluent Okanagan speakers in four years.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Sʔímlaʔx Michele K. |date=November 2017 |title=Syilx Language House: How and Why We Are Delivering 2,000 Decolonizing Hours in Nsyilxcn |url=https://utppublishing.com/doi/10.3138/cmlr.4040 |journal=The Canadian Modern Language Review |language=en |volume=73 |issue=4 |pages=509–537 |doi=10.3138/cmlr.4040 |issn=0008-4506|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In this program, participants spend 2000 hours over four years learning {{lang|oka|italic=no|nsyilxcen}} via a variety of different teaching methods, regular assessments, frequent visits from Elders, and full immersion.<ref name=":1" /> Following completion of the program in 2020, the {{lang|oka|italic=no|Syilx}} Language House intended to expand by developing more language houses across the Okanagan, increasing its goal to creating 100 new {{lang|oka|italic=no|nsyilxcn}} speakers in the 2020 cohort.<ref name=":1" />{{Update inline|date=March 2026}}

==== UBCO Bachelor of {{lang|oka|italic=no|Nsyilxcn}} Language Fluency ==== In 2011, the BC Indigenous Adult and Higher Learning Association, in collaboration with the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology and {{lang|oka|italic=no|En'owkin}} Centre, initiated a new bachelor's degree program – the Bachelor of {{lang|oka|italic=no|Nsyilxcn}} Language Fluency (BNLF) – offered through the University of British Columbia Okanagan to support Okanagan language learning and create new fluent speakers. The program has been led by associate professor Jeannette Armstrong since its inception. The BNLF was the first bachelor's degree of Indigenous language fluency offered in Canada and was developed as a model that could be duplicated across British Columbia.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lewis |first=Haley |date=8 June 2023 |title=Bachelor of Nsyilxcn language fluency sees first graduates cross the stage |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/9736699/nsyilxcn-language-fluency-graduation-ubc-okanagan/ |access-date=2025-11-20 |website=Global News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Aaron |first=Hemens |date=13 June 2023 |title=First cohort completes new nsyilxcən degree at UBCO: 'our language is very strong' |url=https://indiginews.com/news/first-cohort-completes-new-nsyilxcen-degree-at-ubco-our-language-is-very-strong/ |access-date=2025-11-20 |website=Indiginews |language=en-CA}}</ref>

The Bachelor of {{lang|oka|italic=no|Nsyilxcn}} Language Fluency is a four-year program. During the first two years, students complete an Indigenous language diploma. During the third and fourth year of the program, students are assigned a capstone project at UBCO where they work in the community to promote language learning.<ref name=":2" />

The first cohort of eight students graduated with a Bachelor's of {{lang|oka|italic=no|Nsyilxcn}} Language Fluency in 2023. An additional 12 students were expected to graduate the following year, with around 100 students working towards graduation at the time.<ref name=":2" />

== Orthography == Okanagan alphabets are always unicase, with no capital letters.

{| class="wikitable" |+Paul Creek Language Association alphabet |- ! Letter !! Letter name !! IPA !! English explanation !! Nsyilxcn example |- | a || {{lang|oka|italic=no|a}} || {{IPAslink|a}} || as in the word f''a''ther || {{lang|oka|anwí}} (it is you) |- | c || {{lang|oka|italic=no|ci}} || {{IPAslink|t͡ʃ}} || as in the word ''ch''urch || {{lang|oka|cʕas}} (crash) |- | c̓ || {{lang|oka|italic=no|c̓a}} || {{IPAslink|t͡sʼ}} || as in the word ca''ts'' || {{lang|oka|c̓ałt}} (cold) |- | ə || {{lang|oka|italic=no|ə}} || {{IPAslink|ə}} || as in the word el''e''phant || {{lang|oka|əcxʷuy}} (goes) |- | h || {{lang|oka|italic=no|ha}} || {{IPAslink|h}} || as in the word ''h''appy || {{lang|oka|hiw̓t}} (rat) |- | i || {{lang|oka|italic=no|is}} || {{IPAslink|i}} || as in the word s''ee'' || {{lang|oka|ixíʔ}} (that/then) |- | k || {{lang|oka|italic=no|kut}} || {{IPAslink|k}} || as in the word ''k''ite || {{lang|oka|kilx}} (hand) |- | k̓ || {{lang|oka|italic=no|k̓it}} || {{IPAslink|kʼ}} || is pronounced as a hard ''k'' || {{lang|oka|k̓ast}} (bad) |- | kʷ || {{lang|oka|italic=no|kʷup}} || {{IPAslink|kʷ}} || as in the word ''qu''een || kʷint (take) |- | k̓ʷ || {{lang|oka|italic=no|k̓ʷap}} || {{IPAslink|kʷʼ}} || is pronounced as a hard ''kʷ'' || {{lang|oka|k̓ʷck̓ʷact}} (strong) |- | l || {{lang|oka|italic=no|li}} || {{IPAslink|l}} || as in the word ''l''ove || {{lang|oka|limt}} (happy) |- | l̓ || {{lang|oka|italic=no|əl̓}} || {{IPAslink|lˀ}} || pronounced as an abruptly stopped ''l'' || {{lang|oka|sl̓ax̌t}} (friend) |- | ł || {{lang|oka|italic=no|łu}} || {{IPAslink|ɬ}} || pronounced as a slurpy ''l'' || {{lang|oka|łt̓ap}} (bounce/jump) |- | ƛ̓ || {{lang|oka|italic=no|ƛ̓i}} || {{IPAslink|t͡ɬʼ}} || pronounced as a click ''tl'' out of the side of the mouth || {{lang|oka|ƛ̓lap}} (stop) |- | m || {{lang|oka|italic=no|mi}} || {{IPAslink|m}} || as in the word ''m''om || {{lang|oka|mahúyaʔ}} (raccoon) |- | m̓ || {{lang|oka|italic=no|əm̓}} || {{IPAslink|mˀ}} || pronounced as an abruptly ended ''m'' || {{lang|oka|stim̓}} (what) |- | n || {{lang|oka|italic=no|nu}} || {{IPAslink|n}} || as in the word ''n''o || {{lang|oka|naqs}} (one) |- | n̓ || {{lang|oka|italic=no|ən̓}} || {{IPAslink|nˀ}} || pronounce as an abruptly stopped ''n'' || {{lang|oka|n̓in̓wiʔs}} (later) |- | p || {{lang|oka|italic=no|pi}} || {{IPAslink|p}} || as in the word ''p''op || {{lang|oka|pn̓kin̓}} (when) |- | p̓ || {{lang|oka|italic=no|p̓a}} || {{IPAslink|pʼ}} || pronounced as a popped ''p'' || {{lang|oka|p̓um}} (brown) |- | q || {{lang|oka|italic=no|qi}} || {{IPAslink|q}} || pronounced as a ''k'' deep in the back of the throat || {{lang|oka|qáqnaʔ}} (grandma) |- | q̓ || {{lang|oka|italic=no|q̓u}} || {{IPAslink|qʼ}} || pronounced as a hard ''q'' || {{lang|oka|q̓aʔxán}} (shoe) |- | qʷ || {{lang|oka|italic=no|qʷa}} || {{IPAslink|qʷ}} || pronounced as a ''q'' with rounded lips || {{lang|oka|qʷacqn}} (hat) |- | q̓ʷ || {{lang|oka|italic=no|q̓ʷʕay}} || {{IPAslink|qʷʼ}} || pronounced as a hard ''q'' with rounded lips || {{lang|oka|q̓ʷmqin}} (antler) |- | r || {{lang|oka|italic=no|ri}} || {{IPAslink|r}} || pronounced rolled on the tongue || {{lang|oka|yirncút}} (make itself round) |- | s || {{lang|oka|italic=no|sas}} || {{IPAslink|s}} || as in the word ''s''ister || {{lang|oka|síyaʔ}} (saskatoon/sarvis/June berry) |- | t || {{lang|oka|italic=no|ti}} || {{IPAslink|t}} || as in the word ''t''op || {{lang|oka|tum̓}} (mother) |- | t̓ || {{lang|oka|italic=no|t̓a}} || {{IPAslink|tʼ}} || pronounced as a hard ''t'' || {{lang|oka|t̓ínaʔ}} (ear) |- | u || {{lang|oka|italic=no|u}} || {{IPAslink|u}} || as in the word s''oo''n || {{lang|oka|uł}} (and) |- | w || {{lang|oka|italic=no|wa}} || {{IPAslink|w}} || as in the word ''w''alk || {{lang|oka|wikn}} (I saw it) |- | w̓ || {{lang|oka|italic=no|əw̓s}} || {{IPAslink|wˀ}} || pronounced as an abruptly ended ''w'' || {{lang|oka|sw̓aw̓ásaʔ}} (auntie) |- | x || {{lang|oka|italic=no|xu}} || {{IPAslink|x}} || pronounced as a soft ''h'' in the back of the throat || {{lang|oka|xixəw̓tm}} (girl) |- | x̌ || {{lang|oka|italic=no|x̌a}} || {{IPAslink|χ}} || pronounced as a guttural ''h'' deep in the back of the throat || {{lang|oka|x̌ast}} (good) |- | xʷ || {{lang|oka|italic=no|xʷi}} || {{IPAslink|xʷ}} || pronounced as an ''h'' in the back of the throat but with rounded lips || {{lang|oka|xʷuy}} (go) |- | x̌ʷ || {{lang|oka|italic=no|x̌ʷay}} || {{IPAslink|χʷ}} || pronounced as a guttural ''h'' in the back of the throat but with rounded lips || {{lang|oka|x̌ʷus}} (foam) |- | y || {{lang|oka|italic=no|yi}} || {{IPAslink|j}} || as in the word ''y''ellow || {{lang|oka|yus}} (dark/purple) |- | y̓ || {{lang|oka|italic=no|y̓u}} || {{IPAslink|jˀ}} || pronounced as an abruptly ended ''y'' || {{lang|oka|c̓sy̓aqn}} (head) |- |ʔ |{{lang|oka|italic=no|ʔət}} |{{IPAslink|ʔ}} |is a breath stop in the back of the throat as in the word uh-oh |{{lang|oka|ʔaʔúsaʔ}} (egg) |- | ʕ || {{lang|oka|italic=no|ʕay}} || {{IPAslink|ʕ}} || pronounced as a short ''a'' deep in the back of the throat || {{lang|oka|ʕaymt}} (angry) |- | ʕ̓ || {{lang|oka|italic=no|ʕ̓aw}} || {{IPAslink|ʕˀ}} || pronounced as an abruptly ended ''ʕ'' || {{lang|oka|ʕ̓ac̓nt}} (look) |- | ʕʷ || (?) || {{IPAslink|ʕʷ}} || pronounced as a nasally ''ow'' in the back of the throat || {{lang|oka|kaʕʷm}} (pray) |- | səc || (?) || {{IPAslink|s}} || pronounced as a cheesy ''s'' || {{lang|oka|səcmaḿáýaʔx}} (study) |- | sc || (?) || {{IPAslink|s}} || makes the /st͡ʃ/ sound || {{lang|oka|scułm}} (ox) |- | səxʷ || (?) || {{IPAslink|s}} || a less cheesy ''s'' || {{lang|oka|səxʷλẃam}} (firefighter) |} The letters with acute accent {{angbr|á}}, {{angbr|ə́}}, {{angbr|í}}, and {{angbr|ú}} are not counted as separate letters in this alphabet. {| class="wikitable" |+ Westbank First Nation alphabet<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.firstvoices.com/explore/FV/sections/Data/nsyilxc%C9%99n/nsyilxc%C9%99n/nsyilxc%C9%99n/learn/alphabet|title=Alphabet {{!}} Nsyilxcən {{!}} FirstVoices}}</ref> | a || á || c || cʼ || ə | ə́ || ɣ || ɣʼ || h || ḥ | i || í || k || kʼ || kʷ | kʼʷ || l || lʼ || ɬ || ƛʼ | m || mʼ || n || nʼ || p |- | t || qʼʷ || qʼ || qʷ || q | r || rʼ || s || pʼ || tʼ | u || ú || w || wʼ || x | xʷ || x̌ || x̌ʷ || y || yʼ | ʔ || ʕ || ʕʼ || ʕʷ || ʕʼʷ |}

== Phonology ==

=== Consonants === Consonant inventory of Okanagan:<ref name = "pattison1978" />

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |-style="font-size: 90%;" !colspan=2 rowspan=2| !rowspan=2| Bilabial !colspan=3| Alveolar !rowspan=2| Palatal !colspan=2| Velar !colspan=2| Uvular !colspan=2| Pharyngeal !rowspan=2| Glottal |- ! <small>median</small> || <small>affricate</small> || <small>lateral</small> ! <small>plain</small> || <small>labial</small> ! <small>plain</small> || <small>labial</small> ! <small>plain</small> || <small>labial</small> |- !rowspan=2| Stop ! <small>plain</small> | {{IPA link|p}} {{angle bracket|p}} | {{IPA link|t}} {{angle bracket|t}} | {{IPA link|ts}} ~ {{IPA link|tʃ}} {{angle bracket|c/č}} | | | {{IPA link|k}} {{angle bracket|k}} | {{IPA link|kʷ}} {{angle bracket|kʷ}} | {{IPA link|q}} {{angle bracket|q}} | {{IPA link|qʷ}} {{angle bracket|qʷ}} | | | {{IPA link|ʔ}} {{angle bracket|ʔ}} |- ! <small>ejec.</small> | {{IPA link|pʼ}} {{angle bracket |p̓}} | {{IPA link|tʼ}} {{angle bracket|t̓}} | {{IPA link|tsʼ}} {{angle bracket|c̓}} | {{IPA link|tɬʼ}} {{angle bracket|ƛ̓}} | | {{IPA link|kʼ}} {{angle bracket|k̓}} | {{IPA link|kʷʼ}} {{angle bracket|k̓ʷ}} | {{IPA link|qʼ}} {{angle bracket|q̓}} | {{IPA link|qʷʼ}} {{angle bracket|q̓ʷ}} | | | |- ! colspan=2| Fricative | | {{IPA link|s}} ~ {{IPA link|ʃ}} {{angle bracket|s/š}} | | {{IPA link|ɬ}} {{angle bracket|ɬ/ł}} | | {{IPA link|x}} {{angle bracket|x}} | {{IPA link|xʷ}} {{angle bracket|xʷ}} | {{IPA link|χ}} {{angle bracket|x̌/x̣}} | {{IPA link|χʷ}} {{angle bracket|x̌ʷ/x̣ʷ}} | | | {{IPA link|h}} {{angle bracket|h}} |- !rowspan=2| Sonorant ! <small>plain</small> | {{IPA link|m}} {{angle bracket|m}} | {{IPA link|n}} {{angle bracket|n}} | | {{IPA link|l}} {{angle bracket|l}} | {{IPA link|j}} {{angle bracket|y}} | {{IPA link|ɣ}} {{angle bracket|ɣ}}{{efn|Only occurs in some dialects.<ref>{{cite book |first=Kroeber |last=Paul D. |year=1999 |title=The Salish Language Family: Reconstructing Syntax |location=Lincoln |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |page=8}}</ref>}} | {{IPA link|w}} {{angle bracket|w}} | | | {{IPA link|ʕ}} {{angle bracket|ʕ}}{{efn|Sometimes realized as a uvular flap in the Southern Okanagan dialect.<ref>"Uvular-Pharyngeal Resonants in Interior Salish." M. Dale Kinkade. International Journal of American Linguistics, Vol. 33, No. 3 (Jul., 1967), pp. 228–234</ref>}} | {{IPA link|ʕʷ}} {{angle bracket|ʕʷ}} | |- ! <small>glottal.</small> | {{IPA link|mˀ}} {{angle bracket|m̓}} | {{IPA link|nˀ}} {{angle bracket|n̓}} | | {{IPA link|lˀ}} {{angle bracket|l̓}} | {{IPA link|jˀ}} {{angle bracket|y̓}} | | {{IPA link|wˀ}} {{angle bracket|w̓}} | | | {{IPA link|ʕˀ}} {{angle bracket|ʕ̓}} | {{IPA link|ʕˀʷ}} {{angle bracket|ʕ̓ʷ}} | |- !rowspan=2| Trill ! <small>plain</small> | | {{IPA link|r}} {{angle bracket|r}} | | | | | | | | | | |- ! <small>glottal.</small> | | {{IPA link|rˀ}} {{angle bracket|r̓}} | | | | | | | | | | |} {{notelist}}

=== Vowels ===

The vowels found in Lakes are: {{IPA|[i]}}, {{IPA|[a]}}, {{IPA|[u]}}, {{IPA|[ə]}}, and {{IPA|[o]}}. Stress will fall only on the full vowels {{IPA|[i]}}, {{IPA|[a]}}, and {{IPA|[u]}} in Okanagan.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |- ! !! Front!! Central!! Back |- ! Close | {{IPA link|i}} {{angle bracket|i}} | | {{IPA link|u}} {{angle bracket|u}} |- ! Mid | | {{IPA link|ə}} {{angle bracket|ə}}{{efn|The {{IPA|[ə]}} is the single unstressed variant of the full vowels in Okanagan}} | {{IPA link|o}} {{angle bracket|o}}{{efn|The {{IPA|[o]}} vowel is found only in borrowed words}} |- ! Open | | {{IPA link|a}} {{angle bracket|a}} | |} {{notelist}}

== Grammar == === Morphology ===

The morphology of Okanagan is fairly complex. It is a head-marking language that relies mostly on grammatical information being placed directly on the predicate by means of affixes and clitics. The combination of derivational and inflectional suffixes and prefixes that are added onto the stem words make for a compact language.<ref name="wh-questions">{{Cite thesis |last=Baptiste |first=Maxine Rose |title=Okanagan wh-questions |date=2001 |publisher=University of British Columbia |url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/soa/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/831/items/1.0090184 |language=en}}</ref>

==== Person markers ====

Okanagan demonstrates great flexibility when dealing with persons, number, and gender. The language encodes the person via a series of prefixes and suffixes, and uses its number system in tandem with pluralized pronominals to communicate the number of actors within a sentence. For example:

{{interlinear|indent=3|lang=oka |top= tkaˀkaˀɬis |k- kaˀ- kaˀɬis |num.CL PL.REDUP three |"There are three people"<ref name="wh-questions" />}}

In this example the {{lang|oka|k}}- classification designates that the word contains a numeral classifier.

Additionally, Okanagan relies heavily on the use of suffixes to designate gender. Okanagan handles gender in much the same way, by attaching both determiner and 'man' to the sentence, the gender of an object or subject can be communicated:

{{interlinear | lang = oka | indent = 3 | glossing2 = no | glossing3 = yes | top = akɬtkɬmílxʷ|an-kɬ tkɬmílxʷ|2SG.POSS-to be-woman|"She is your wife to be"<ref name="wh-questions" /> }}

In this example, there is a combination of 2nd singular marker with 'wife'. 'She' is encoded into the meaning of the word via the inclusion of the gender suffix at the end of the sentence.

Person markers within Okanagan are attached to verbs, nouns, or adjectives. The marker used depending on transitivity of verbs and other conditions outlined below. The person maker used largely depends on the case being used in the sentence.

==== Absolutive case ====

Absolutive markers within Okanagan can only be used if the predicate of the sentence is intransitive. For example, {{lang|oka|Kən c'k-am}} (I count) is perfectly viable in Okanagan, but *{{lang|oka|Kən c'k-ən-t}} *(I count it) is not, because the verb 'count' is transitive. Person markers never occur without an accompanying intransitive verb.<ref name = "wh-questions" />

{| class="wikitable" |- ! !! Singular !! Plural |- ! 1st person | {{lang|oka|kən}} || {{lang|oka|kʷu}} |- ! 2nd person | {{lang|oka|kʷ}} || {{lang|oka|p}} |- ! 3rd person | ∅ || (...{{lang|oka|-əlx}}) |}

==== Possessive case ====

Simple possessives within Okanagan are predominantly a result of prefixation and circumfixation on a verb. However, Okanagan uses simple possessives as aspect forms on the verb in very complex ways. This practice is predominantly seen in Southern interior Salish languages.<ref name = "wh-questions" />

{| class="wikitable" |+ The stem: {{lang|oka|kilx}} 'hand' |- ! Possessive !! Example !! Use !! Morphological process !! Translation |- | 1st SG || {{lang|oka|inkilx}} || {{lang|oka|in-kilx}} || prefix || my-hand |- | 2nd SG || {{lang|oka|ankilx}} || {{lang|oka|an-kilx}} || prefix || your-hand |- | 3rd SG || {{lang|oka|iʔ kilxs}} || {{lang|oka|iʔ{{circumfix|kilx}}s}} || circumfix || his/her{{circumfix|hand}} |- | 1st PL|| {{lang|oka|iʔ kilxtət}} || {{lang|oka|iʔ{{circumfix|kilx}}tət}} || circumfix || Our{{circumfix|hand}} |- | 2nd PL|| {{lang|oka|iʔ kilxəmp}} || {{lang|oka|iʔ{{circumfix|kilx}}əmp}} || circumfix ||Your.PL{{circumfix|hand}} |- | 3rd PL|| {{lang|oka|iʔ kilxsəlx}} || {{lang|oka|iʔ{{circumfix|kilx}}səlx}} || circumfix || Their{{circumfix|hand}} |}

Where prefixation occurs with {{lang|oka|-in}} / {{lang|oka|-an}} in the 1st and 2nd person singular, {{IPA|/n/}} may undergo deletion as below:

{{interlinear | lang = oka | indent = 3 | top = isxʷuytn|in- s- xʷuy -tan|1sg.POSS- NOM- go -INST|"They are my tracks." }}

{{interlinear | lang = oka | indent = 3 | top = akɬtkɬmilxʷ|an- kɬ- tkɬmilxʷ|2sg.POSS- {to be} -woman|"She is your wife to be." }}

{{interlinear | lang = oka | indent = 3 | top = anik'mən|an- nik'mən|2sg.POSS- knife|"your knife"<ref name = "wh-questions" /> }}

==== Ergative case ====

In the case of verbs, Okanagan morphology handles transitivity in various ways. The first is a set of rules for transitive verbs that only have a single direct object (monotransitive). For the ergative case, there are two variants of person markers: a stressed and an unstressed.

{| class="wikitable" |- ! !! Stressed !! Unstressed |- | 1st SG || {{lang|oka|-ín}} || {{lang|oka|-n}} |- | 2nd SG || {{lang|oka|-íxʷ}} || {{lang|oka|-xʷ}} |- | 3rd SG || {{lang|oka|-ís}} || {{lang|oka|-s}} |- | 1st PL || {{lang|oka|-ím}} || {{lang|oka|-m}} |- | 2nd PL || {{lang|oka|-ip}} || {{lang|oka|-p}} |- | 3rd PL || {{lang|oka|-ísəlx}} || {{lang|oka|-səlx}} |}

The stem: {{lang|oka|c'k-ən-t}} is the equivalent of the transitive verb 'count.'

{| class="wikitable" |- ! !! Example !! Use !! Translation |- | 1st SG || {{lang|oka|c̓kəntin}} || {{lang|oka|c'k-ən-t-ín}} || I count it |- | 2nd SG || {{lang|oka|c̓kəntixʷ}} || {{lang|oka|c'k-ən-t-íxʷ}} || You count it |- | 3rd SG || {{lang|oka|c̓kəntis}} || {{lang|oka|c'k-ən-t-ís}} || S/he counts it |- | 1st PL || {{lang|oka|c̓kəntim}} || {{lang|oka|c'k-ən-t-ím}} || We count it |- | 2nd PL || {{lang|oka|c̓kəntip}} || {{lang|oka|c'k-ən-t-íp}} || You (PL) count it |- | 3rd PL || {{lang|oka|c̓kəntisəlx}} || {{lang|oka|c'k-ən-t-ísəlx}} || They count it |}

{{lang|oka|wikn̓t}} (see it) is an example of a strong {{lang|oka|-nt-}} transitive past/present verb, with 'XX' identifying non-occurring combinations and '--' identifying semantic combinations which require the reflexive suffix {{lang|oka|-cut-}}.

{| class="wikitable" |+ Two-participant event inflections: {{lang|oka|wikn̓t}} |- ! rowspan="3" colspan="3" | Transitive <br /> inflection ! colspan="7" align="center" | Experiencer |- ! colspan="3" align="center" | Singular ! colspan="3" align="center" | Plural |- ! 1 ! 2 ! 3 ! 1 ! 2 ! 3 |- ! rowspan="6" align="center" | Executor ! rowspan="3" | Sg ! 1 | -- | {{lang|oka|wikn̓tsn̓}} | {{lang|oka|wikn̓}} | XX | {{lang|oka|wikłəm̓n̓}} | {{lang|oka|wikn̓əl̓x}} |- ! 2 | {{lang|oka|kʷuʔ wikn̓txʷ}} | -- | {{lang|oka|wikn̓txʷ}} | {{lang|oka|kʷuʔ wikn̓txʷ}} | XX | {{lang|oka|wikn̓txʷəl̓x}} |- ! 3 | {{lang|oka|kʷuʔ wiks}} | {{lang|oka|wikn̓ts}} | {{lang|oka|wiks}} | {{lang|oka|kʷuʔ wikn̓tm̓}} | {{lang|oka|wikłəm̓s}} | {{lang|oka|wiksəl̓x}} |- ! rowspan="3" | Pl ! 1 | XX | {{lang|oka|wikn̓tst}} | {{lang|oka|wikn̓tm̓}} | -- | {{lang|oka|wikłəm̓t}} | {{lang|oka|wikn̓tm̓əl̓x}} |- ! 2 | {{lang|oka|kʷuʔ wikn̓tp}} | XX | {{lang|oka|wikn̓tp}} | {{lang|oka|kʷuʔ wikn̓tp}} | -- | {{lang|oka|wikn̓tpəl̓x}} |- ! 3 | {{lang|oka|kʷuʔ wiksəl̓x}} | {{lang|oka|wikn̓tsəl̓x}} | {{lang|oka|wiksəl̓x}} | {{lang|oka|kʷuʔ wikn̓tm̓əl̓x}} | {{lang|oka|wikłəm̓səl̓x}} | {{lang|oka|wikn̓tm̓əl̓x}} |- |}

==== Accusative case ====

There are two sets of verb affixes each containing two members that dictate the composition of a verb. The first set is composed of the affixes {{lang|oka|-nt-}}, and {{lang|oka|-ɬt-}}. The second set is composed of {{lang|oka|-st-}} and {{lang|oka|x(i)t-}} where {{lang|oka|'i'}} is a stressed vowel.

The major difference between two sets is how they incorporate affixes to remain grammatically correct. In the case of the {{lang|oka|-nt-}}, {{lang|oka|-ɬt-}} group, all particles and suffixes joining onto the stem and suffix of the verb will be identical for both. The {{lang|oka|-nt-}} affix connects to the stem of a transitive verb via suffixation. The suffix {{lang|oka|-nt-}} can only make reference to two persons: an actor and a primary goal.

{{lang|oka|q̓y̓əntin q'y'-ənt-in}} (I write something)

The {{lang|oka|-ɬt-}} affix is the ditransitive counterpart of {{lang|oka|-nt-}} and works in much the same. The difference between the two is that it refers to three persons: an actor, and two other actors or goals. Furthermore, {{lang|oka|-ɬt-}} is further differentiated from its ditransitive cousin {{lang|oka|-x(i)t-}} because it does not require a clitic to be a part of the verb.

In contrast to this group, {{lang|oka|-st-}} and {{lang|oka|-x(i)t-}} operate by unique rules. The {{lang|oka|-st-}} affix, much like its counterpart must be added to a verb stem by means of suffixation, it is also transitive, and refers to an actor and a primary goal, but it implies a reference to a third person, or a secondary goal without explicitly stating it.

{{lang|oka|q̓y̓əstin q'y'-əst-in}}. (I write it [for myself])

The {{lang|oka|-x(i)t-}} ditransitive affix shares all of the features of {{lang|oka|-ɬt-}} with the sole exception that it requires a clitic to be attached to front of the verb stem. The reason for the clitic in Okanagan is to add emphasis or focus on the second object, whereas {{lang|oka|-ɬt-}} makes no distinction.<ref>Mattina, Anthony. ''The Colville-Okanagan Transitive System''. International Journal of American Linguistics, Vol. 48, No. 4 (Oct. 1982), pp. 421-435</ref>

=== Predicates and arguments ===

Each clause in Okanagan can be divided into two parts: inflected predicates which are required for every sentence, and optional arguments. Okanagan allows a maximum of two arguments per sentence construction. These are marked by pronominal markers on the predicate. Each argument is introduced to the sentence via an initial determiner; the only exception to initial determiners is in the case of proper names which do not need determiners to introduce them. Predicates may be of any lexical category. There may be additional arguments added to a sentence in Okanagan via complementizers. Okanagan is unique among the majority of Salish languages for the inclusion of the complementizer.<ref name = "wh-questions" />

==== Obliques ==== Okanagan has one oblique marker that serves adapts it to several different functions depending upon the context in which it is used. The oblique marker {{lang|oka|'t'}} can be used to mark the object of an intransitive verb, as in the case below.

{{interlinear | lang = oka | indent = 3|kən ˀiɬən t sɬiqʷ|I eat OBL meat|I ate (some) meat<ref name = "wh-questions" /> }}

{{lang|oka|'t'}} may also mark the agent in a passive construction, and it may be used to mark the ergative agent of transitive verbs. Finally, the oblique {{lang|oka|'t'}} may be used to mark functions including time and instrument:

{{interlinear | lang = oka | indent = 3|kən txam t sx̌əx̌c'iˀ|I comb OBL stick|"I combed my hair with a stick"<ref name = "wh-questions" /> }}

{{lang|oka|'t'}} may also coincide with the determiner {{lang|oka|'iʔ'}} in the case of instrumentals and passive agents:

{{interlinear | lang = oka | indent = 3|tʕapəntís [iʔ [t swlwlmínk] ].|shoot-{{gcl|DIR|transitive verb marker}}-3SG.ERG DET OBL gun {}|He shot it with a gun. }}

{{interlinear | lang = oka | indent = 3|Mike cúmqs-nt-m [iʔ [t tkɬmílxʷ] ].|Mike kiss-{{gcl|DIR|transitive verb marker}}-PASS DET OBL woman {}|Mike was kissed by the woman.<ref name = "lyon2013">{{cite journal |last=Lyon |first=John |date=2013 |title=Oblique Marked Relatives in Southern Interior Salish: Implications for the Movement Analysis |journal=Canadian Journal of Linguistics |volume=58 |issue=2 |pages=349–382|doi=10.1017/S0008413100003066 |s2cid=146947730 }}</ref> }}

==== Complements ====

There are a number of complements available to Okanagan to clarify its predicates; among these are positional complements, which merely indicate the place of a predicate, and a variety of marked complements, used to express further meaning through a series of particles.<ref name = "mattina1973">Mattina, Anthony. "Colville Grammatical Structure." University of Hawaii. May 1973.</ref>

The first of the marked complements is the prefix {{lang|oka|yi}}. For the most part, {{lang|oka|yi}} is an optional complement that is used in definite cases with the exception of cases when a proper noun is used. In such cases, the {{lang|oka|yi}} prefix is not allowed. When {{lang|oka|yi}} is used it refers to a definite referent.<ref name = "mattina1973" />

{{lang|oka|wikən yiʔ sqilxʷ}} "I saw the/those people." The sequential complements are composed of the particles {{lang|oka|ɬ}} and {{lang|oka|ɬa}}. {{lang|oka|ɬa}} conveys temporal sequence while {{lang|oka|ɬ}} represents a subordinate element.

{{lang|oka|way̓ x̌ast ɬ kʷ cxʷuy̓}} "It's good if/that you come."

{{lang|oka|way̓ x̌ast ɬa kʷ cxʷuy̓}} "It will be good when/after you come."

Okanagan also contains a number of locational complements which refer to when or where something happened, serving as a point of reference. The {{lang|oka|l}} and the variant {{lang|oka|lə}} particles are used to tie a predicate to a time or place.<ref name = "mattina1973" />

{{lang|oka|xʷuy̓ lə sənkʷəkʷəʔac}}. "He went in the night"

Ablative complements in Okanagan come in the form of the {{lang|oka|tl}} particle. Along with directional complements, {{lang|oka|k̓}} and {{lang|oka|k̓l}}, Okanagan speakers can indicate motion.<ref name="mattina1973" /> The ablative complement {{lang|oka|tl}} only serves to indicate 'moving away from.' For instance, in the sentence below, the ablative is 'from (across the ocean).'

{{lang|oka|Kʷ scutxx tl sk̓ʷətikənx}} "Were you saying [that he is] from Seattle?"

The directional complement's two particles represent both direction towards something, and direction towards a specific location. {{lang|oka|k}} signifies movement towards something:

{{lang|oka|k̓ incitxʷ}} "to my house" (not towards it)

The {{lang|oka|k̓l}} particle modifies this sentence so that it specifies the house as the location to which the subject must move. {{lang|oka|k̓əl incitxʷ}} "To my house" (there specifically)

=== Verb classification ===

Verbs may react in multiple ways when a suffix is attached to the root stem of the word. Below are a number of ways in which intransitive roots are modified.<ref name = "pattison1978">Pattison, Lois Cornelia. "Douglas Lake Okanagan: Phonology and Morphology." University of British Columbia. 1978.</ref>

* {{lang|oka|-t}} can indicate a natural characteristic of the root ** {{lang|oka|c̓ik̓}} "burn" ** {{lang|oka|c̓ik̓t}} "burned" * {{lang|oka|-lx}} indicates the subject is engaged in an activity ** {{lang|oka|qiclx}} "run" * {{lang|oka|-ils}} expresses state of mind. ** {{lang|oka|nk̓wpils}} "lonely" * {{lang|oka|-p}} expresses lack of a subject's control ** {{lang|oka|kmap}} "darkening"

Transitives:

* {{lang|oka|-n}} involves action upon an object by a subject ** {{lang|oka|kʷuʔ caʔntis}} "he hit me" * {{lang|oka|-s}} involves action or state resulting from an activity. ** {{lang|oka|kʷu cˀaistixʷ}} * {{lang|oka|-cut}} indicates when the action of a subject is directed toward oneself. ** {{lang|oka|tarqncut}} "kick oneself" * Transitive stems without person markings indicate imperatives ** {{lang|oka|nlk̓ipnt}} "open it" * Intransitives can express an imperative via the {{lang|oka|-x}} suffix: ** {{lang|oka|xʷuyx}} "go"

=== Space, time, and modality === The Okanagan system relies heavily on its affixes to demonstrate tense, space, and time. Below are demonstrated various affixes that attach to roots to encode meaning.

The following two examples are only possible in the {{lang|oka|-n}} transitive paradigm:<ref name = "pattison1978" />

{{lang|oka|ks-}} unrealized action {{lang|oka|ikstxt̓ám}} "I'm going to look after him"

{{lang|oka|səc-}} past perfect {{lang|oka|ˁi-səc-txt'-am}} "I've been looking after him."

The following examples are for intransitives.

{{lang|oka|-k}} Unrealized: expresses an intentional future action or state. (I am going to...) {{lang|oka|Kn kʷal̓t}} " I'm warm"

{{lang|oka|-aʔx}} Continuative: Action or state that is in progress {{lang|oka|kn scpútaʔx}} "I am celebrating"

==== Directional prefixes ====

* {{lang|oka|ɬ-}} Movement back * {{lang|oka|c-}} Movement toward speaker * {{lang|oka|kɬ-}} down, and under<ref name = "pattison1978" />

==== Prepositional case-markings for oblique objects ====

* {{lang|oka|tl̓}} from, source. * {{lang|oka|k̓l}} to, at, goal, recipient, dative. * {{lang|oka|k̓}} for, benefactive. * {{lang|oka|l}} on, locative. * {{lang|oka|nˁəɬ}} with, comitative. * {{lang|oka|ˁit}} with, by, instrumental<ref name = "pattison1978" />

==See also== * Okanagan Nation Alliance * Sinixt people

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==

===Language learning texts=== {{refbegin}} *Peterson, Wiley, and Parkin. (2004). ''Nsəlxcin 1: A Beginning Course in Colville-Okanagan Salish''. The Paul Creek Language Association. *Peterson and Parkin. (2005). ''Captíkʷł 1: Nsəlxcin Stories for Beginners''. The Paul Creek Language Association. *Peterson and Parkin. (2007). ''Nsəlxcin 2: An Intermediate Course in Okanagan Salish''. The Paul Creek Language Association. *Peterson and Parkin. (2007). ''Captíkʷł 2: More Nsəlxcin Stories for Beginners''. The Paul Creek Language Association. *Peterson and Parkin. (In Press). ''Nsəlxcin 3''. The Paul Creek Language Association. *Peterson and Parkin. (In Press). ''Captíkʷł 3''. The Paul Creek Language Association. *Manuel, Herbert, and Anthony Mattina. (1983). ''Okanagan Pronunciation Primer.'' University of Montana Linguistics Laboratory. {{refend}}

===Narratives, songbooks, dictionaries, and word lists=== {{refbegin}} *Doak, Ivy G. (1983). ''The 1908 Okanagan Word Lists of James Teit''. Missoula, Montana: Dept. of Anthropology, University of Montana, 1983. *Mattina, Anthony and Madeline DeSautel. (2002). ''Dora Noyes DeSautel łaʔ kłcaptikʷł: Okanagan Salish Narratives''. University of Montana Occasional Papers in Linguistics 15. *Seymour, Peter, Madeline DeSautel, and Anthony Mattina. (1985). ''The Golden Woman: The Colville Narrative of Peter J. Seymour''. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. *Seymour, Peter, Madeline DeSautel, and Anthony Mattina. (1974). ''The Narrative of Peter J. Seymour Blue Jay and His Brother-In-Law Wolf''. * Lindley, Lottie & John Lyon. (2012). ''12 Upper Nicola Okanagan Texts''. ICSNL 47, UBCWPL vol. 32, Vancouver BC. * Lindley, Lottie & John Lyon. (2013). ''12 More Upper Nicola Okanagan Narratives''. ICSNL 48, UBCWPL vol. 35, Vancouver BC. * Mattina, Anthony. ''Colville-Okanagan Dictionary''. Missoula, Mont: Dept. of Anthropology, University of Montana, 1987. *Pierre, Larry and Martin Louie. (1973). ''Classified Word List for the Okanagan Language.'' MS, Penticton, B.C. *Purl, Douglas. (1974). ''The Narrative of Peter J. Seymour: Blue Jay and Wolf.'' ICSL 9, Vancouver, B.C. *Someday, James B. (1980). ''Colville Indian Language Dictionary.'' Ed.D. dissertation, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks. DAI 41A:1048. *Peterson and Parkin ''n̓səl̓xcin iʔ‿sn̓kʷnim: Songs for Beginners in Okanagan Salish.'' The Paul Creek Language Association. *Peterson and Parkin ''n̓səl̓xcin iʔ‿sn̓kʷnim 2: More Songs for Beginners in Okanagan Salish.'' The Paul Creek Language Association. *Peterson and Parkin. ''n̓səl̓xcin iʔ‿sn̓kʷnim 3: Even More Songs for Beginners in Colville-Okanagan.'' The Paul Creek Language Association. {{refend}}

===Linguistic descriptions and reviews=== {{refbegin|35em}} *Arrowsmith, Gary L. (1968). ''Colville Phonemics.'' M.A. thesis, University of Washington, Seattle. *Baptiste, M. (2002). ''Wh-Questions in Okanagan Salish.'' M.A. thesis, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. *Barthmaier, Paul. (2004). ''Intonation Units in Okanagan.'' Pp.&nbsp;30–42 of Gerdts and Matthewson (eds.) 2004. *Barthmaier, Paul. (2002). ''Transitivity and Lexical Suffixes in Okanagan.'' Papers for ICSNL 37 (Gillon, C., N. Sawai, and R. Wojdak, eds.). UBCWPL 9:1–17. *Charlie, William M., Clara Jack, and Anthony Mattina. (1988). ''William Charlie's "Two-Headed Person": Preliminary Notes on Colville-Okanagan Oratory.'' ICSNL 23 (s.p.), Eugene, Oregon. *Dilts, Philip. (2006). ''An Analysis of the Okanagan "Middle" Marker -M.'' Papers for ICSNL 41 (Kiyota, M., J. Thompson, and N. Yamane-Tanaka, eds.). UBCWPL 11:77–98. *Doak, Ivy G. (1981). ''A Note on Plural Suppletion in Colville Okanagan.'' Pp.&nbsp;143–147 of (Anthony) Mattina and Montler (eds.) 1981. *Doak, Ivy G. (2004). ''[Review of Dora Noyes DeSautel ła' kłcaptíkwł ([Anthony] Mattina and DeSautel) [eds.] 2002.]'' AL 46:220–222. *Doak, Ivy and Anthony Mattina. (1997). ''Okanagan -lx, Coeur d'Alene -lš, and Cognate Forms.'' IJAL 63:334–361. *Fleisher, Mark S. (1979). ''A Note on Schuhmacher's Inference of wahú' in Colville Salish.'' IJAL 45:279–280. *Galloway, Brent D. (1991). ''[Review of Colville-Okanagan Dictionary ([Anthony] Mattina 1987).]'' IJAL 57:402–405. *Harrington, John P. (1942). ''Lummi and Nespelem Fieldnotes.'' Microfilm reel No. 015, remaining data as per Harrington 1910. *Hébert, Yvonne M. (1978). ''Sandhi in a Salishan Language: Okanagan.'' ICSL 13:26–56, Victoria, B.C. *Hébert, Yvonne M. (1979). ''A Note on Aspect in (Nicola Lake) Okanagan.'' ICSL 14:173–209, Bellingham, Washington. *Hébert, Yvonne M. (1982a). ''Transitivity in (Nicola Lake) Okanagan.'' Ph.D. dissertation, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. DAI 43A:3896. *Hébert, Yvonne M. (1982b). ''Aspect and Transitivity in (Nicola Lake) Okanagan.'' Syntax and Semantics 15:195–215. *Hébert, Yvonne M. (1983). ''Noun and Verb in a Salishan Language.'' KWPL 8:31–81. *Hill-Tout, Charles. (1911). ''Report on the Ethnology of the Okanák.ēn of British Columbia, an Interior Division of the Salish Stock.'' JAIGBI 41:130–161. London. *Kennedy, Dorothy I. D. and Randall T. [Randy] Bouchard. (1998). 'Northern Okanagan, Lakes, and Colville.' Pp.&nbsp;238–252 of Walker Jr. (vol. ed.) 1998. *Kinkade, M. Dale. (1967). ''On the Identification of the Methows (Salish).'' IJAL 33:193–197. *Kinkade, M. Dale. (1987). ''[Review of The Golden Woman: The Colville Narrative of Peter J. Seymour (Mattina 1985).]'' Western Folklore 46:213–214. *Kroeber, Karl, and Eric P. Hamp. (1989). ''[Review of The Golden Woman: The Colville Narrative of Peter J. Seymour (Mattina, ed.).]'' IJAL 55:94–97. *Krueger, John R. (1967). ''Miscellanea Selica V: English-Salish Index and Finder List.'' AL 9(2):12–25. *Lyon, John (2013). ''Predication and Equation in Okanagan Salish: The Syntax and Semantics of DPs and Non-verbal Predication'' University of British Columbia, PhD Dissertation. (http://hdl.handle.net/2429/45684) *Lyon, John. (2013). ''Oblique Marked Relatives in Southern Interior Salish: Implications for the Movement Analysis.'' Canadian Journal of Linguistics 58:2. pp 349–382. *Mattina, Anthony and Clara Jack. (1982). ''Okanagan Communication and Language.'' ICSNL 17:269–294, Portland, Oregon. *Mattina, Anthony and Clara Jack. (1986). ''Okanagan-Colville Kinship Terms.'' ICSNL 21:339–346, Seattle, Washington. [Published as Mattina and Jack 1992.] *Mattina, Anthony and Nancy J. Mattina (1995). ''Okanagan ks- and -kł.'' ICSNL 30, Victoria, B.C. *Mattina, Anthony and Sarah Peterson. (1997). ''Diminutives in Colville-Okanagan.'' ICSNL 32:317–324, Port Angeles, Washington. *Mattina, Anthony and Allan Taylor. (1984). ''The Salish Vocabularies of David Thompson.'' IJAL 50:48–83. *Mattina, Nancy J. (1993). ''Some Lexical Properties of Colville-Okanagan Ditransitives.'' ICSNL 28:265–284, Seattle, Washington. *Mattina, Nancy J. (1994a). ''Roots, Bases, and Stems in Colville-Okanagan.'' ICSNL 29, Pablo, Montana. *Mattina, Nancy J. (1994b). ''Argument Structure of Nouns, Nominalizations, and Denominals in Okanagan Salish.'' Paper presented at the 2nd Annual University of Victoria Salish Morphosyntax Workshop, Victoria, B.C. *Mattina, Nancy J. (1994c). ''Notes on Word Order in Colville-Okanagan Salish.'' NWLC 10:93–102. Burnaby, B.C.: Simon Fraser University. * Mattina, Nancy J. (1996a). ''Aspect and Category in Okanagan Word Formation''. Ottawa: National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. {{ISBN|0-612-17011-X}} *Mattina, Nancy J. (1996b). ''Anticausatives in Okanagan.'' Paper presented at the 4th Annual University of Victoria Salish Morphosyntax Conference, Victoria, B.C. *Mattina, Nancy J. (1999a). ''Future in Colville-Okanagan Salish.'' ICSNL 34:215–230, Kamloops, B.C. [Note also (Nancy) Mattina 1999c.] *Mattina, Nancy J. (1999b). ''Toward a History of the Inflectional Future in Colville-Okanagan Salish.'' University of California Santa Barbara Occasional Papers in Linguistics 17:27–42. Santa Barbara: University of California Santa Barbara. *Mattina, Nancy J. (2004). ''smiyáw sucnmínctәxw: Coyote Proposes.'' Pp.&nbsp;289–299 of Gerdts and Matthewson (eds.) 2004. *O'Brien, Michael. (1967). ''A Phonology of Methow.'' ICSL 2, Seattle, Washington. *Pattison, Lois C. (1978). ''Douglas Lake Okanagan: Phonology and Morphology.'' M.A. thesis, University of British Columbia. *Petersen, Janet E. (1980). ''Colville Lexical Suffixes and Comparative Notes.'' MS. *Ray, Verne F. (1932). ''The Sanpoil and Nespelem: Salish Peoples of Northwestern Washington.'' UWPA 5. Seattle. *Schuhmacher, W. W. (1977). ''The Colville Name for Hawaii.'' IJAL 43:65–66. *Spier, Leslie. (1938). ''The Sinkaietk or Southern Okanagan of Washington.'' General Series in Anthropology, no. 6. Menasha, Wisconsin: George Banta Publishing. *Turner, Nancy J., Randy Bouchard, and Dorothy D. Kennedy. (1980). ''Ethnobotany of the Okanagan-Colville Indians of British Columbia and Washington.'' Occasional Paper Series 21. Victoria: British Columbia Provincial Museum. *Vogt, Hans. (1940). ''Salishan Studies. Comparative Notes on Kalispel, Spokane, Colville and Coeur d'Alene.'' Oslo: Skrifter utgitt av Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi i Oslo, II, Hist.-filos. Klasse, No. 2, Jacob Dybwad. *Watkins, Donald. (1972). ''A Description of the Phonemes and Position Classes in the Morphology of Head of the Lake Okanagan.'' Ph.D. dissertation, University of Alberta, Edmonton. *Watkins, Donald. (1974). ''A Boas original.'' IJAL 40:29–43. *Young, Philip. (1971). ''A Phonology of Okanogan.'' M.A. thesis, University of Kansas. {{refend}}

==External links== {{Incubator|code=oka}} *[https://www.salishschoolofspokane.org/ Salish School of Spokane] *[https://www.enowkincentre.ca/ En'owkin Centre] *[https://ilfts.org/languages/language/nslxcin N̓səl̓xčin̓ Curriculum] from ILFTS *[https://www.firstvoices.com/syilx Okanagan language dictionary and phrase book] by FirstVoices *[https://www.ydli.org/langs/okanagan.htm First Nations Languages of British Columbia entry] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20200919222221/https://sinixtnation.org/content/language Sinixt Nation Language Page]

{{Salishan languages}} {{Languages of Canada}} {{Indigenous peoples in Washington}}

Category:Syilx Category:Interior Salish languages Category:Indigenous languages of the North American Plateau Category:Indigenous languages of Washington (state) Category:First Nations languages in Canada Category:Languages of the United States Category:Native American language revitalization