Haíɫzaqvḷa / Heiltsuk Language

Heiltsuk (ISO 639-3 hei) is a northern Wakashan language spoken mid-way up the Pacific coast of British Columbia. The writing system presented here is based on the practical orthography as shown in Rath 1981. The current form is used in Kitasoo and Bella Bella, with several modifications. It is a compromise of sorts between the linguistic and B.C.-style practical orthographies. Some its most notable features are: using 〈v〉 as a diacritic for rounded velars and uvulars, and the complex forms of vocalic nasals and resonants, like 〈ṃ̓〉.

The Canadian Census counts 125 people with knowledge of Haíɫzaqvḷa in 2016. According to Howe and Cook, there are 200 speakers.

Haíɫzaqvḷa Consonants

 bilabialalveolaralveolar affricatelateralvelar (y‑offglide)velar roundeduvularuvular roundedglottal
voiced stopbdzλggvǧv
voiceless stopptcƛkkvqqv
ejective stopƛ̓k̓vq̓v
voiceless fricativesɫxxvx̌v
nasal / resonantmnlywh
glottalized n/r
syllabic n/r
syllabic high-tone n/rṃ́ṇ́ḷ́
glottalized syllabic n/rṃ̓ṇ̓ḷ̓

Haíɫzaqvḷa Vowels

 frontcentralback
highi í i̓u ú u̓
mide é
lowa á a̓

Notes

  1. Rath 1981 differs from the community orthography in the way laterals are written: λ→dh, ƛ→th, ƛ̓→t̓h, ɫ→lh.
  2. The capital forms of λ and ƛ are upside-down capital ‘Y’ and ‘Y’ with a bar.
  3. The acute accent á is high tone. The apostophe accent a̓ indicates a glottalised vowel.