Diidiitidq

Diidiitidq Text

The Diidiitidq language (ISO 639-3 noo) is spoken in and around the south-western tip of Vancouver Island. It is a southern Wakashan language closely related to Nuučaan̓uł and Makah. An English term for the language and people is often Nitinat, reflecting the correspondance between /n/ in Nuučaan̓uł and /d/ in Diidiitidq. The word for the people who speak this language is Diitiidʔaaʔtx̣.

The orthography follows the Americanist linguistics tradition, with the goal of “one letter, one sound”. There are some rather complicated letters, like č̓, and some unfamiliar ones, for example: ʕ ƛ.

The Canadian Census does not count Diidiitidq independently. According to Howe and Cook, there are less than 10 speakers.

Diidiitidq Consonants

	bilabial	alveolar	alveolar affricate	palato-alveolar	lateral	velar	velar rounded	uvular	uvular rounded	pharyngeal	glottal
voiced stop	b	d
voiced ejective	b̓	d̓									ʔ
voiceless stop	p	t	c	č	ƛ	k	kʷ	q	qʷ
ejective stop	p̓	t̓	c̓	č̓	ƛ̓	k̓	k̓ʷ	q̓	q̓ʷ
voiceless fricative			s	š	ł	x	xʷ	x̣	x̣ʷ		h
nasal / resonant	(m)	(n)		y	l	ŋ	w			ʕ
glottalised	(m̓)	(n̓)		y̓	l̓		w̓

Diidiitidq Vowels

	front	central	back
high	i – ii		u – uu
mid	e – ee		o – oo
low		a – aa

Notes

1. Doubling the vowel indicates the sound is held for a longer duration. This may also be represented with a colon or a single raised dot, e.g. 〈a:〉 for /aa/, 〈e·〉 for /ee/, etc.
2. Letters are normally not capitalised at the beginning of sentences or proper names.