W̓uik̓ala / Oowekyala

W̓uik̓ala Text

W̓uik̓ala is a Northern Wakashan language closely related to Heiltsuk, and is spoken at Rivers Inlet and Owikeno lake on the west coast of British Columbia. The writing system is the same as one of the versions of Heiltsuk.

The Canadian Census does not count for W̓uik̓ala speakers. The FPPC reports fewer than 10 speakers.

Contents

Wuik̓ala Consonants

	bilabial	alveolar	alveolar affricate	lateral	velar (y‑offglide)	velar rounded	uvular	uvular rounded	glottal
voiced stop	b	d	z	dh	g	gv	ǧ	ǧv
voiceless stop	p	t	c	th	k	kv	q	qv
ejective stop	p̓	t̓	c̓	t̓h	k̓	k̓v	q̓	q̓v	'
voiceless fricative			s	il	x	xv	x̌	x̌v
nasal / resonant	m	n		l	y	w			h
glottalized n/r	m̓	n̓		l̓	y̓	w̓

Wuik̓ala Vowels

	front	central	back
high	i i̓ ii		u u̓ uu
mid		ə
low		a a̓ aa

Notes

Long vowels are spelled by doubling the letter. Glottalized vowels are marked with the apostrophe accent.
There are syllabic consonants: 〈əm〉 [m̩], 〈ən〉 [n̩], 〈əl〉 [l̩]. Their long counterparts are 〈əmm〉, 〈ənn〉, 〈əll〉. Glottalized variants are 〈əmm̓〉, 〈ənn̓〉, 〈əll̓〉.
Stressed syllables is indicated with a grave accent: à
syllable initial /'/ and /h/ are spelled 〈'ǎ〉 and 〈hǎ〉, as in 'ǎi, 'ǎu, 'ǎəm, 'ǎən, 'ǎəl. If the vowel is /a/, the sounds are simply spelled 〈'ǎ〉 and 〈hǎ〉.