Nuu-chah-nulth language

Nuu-chah-nulth (nuučaan̓uɫ), a.k.a. Nootka (/ˈnuːtkə/), is a Wakashan language in the Pacific Northwest of North America on the west coast of Vancouver Island, from Barkley Sound to Quatsino Sound in British Columbia by the Nuu-chah-nulth peoples. Nuu-chah-nulth is a Southern Wakashan language related to Nitinaht and Makah.

This article is about the Nuu-chah-nulth language, often called Nootka. For other uses of the word Nootka, see Nootka (disambiguation).
Nuu-chah-nulth
Nootka
nuučaan̓uɫ, T̓aat̓aaqsapa
Pronunciation[nuːt͡ʃaːnˀuɬ]
Native toCanada
RegionWest coast of Vancouver Island, from Barkley Sound to Quatsino Sound, British Columbia
Ethnicity7,680 Nuu-chah-nulth (2014, FPCC)
Native speakers
130, (2014, FPCC (280 native speakers and 665 learners in 2021 ))
Wakashan
  • Southern
    • Nuu-chah-nulth
Language codes
ISO 639-3nuk
Glottolognuuc1236
ELPNuuchahnulth (Nootka)
Nootka is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

It is the first language of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast to have documentary written materials describing it. In the 1780s, Captains Vancouver, Quadra, and other European explorers and traders frequented Nootka Sound and the other Nuu-chah-nulth communities, making reports of their voyages. From 1803–1805 John R. Jewitt, an English blacksmith, was held captive by chief Maquinna at Nootka Sound. He made an effort to learn the language, and in 1815 published a memoir with a brief glossary of its terms.

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