| Nisga’a | |
| Nativename: | Nisg̱a’a, nisqáʔamq |
| Pronunciation: | in Salishan languages pronounced as /nisɢaʔa/ |
| States: | Canada |
| Region: | Northwest British Columbia (Nisg̱a’a Nation) |
| Ethnicity: | 5,495 Nisga'a |
| Speakers: | 470 |
| Date: | 2016 census |
| Ref: | e18 |
| Speakers2: | 1,500 L2 speakers[1] |
| Familycolor: | American |
| Fam1: | Tsimshianic |
| Fam2: | Nass–Gitksan |
| Script: | Nisg̱a’a Script (NAPA) |
| Iso3: | ncg |
| Glotto: | nisg1240 |
| Glottorefname: | Nisga'a |
| Notice: | IPA |
| Map: | Lang Status 40-SE.svg |
| People: | Nisg̱a'a |
| Country: | Nisg̱a'a La̱xyip |
Nisga’a (also Nisg̱a’a, Nass, Nisgha, Nishka, Niska, Nishga, Nisqa’a) is an indigenous language of northwestern British Columbia. It is a part of the language family generally called Tsimshianic, although some Nisga'a people resent the precedence the term gives to Coast Tsimshian. Nisga’a is very closely related to Gitxsan. Indeed, many linguists regard Nisga’a and Gitksan as dialects of a single Nass–Gitksan language. The two are generally treated as distinct languages out of deference to the political separation of the two groups.
Like almost all other First Nations languages of British Columbia, Nisga’a is an endangered language. In the 2018 Report on the Status of B.C. First Nations Languages, there were 311 fluent speakers and 294 active language learners reported in a population of 6,113.[2]
Anglican missionary James Benjamin McCullagh conducted much early linguistic work in Nisga’a, preparing translations of parts of the Bible and Book of Common Prayer published in 1890, as well as a Nisga’a primer for students published in 1897. These were published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK). These items included some portions of Scripture.
Other notable documentation of the Nisga'a language include 'A Short Practical Dictionary of the Gitksan Language' compiled by Bruce Rigsby and Lonnie Hindle,[3] published in 1973 in Volume 7, Issue 1 of Journal of Northwest Anthropology.[4] In this dictionary, Rigsby created a simple alphabet for Nisga'a that is widely used today.[5]
In January 2012, a Nisga’a app for iPhone and iPad was released for free.[6] Recently, the app was made available for use on Android.[7] The Nisga'a app is a bilingual dictionary and phrase collection archived at the First Voices data base, resources include audio recordings, images and videos.[8]
Since 1990, the First Peoples' Heritage Language and Culture Council has been providing support to revitalize First Peoples' language, arts and cultures. A total of $20 million has been distributed to support various projects, including revitalization of Nisga'a language.[9] In 2003, First Voices website, an online language archive was created to support language documentation, language teaching, and revitalization.[10] The Nisga'a First Voices is publicly accessible. Information on the website is managed by the Wilp Wilx̱o'oskwhl Nisg̱a'a Institute. Resources include alphabets, online dictionary, phrasebook, songs, stories, and interactive online games with sounds, pictures and videos. A total of 6092 words and 6470 phrases have been archived on the Nisga'a Community Portal at First Voices.
In 1993, the Wilp Wilx̱o'oskwhl Nisg̱a'a Institute (WWNI) was established to provide post-secondary education for Nisga'a community and promote language and culture revitalization. It is the Nisga'a university-college located in the Nass Valley in Gitwinksihlkw on the northwest coast of British Columbia. The WWNI is a community driven, non-profit organization that is affiliated with the University of Northern British Columbia, Northwest Community College, and Royal Roads University. It is the only place where students can earn accreditation and certification of its courses and programs in Nisga'a Studies.[11]
A recent project called “Raising Nisga’a Language, Sovereignty, and Land-Based Education Through Traditional Carving Knowledge” (RNL) was started by Nisga’a professor Amy Parent at University of British Columbia working with and the Laxgalts’ap Village Government.[12] It will run over several years and aims to combine virtual reality technology with traditional knowledge in Nisga'a.[13]
The phonology in Nisga'a is presented as follows:[14]
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | sibilant | lateral | plain | rounded | ||||||
| Plosive/ Affricate | plain | pronounced as /ink/ (p) | pronounced as /ink/ (t) | pronounced as /ink/ (ts) | pronounced as /ink/ (k) | pronounced as /ink/ (kw) | pronounced as /ink/ (ḵ) | pronounced as /ink/ (ʼ) | ||
| ejective | pronounced as /ink/ (pʼ) | pronounced as /ink/ (tʼ) | pronounced as /ink/ (tsʼ) | pronounced as /ink/ (tlʼ) | pronounced as /ink/ (kʼ) | pronounced as /ink/ (kwʼ) | pronounced as /ink/ (ḵʼ) | |||
| Fricative | pronounced as /ink/ (s) | pronounced as /ink/ (hl) | pronounced as /ink/ (x) | pronounced as /ink/ (xw) | pronounced as /ink/ (x̱) | pronounced as /ink/ (h) | ||||
| Sonorant | plain | pronounced as /ink/ (m) | pronounced as /ink/ (n) | pronounced as /ink/ (l) | pronounced as /ink/ (y) | pronounced as /ink/ (w) | ||||
| glottalized | pronounced as /ink/ (m̓) | pronounced as /ink/ (n̓) | pronounced as /ink/ (l̓) | pronounced as /ink/ (y̓) | pronounced as /ink/ (w̓) | |||||
| Front | Central | Back | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| short | long | short | long | short | long | ||
| High | pronounced as /ink/ (i) | pronounced as /ink/ (ii) | pronounced as /ink/ (u) | pronounced as /ink/ (uu) | |||
| Mid | pronounced as /ink/ (e) | pronounced as /ink/ (ee) | pronounced as /ink/ (o) | pronounced as /ink/ (oo) | |||
| Low | pronounced as /ink/ (a) | pronounced as /ink/ (aa) | |||||
The high and mid short front vowels /i/ and /e/ as well as the high and mid short back vowels /u/ and /o/ are largely found to be in complementary distribution in native Nisga'a words but these pairs of sounds contrast one another in words borrowed into the language, making them distinct.
In Nisga'a phonology, the voiced plosives [b, d, dz, g, gʷ, ɢ] are allophones of the unvoiced plosives /p, t, ts, k, kʷ, q/ and occur before vowels. Modern Nisga'a orthography writes the voiced plosives with their own characters b, d, j, g, gw, g̠ respectively.[15]