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Coast Tsimshian dialect

Coast Tsimshian
Sm'algya̱x
Native toCanada, United States
Regionnorthwest British Columbia, southeast Alaska
Ethnicity8,162 Tsimshian
Native speakers
275 in Canada, 3 in the United States (2016 census, 2020)[1][2][3]
Tsimshianic
  • Maritime Tsimshian
    • Coast Tsimshian
Official status
Official language in
 Alaska[4]
Language codes
ISO 639-2tsi
ISO 639-3tsi (with Sgüüx̣s)
Glottologcoas1300
ELPSm̓algya̱x (Coast Tsimshian)
  Coast Tsimshian
Tsimshian is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger[5]
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.
PeopleTs’msyan
LanguageSm'álgya̱x
CountryLa̱xyuubm Ts’msyen[6]

Tsimshian, known by its speakers as Sm'algya̱x,[7] is a dialect of the Tsimshian language spoken in northwestern British Columbia and southeastern Alaska. Sm'algya̱x means literally "real or true language."

The linguist Tonya Stebbins estimated the number of speakers of Tsimshian in 2001 as around 400 and in 2003 as 200 or fewer (see references below). Whichever figure is more accurate, she added in 2003 that most speakers are over 70 in age and very few are under 50. About 50 of an ethnic population of 1,300 Tsimshian in Alaska speak the language.

  1. ^ "Language Highlight Tables, 2016 Census - Aboriginal mother tongue, Aboriginal language spoken most often at home and Other Aboriginal language(s) spoken regularly at home for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census – 100% Data". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Government of Canada, Statistics. 2 August 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  2. ^ "Tsimshian". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  3. ^ "2020 Biennial Report to the Governor and Legislature" (PDF). Alaska Native Language Preservation & Advisory Council.
  4. ^ Chappell, Bill (21 April 2014). "Alaska OKs Bill Making Native Languages Official". NPR.
  5. ^ Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (Report) (3rd ed.). UNESCO. 2010. p. 7.
  6. ^ Armstrong, Chelsey Geralda; Lyons, Natasha; McAlvay, Alex C.; Ritchie, Patrick Morgan; Lepfsky, Dana; Blake, Michael (2023). "Historical ecology of forest garden management in Laxyuubm Ts'msyen and beyond". Ecosystems and People. 19 (1). Bibcode:2023EcoPe..1960823A. doi:10.1080/26395916.2022.2160823.
  7. ^ "Sm'álgyax: The Tsimshian Language". 13 April 2012. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012.

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