The Pentlatch, Pentl’ach, Puntlatch, Puntlatsh or Puntledge language is a Salishan language that was spoken on Canada's Vancouver Island in a small area between Comox and Nanaimo, British Columbia. The Pentlatch people formerly numbered at least 3,000 with at least 90 settlements in the area. The language became extinct in the 1940s after the death of the last fluent speaker in 1940,[2] but researchers from Qualicum First Nation declared it to be a living language in December 2023.[3]
| Pentlatch | |
|---|---|
| Pənƛ’áč | |
| Native to | Canada |
| Region | Vancouver Island |
| Extinct | 1940[1] |
| Revival | began 2017, declared living by 2023 |
Salish
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ptw |
ptw | |
| Glottolog | pent1242 |
 | |
In 2017, Qualicum Elder Bill Recalma, a speaker of Pentlatch, began working to record and teach what he knew of the language. He and his son Jessie have been working together to help revive it. The Pentlatch celebrated a ceremony celebrating the language's reawakening due to their efforts.[4] In 2023, the Pentlatch language was reclassified by Qualicum researchers as a living language and was added to the list of official First Nations' languages in British Columbia.[3]
Variants edit
The name of this people and their language survives on the modern map as that of the Puntledge River, the Comox Valley locality of Puntledge and the name of the Pentledge 2 Indian Reserve, now allocated to the K'ómoks First Nation band government.[5][6]
References edit
- ^ Pentlatch at MultiTree on the Linguist List
- ^ Terry Glavin, "A lost world returns", Maclean's, November 11, 2020.
- ^ a b Marlow, Kathryn (2023-12-02). "It was deemed extinct. But now pentl'ach has been declared a living language thanks to Qualicum researchers". CBC News.
- ^ "Last holder of 'extinct' Pentl'ach language brings it to life with Qualicum researchers". CHEK. 2022-06-17. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
- ^ Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Reserve/Settlement/Village Detail "Pentledge 2"
- ^ BC Names entry "Pentledge 2 (Indian Reserve)"
External links edit
- Pentlatch bibliography from the Yinka Dene Language Institute
- "Pentlatch" at ethnologue.com
- "Pentlatch" at native-languages.org
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