Twana language
Encyclopedia
The Twana language or Skokomish language belongs to the Salishan
family of Native American languages. It is believed by some elders within the Skokomish
community (such as Bruce Subiyay Miller) that the language branched off from Lushootseed
(xwəlšucid) because of the region-wide tradition of not speaking the name of someone who died for a year after their death. Substitute words were found in their place and often became normalizing in the community, generating differences from one community to the next. Subiyay speculated that this process increased the drift rate between languages and separated Twana firmly from xwəlšucid (Lushootseed
).
The name "Skokomish" comes from the Twana sqʷuqʷóʔbəš, also spelled sqWuqWu'b3sH, and meaning "river people" or "people of the river".
Salishan languages
The Salishan languages are a group of languages of the Pacific Northwest...
family of Native American languages. It is believed by some elders within the Skokomish
Skokomish (tribe)
The Skokomish are one of nine tribes of the Twana, a Native American people of western Washington state in the United States. The tribe lives along Hood Canal, a fjord-like inlet on the west side of the Kitsap Peninsula and the Puget Sound basin...
community (such as Bruce Subiyay Miller) that the language branched off from Lushootseed
Lushootseed
Lushootseed is the language or dialect continuum of several SalishNative American groups of modern-day Washington state...
(xwəlšucid) because of the region-wide tradition of not speaking the name of someone who died for a year after their death. Substitute words were found in their place and often became normalizing in the community, generating differences from one community to the next. Subiyay speculated that this process increased the drift rate between languages and separated Twana firmly from xwəlšucid (Lushootseed
Lushootseed
Lushootseed is the language or dialect continuum of several SalishNative American groups of modern-day Washington state...
).
The name "Skokomish" comes from the Twana sqʷuqʷóʔbəš, also spelled sqWuqWu'b3sH, and meaning "river people" or "people of the river".