North Straits Salish is a Salish language which includes the dialects of
- Lummi (AKA Xwlemiʼchosen, xʷləmiʔčósən) (†)
- Saanich (AKA SENĆOŦEN, sənčáθən, sénəčqən)
- Samish (AKA Siʔneməš)
- Semiahmoo (AKA Tah-tu-lo) (†)
- Sooke (AKA Tʼsou-ke, c̓awk) (†)
- Songhees (AKA Lək̓ʷəŋín̓əŋ) (†)
Although they are mutually intelligible, each dialect is traditionally referred to as if it were a separate language, and there is no native term to encompass them all.
North Straits, along with Klallam, forms the Straits Salish branch of the Central Coast Salish languages. Klallam and North Straits are very closely related, but not mutually intelligible.
See Saanich dialect for the phonology.
Famous quotes containing the words north, straits and/or language:
“It is the sea that whitens the roof.
The sea drifts through the winter air.
It is the sea that the north wind makes.
The sea is in the falling snow.
This gloom is the darkness of the sea.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“Yes! in sea of life enisled,
With echoing straits between us thrown,
Dotting the shoreless watery wild,
We mortal millions live alone.”
—Matthew Arnold (1822–1888)
“There’s a cool web of language winds us in,
Retreat from too much joy or too much fear.”
—Robert Graves (1895–1985)