Dialects
The ethnonym Kwakwaka'wakw means "speakers of Kwak'wala," effectively defining an ethnic connection between different tribes by reference to a shared language. However, the Kwak'wala spoken by each tribe exhibits dialectical differences which may be quite significant in some cases. There are four major dialects which are unambiguously dialects of Kwak'wala: Kwak̓wala, ’Nak̓wala, G̱uc̓ala and T̓łat̓łasik̓wala.
In addition to these dialects, there are also Kwakwaka'wakw tribes that speak Liq'wala. Liq'wala has sometimes been considered to be a dialect of Kwak'wala, and sometimes a separate language. The standard orthography for Liq'wala is quite different from the most widely-used orthography for Kwak'wala, which tends to widen the apparent differences between Liq'wala and Kwak'wala.
Read more about this topic: Kwak'wala