which help make the spatial explicitness of a clause more vivid. Sociolinguistics Due to the large number of language groups on the Northwest Coast, there was a great deal of contact through trade and cultural exchange. This excess of communication eventually led to the creation of a special "trade language". Called Chinook Jargon, Haisla adopted multiple words from this language such as gʷasáu, or pig. Other words, such as lepláit ~ lilepláit, meaning 'minister, priest', reflect how contact with missionaries affected the language as a whole. The majority of adopted words were for 'new' objects, pre-existing words such as gewedén, or horse, were not overwritten. Arguments Within the Wakashan language family, "core arguments are identified only by pronominal enclitics attached to the initial predicate. Lexical nominals carry no case marking and constituent order does not distinguish grammatical role". Status and Revitalization As with the other languages in the North Wakashan family, Haisla is currently endangered. The indigenous languages of British Columbia were heavily influenced by residential schools, with up to 16 residential schools in the province during the 1930s. Speaker population after European arrival was drastically impacted by disease. Haisla does have programs for those interested in speaking. Kitamaat village provides lessons for those interested in learning the language. Eden Robinson, a Heiltsuk/Haisla author raised in British Columbia, has written and lectured on the subject of language revitalization. Recently she hosted the annual Munro Beattie lecture at Carleton University. References Bibliography Lincoln, Neville J. & Rath, John C. 1986. Phonology, dictionary and listing of roots and lexical derivatives of the Haisla language of Kitlope and Kitimaat, B.C. Vol.1. Ottawa: National Museums of Canada. Mithun, Marianne. (1999). The languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. External links The Haisla Languages (Emmon Bach's page) Haisla text: Dyeing (as told by Jeffrey L. Legaic) (includes .WAV sound file) X̌àʼislakʼala / X̄a'islak'ala (Haisla) (Chris Harvey's Native Language, Font, & Keyboard) X̌àʼislakʼala / X̄a'islak'ala (Haisla) Example Text Bibliography of Materials on the Haisla Language (YDLI) + Wakashan languages Indigenous languages of the Pacific Northwest Coast First Nations languages in Canada Endangered Wakashan languages