Coast Salish languages

The Coast Salish languages, also known as the Central Salish languages, are a branch of the Salishan language family. These languages are spoken by First Nations or Native American peoples inhabiting the Pacific Northwest, in the territory that is now known as the southwest coast of British Columbia around the Strait of Georgia and Washington State around Puget Sound. The term "Coast Salish" also refers to the cultures in British Columbia and Washington who speak one of these languages or dialects.

Geography
The Coast Salish languages are spoken around most of the Georgia and Puget Sound Basins, an area that encompasses the sites of the modern-day cities of Vancouver, British Columbia, Seattle, Washington, and others. Archeological evidence indicates that Coast Salish peoples may have inhabited the area as far back as 9000 BCE. What is now Seattle, for example, has been inhabited since the end of the last glacial period (c. 8,000 BCE&mdash;10,000 years ago).

In the past, the Nuxálk language (also known as Bella Coola) of British Columbia's Central Coast has also been considered Coast Salish. This language shares at least one phonological change with Coast Salish (the merger of the Proto-Salish pharyngeal approximants with the uvular fricatives), but it also displays certain similarities to the Interior Salish languages. If it is indeed a member of the Coast Salish branch, it was the first to split off from the rest.

Classification
The Coast Salish languages can be classified in anywhere from one to three branches. The Tsamosan and Tillamook languages are often considered by linguists to be independent branches under the Salishan language family, and not part of the Coast Salish branch.

Overview
Below is a list of the Coast Salish languages. Languages and dialects with no living native speakers are marked with.


 * Coast Salish
 * Coast (Central) Salish
 * Comox 
 * Island Comox (ʔayʔajusəm)
 * Sliammon (ʔayajuθəm; also known as Mainland Comox)
 * Pentlatch 
 * Shíshálh (also known as Sechelt)
 * Squamish
 * Halkomelem
 * Upriver Halkomelem
 * Downriver Halkomelem
 * Island Halkomelem
 * Nooksack 
 * Northern Straits (also known as North Straits)
 * Saanich ()
 * T'Souke
 * Lekwungen (also known as Songhees)
 * Semiahmoo
 * Lummi ()
 * Samish ()
 * S'Klallam (nəxʷsƛ̕áy̓emúcən; also known as Klallam) 
 * Lushootseed 
 * Northern Lushootseed 
 * Southern Lushootseed (also known as Twulshootseed or Whulshootseed) 
 * Twana (also known as Skokomish) 
 * Tsamosan
 * Quinault (Kʷínaył) 
 * Lower Chehalis (Łəw̓ál̕məš)
 * Upper Chehalis (Q̉ʷay̓áyiłq̉)
 * Satsop
 * Cowlitz (ƛʼpúlmixq) 
 * Tillamook/Oregon Salish 
 * Tillamook (Hutyáyu, Hutyéyu)
 * Tillamook
 * Siletz