Twana language

The Twana (tuwaduq) language, also known as Skokomish, is a Coast Salish language of the Salishan language family, spoken by the Twana, the Indigenous people of Hood Canal, in Washington. It is believed by some elders within the Skokomish community (such as Bruce Subiyay Miller) that the language branched off from Lushootseed (a neighboring related Coast Salish language) 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 Lushootseed.

The last fluent speaker died in 1980.

The Skokomish Indian Tribe released an online Twana dictionary in 2020.

The name "Skokomish" is an Anglicization of the Twana word squqəʔbəš and means "river people" or "people of the river".

Phonology
Vowel sounds present are.