The Shuswap language, known to its speakers as Secwepemctsín [ʃəxwəpməxtʃín], is the traditional language of the Shuswap people (Secwépmec, [ʃəˈxwεpməx] or [səˈxwεpməx]) of British Columbia. An endangered language, Shuswap is spoken mainly in the southern interior of British Columbia between the Fraser River and the Rocky Mountains. There are however over 1600 remaining speakers in Canada according to the most recent census in 2006.

Shuswap is the northernmost of the Interior Salish languages, which are spoken in Canada and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Two eastern and five western dialects of Shuswap are recognized: Kinbasket and Shuswap Lake (eastern); Canim Lake, Chu Chua, Deadman's Creek-Kamloops, Fraser River, and Pavilion-Bonaparte (western). The other northern Interior Salish languages are St'at'imcets and Nlaka'pamux.

Phonology

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back (Rounded)
Open		a
Mid	e (ɛ)	ə	o (ɔ)
Close	i (i/e)		u (u/o)

• An additional mid central vowel, ʌ, is rare.
• [u] and [i] occur only in stressed syllables.
• Most unstressed syllables contain a reduced vowel pronounced as [ə], though before and after a glottal stop there is less reduction and and [e] is heard.
• Occasionally the vowels [a] and [o] occur in unstressed syllables.
• Before rounded velars, u is pronounced [ʊ].
• Before uvulars, i is pronounced [I/ɛ], u is [ɔ], and e is [æ/a].

Consonants

Obstruents		Labial	Dental-lateral	Dental-palatal	Velar		Uvular		Laryngeal (plain)
					Plain	Rounded	Plain	Rounded
Plosives	Plain	p	t	c	k	k° [kʷ]	q	q° [qʷ]
	Glottalized	p’	t’ [tɬ’]	c’	k’	k°’ [kʷ’]	q’	q°’ [qʷ’]	ʔ
Fricatives			λ [tɬ]	s	x	x° [xʷ]	χ	χ° [χʷ]	h
Sonorants		Labial	Dental	Palatal-velar			Laryngeal-uvular
				Plain	Velarized		Uvularized		Plain (rounded)
							Plain	Rounded
Plain		m	n l	y	γ [ɰ]		ʕ	ʕ° [ʕʷ]	w
Glottalized		m’	n’ l’	y’	γ’ [ɰ’]		ʕ’	ʕ°’ [ʕʷ’]	w’

The notational generally used in literature on Shuswap appears in the above table. The IPA transcription, where different, appears to the right.

* The labial and dental sonorants are nasals and liquids.

* The palatal-velar and laryngeal-uvular sonorants are glides.

* t’ can also be pronounced as a dental stop.

* The sonorants are voiced. They can be vocalic in unstressed syllables.

* Glottalized consonants occur only after vowels, or as vocalic consonants.

* Plain obstruents are usually unaspirated, and are unvoiced in most environments.

Syllable Structure

A Shuswap word consists of a stem, to which can be added various affixes. Very few words contain two roots. Any stressed root can have an unstressed alternative, where the vowel is replaced by [ə].

Most roots have the form CVC or CC (the latter only if unstressed). Other roots are CVCC or CCVC.

Suffixes begin either with a stressed vowel (dropped in forms where the root is stressed) or a consonant. Prefixes generally have the form C- or CC-.

Stress

Stress in Shuswap is not very prominent, and occurs only in longer words. Since [u] and [i] are always stressed and [ə] never is, stress is usually fairly simple to predict.

Phonological Processes

Although Kiupers (1974) does not specify, in many cases the glottalized or rounded version of a consonant seems to represent an allophonic variation. For example, consonants which have a rounded form are rounded before and after [u]. However, glottalization can be contrastive (the root q’ey-, "set up a structure," versus q’ey’-, "write") or allophonic (the root q’ey- appears with a glottalized final consonant in s-t-q‘ey’-qn, "shed"). Consonant reduplication can also have an effect on glottalization.

There are a number of ways in which sounds are affected by their environments. Resonants in the vocalic position are preceded by an automatic schwa, for example the word /st’mkelt/ ("daughter"), pronounced [stɬ’əmkelt]. The darkening of vowels, as described below, is another case.

The distribution of vowels is quite complex. The vowels have the following main variants:

• i = [i/e]
• u = [u/o]
• o = [ɔ]
• e = [ɛ].

a and ʌ are unchanged. The environment around uvulars and velars produces a different set of variants, including occasional slight diphthongs. Additionally, some roots cause darkened vowels to appear in suffixes; one example is the prefix -ekst ("hand, arm"), which is darkened in x°əl’-akst. The darkened vowels are as follows:

• e = [a]
• u = [o]
• i = [e].

Morphology

Affixes

Shuswap's affixation system is robust. A nominalizing prefix s- is used to derive nouns from verbs, and prefixes to indicate a resulting state are added to verbs. A sample of Shuswap's small number of prefixes is below:

• /t’l’-/: during a period in the past
• /c-/ or /s-/: hither
• /t-/ or /tk-/: on top of, on the outside
• /wλ-/: group of people
• /ʔ-/: second person singular possessive

Most nouns contain suffixes. Suffixes are also used to indicate transitive, intransitive, and imperative verbs. Below are a few examples taken from the extensive collection of Shuswap suffixes:

• /-eps/: back of neck
• /-tem’/: bottom, canyon, lowland
• /-icÆeʔ/: surface, hide
• /-esq’t/: day
• /-eλq/: berries
• /-el’tx°/: a sheet-like object, skin, bark

Morphological Processes

Shuswap makes extensive use of reduplication. Some examples of simple reduplication are:

• Initial reduplication: [s-tíq’m] (bitterroot) to [tətíq’m] (prepare bitterroots)
• Final reduplication: [pux°-m] (blow) to [pəx°úx°] (swell up)
• Total reduplication: [piq] (white) to [pəq-píq] (flour)
• Consonant reduplication

In addition, there are several types of complex reduplication, involving patterns such as 11V12, 112V23, and 1123V34 (where 1 represents C₁, etc.).

Not all types of reduplication are productive and functional. Total reduplication indicates plurality and consonant reduplication is diminuitive, but most other reduplications are difficult to explain.

In addition to reduplication, root morphemes can be modified by interior glottalization, such that a root CVC appears as CʔVC. Although the process is not productive, many recorded forms refer to a state, for example [pʔeγ] (cooled off) from [peγns] (he cools it off). Consonant reduplication can proceed as usual with interior glottalization.

Syntax

Word Order

Word order in Shuswap is relatively free; syntactical relationships are easily conveyed by the case marking system. However, it is common but not necessary for the predicate to head the sentence.

Sentences with predicate first:

• wist γ-citx the house is high
• cut l-nχpeʔe my grandfather said

Sentences with subject first (rare):

• γ-sq°yic m-cunsəs γχ°ʕ°elmx Rabbit was told by fox

Case Marking

Shuswap uses two cases: the absolutive, for the subject of an intransitive verb, the subject of a transitive verb, and the object of a transitive verb; and the relative, for all other cases (for example, the actor of a passive verb, or an adverb).

Relative Case:

• wist γ-citx the house is high
• m-tʔeyns γ-χ°ʕ°elmx γ-sk’lep Fox met Coyote

Relative Case:

• wist t-citx° a high house
• m-cuntməs γ-sq°yic t-χ°ʕ°elmx Rabbit was told by Fox (the subject is in the Absolutive)

Other Forms

Nouns and verbs appear in for different forms, depending on their syntactic surroundings.

• The plain form: nouns and intransitive verbs, conjugated for person. Additionally, a distinction is made between object-centered and subject-centered words; compare [l-m-wiwktn] "the one I saw" with [l-m-wiwkcms] "the one that saw me."
• The suffixal form: for intransitive verbs, and also transitive verbs and nouns (third person singular only). This form is sometimes optional and sometimes obligatory. Examples of use include as an imperative substitute ([xwislxəx° wl meʔ kicx-k], "runn till you get there") and in "if" and "when" sentences ([l-twiwtwn], "when I grew up").
• The nominalized form: for nouns and intransitive verbs. A nominalized intransitive verb refers to the goal object of the action, as in [yʔen t’-sq°iʔq°e l-nstix°c’e l-pəxyewtəs] "this is the groundhog I shot yesterday." Nominalization is also used in questions, either yes-or-no or introduced with "what".
• The ʔs- form: refers to a fact, with overtones of goal-directedness. For example: [cuct-kn ʔnsʔiʔλn] "I want to eat."

Sample Lexicon

The following is a list of roots (listed separately or as their simplest derivatives), and a selection of words derived from these roots by affixes.

Root	Derivative	Meaning
c-pet		spread out
	x-pət-min’	covering around something
	x-pət-cin’-tn	skin door-covering
ptek		pass by
	x-ptetk-tn	finish line
	x-ptək-ew’s	to cross a road
tʔik°		fire
	tətʔiʔk°-m	to glow / be red hot
	tik°-n’k-tn	a fungus that was used in making fire
ciq°		red
	cəq°-cin-tn	lipstick
	cəq°-cq°eq°sxn’	penny
q°el		to speak, talk
	c-q°l-nt-es	to call, summon
	q°l-t-əmiʔ	talkative
yew		scoop up
	x-yew-m	to fetch water
	x-yew’-mn	fishing spot, bucket
s-q°ex-t		wild man, bugbear
	t-q°əx-q°əx-n’t-es	to frighten people by spooky behavior
	q°ex-s-n-s	to tell somebody about mysterious sight or experience

Genetic Affiliation

Shuswap is a member of the Interior subgroup of the Salishan language family.

Notes

External links

• Ethnologue entry
• First Nations Languages of British Columbia entry
• Map of Northwest Coast First Nations
• Ubuntu Secwepemc Localization Team
• Shuswap Nation Tribal Council
• Secwepemc Cultural Education Society
• Bibliography of Materials on the Shuswap Language
• Languagegeek.com: Secwepemctsín

Bibliography

Kuipers, Aert H. (1974). The Shuswap Language. The Hague: Mouton.