The Diidiitidq language is spoken in and around the south-western tip of Vancouver Island. It is a southern Wakashan language closely related to Nuuchahnulth and Makah. The English term for the language and people is often Nitinat, reflecting the correspondance between ‹n› in Nuuchahnulth and ‹d› in Diidiitidq. The word for the people who speak this language is Diitiidʔaaʔtx̣.
The orthography follows the Americanist linguistics tradition, with the goal of “one letter, one sound”. This can lead to some rather complicated letters, like č̓, and some unfamiliar ones, for example: ʕ ƛ.
Note: There are several Roman Orthography conventions on this site that may require further explanation. On the charts below, there is lots of phonetic terminology that may not be familiar to everyone.
ISO 639-3 language code
noo (shared with Nuučaan̓uł)
Demographics
The Canadian Census lumps Diidiitidq into either “Nootka” or “Wakashan languages”. According to Howe and Cook, there are less than 10 speakers.
Consonants
| bilabial | alveolar | alveolar affricate | palato-alveolar | lateral | velar | rounded velar | uvular | rounded uvular | pharengeal | glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| voiced stop | b | d | |||||||||
| ejective voiced | b̓ | d̓ | |||||||||
| voiceless stop | p | t | c | č | ƛ | k | kʷ | q | qʷ | ʔ | |
| ejective voiceless | p̓ | t̓ | c̓ | č̓ | ƛ̓ | k̓ | k̓ʷ | q̓ | q̓ʷ | ||
| voiceless fricative | s | š | ł | x | xʷ | x̣ | x̣ʷ | h | |||
| nasal / resonant | m | n | y | l | w | ʕ | |||||
| glottalised n/r | m̓ | n̓ | y̓ | l̓ | w̓ |
Vowels
| front | central | back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| high | i – ii | u – uu | |
| mid | e – ee | o – oo | |
| low | a – aa |
Notes:
- Doubling the vowel indicates the sound is held for a longer duration. This may also be represented with a colon or a single raised dot, e.g. a: for aa, e· for ee, etc.
- Letters are normally not capitalised at the beginning of sentences or proper names.
