Boiis.] •J'* INov. IS. 



Vocabulary of the Kwakintl Language. 



By Dr. Franz Boas. 



(Read before the American Philosophical Society, November IS, 1S92.) 



Tlie Kwakiutl language is spoken on the coast of British Columbia, from 

 Cape Mudge to Douglas and Gardner Channels, excluding Dean Inlet and 

 Bentinck Arm, which are occupied by the Bilqula. The language forms 

 a branch of the Wakashan stock, being afiiliated with the Nootka or Aht, 

 of the west coast of Vancouver Island. The form of these languages 

 reminds us in many respects of that of the Salishan stock, and it may be 

 that a connection exists between both. 



The Kwakiutl language is spoken in three dialects . the Kwakiutl proper, 

 the Huiltsuk- and the Gyil'anifi't. The lirst is spoken by the tribes of 

 Vancouver Island and of the coast southeast of Rivers Inlet ; the second 

 by the tribes inhabiting the coast between Rivers Inlet and Gardner 

 Channel ; the last in Gardner and Douglas Channels. It will be found 

 that phonetics and vocabulary of the northern and southern tribes are 

 much alike, while the middle dialect stands more apart. This is probably 

 due to the admixfure of Bilqula elements in the central region. 



The vocabularies contained in the following pages were collected by 

 the author in 1886, 1888, 1889, 1890. As slight ditierences are found be- 

 tween the vocabularies of the various tribes, the tribe from which the 

 words were collected are given. The following abbreviations have been 

 used : 



L. for Le'kwiltok-, 1 



N. — Nimkish, y^ i • .i t-v i . 



„ ' > Kwakiutl Dialect. 



J 



K. — Kwakiutl, 



Tl. — Tlatlasikoala, 



A. — Awi'ky'enoq. ^ 



H.— He'ilisuk-, \ 



Or. — ^Gyit'ama't, Gyit'.ima't Dialect. 



Heiltsuk' Dialect. 



The literature of this language is very scanty. The following writings 

 are of importance : 



W. Fraseu Tolmie and Geouge M. Dawson, Comparative Vocabu- 

 laries of the Indian Tribes of British Columbia. Montreal, 18S4. 



G. M. Dawson, Vocabulary in Trans. Royal Soc. of Canada, 1887, ii. 



A. Hall, A Grammar of the Kwagiuil Language, Trans. Royal Soc. of 

 Canada. 1888, ii, pp. 59-105. 



F. Boas, "Grammatical Notes on the Kwakiutl Language," in the 

 "Sixth Report of the Committee on the Northwestern Tribes of Canada," 

 Proe. British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1890. 



