Nlakaʼpamux is an Interior Salishan language spoken in British Columbia in Canada, and in Washington state in the USA. In Canada it is spoken along the Fraser, Thompson and Nicola rivers in and near the town of Merritt. In the USA it is spoken in Whatcom and Chelan counties in the North Cascades region of northern Washington state. There are about 130 speakers of Nlakaʼpamux.
Nlakaʼpamux is also known as Thompson, Thompson Salish, Nklapmx, Nleʼkepmxcín, Ntlakapamux, Ntlakapmuk, Nlaka'pamuctsin, Nlakaʼpamux or Nthlakampx.
The Nlakapmx Tribal Council in Lytton run a program to teach the language.
John Booth Good, an English missionary, translated parts of the Book of Common Prayer into Nlakaʼpamux between 1878 and 1880. He used his own spelling system. Several different ways to write Nlakaʼpamux are currently in use, including the Americanist Orthography and the Bouchard Orthography.
An acute accent (á) is used to indicate stress.
Download Nlakaʼpamux alphabet charts (Excel)
Details of the Nlakaʼpamux alphabet provided by Wolfram Siegel
Wʔéx ekʷu néʔ ƛ̓iʔsqáyxʷ, ƛ̓uʔ ʔe sxʷúy̓s xʷǝsxʷesít u ł xéʔłtmíxʷ. Tǝtéʔ k e stéʔs, tém ekʷu téʔ k e stéʔs e séytknmx. Tǝtéʔ k syix̣mstés k stéʔ. Tǝtéʔe k syix̣mstés k stéʔ téʔe tǝk c̓íy us xʷuy̓ scutǝ́ns. ƛ̓uʔ ʔe suʔéxs ƛ̓iʔsqáyxʷ ƛ̓uʔ ʔe scutés ł sc̓ǝqʔéwłc e sxʷuy̓s nes u ł e máʕxetn. Wʔéx ekʷu ƛ̓iʔsqáyxʷ ƛ̓uʔ ʔe sxʷáwkʷs k sx̣ǝkpstés tǝk c̓iy us xéʔe u cíʔe k scutǝ́ns. ʔE xéʔe ƛ̓uʔ ʔe scúts “Xʷuy̓ xéʔe x̣ǝkpsténe he c̓kén̓m us u cíʔe he scutǝ́ns, u cíʔe tǝk tmíxʷ k séytknmx.”
W7áx akwu ná7 tlʼi7sḵáyxw, tlʼu7 7a sxwúy̓s xwesxwasít u lh xá7lhtmíxw. Tetá7 k a stá7s, tám akwu tá7 k a stá7s a sáytknmx. Tetá7 k syix̱mstás k stá7. Tetá7a k syix̱mstás k stá7 tá7a tek tsʼíy us xwuy̓ stsuténs. Tlʼu7 7a su7áxs tlʼi7sḵáyxw tlʼu7 7a stsutás lh stsʼeḵ7áwlhts a sxwuy̓s nas u lh a mág̱xatn. W7áx akwu tlʼi7sḵáyxw tlʼu7 7a sxwáwkws k sx̱ekpstás tek tsʼiy us xá7a u tsí7a k stsuténs. 7a xá7a tlʼu7 7a stsúts “Xwuy̓ xá7a x̱ekpstána ha tsʼkán̓m us u tsí7a ha stsuténs, u tsí7a tek tmíxw k sáytknmx.”
Source: http://www.languagegeek.com/salishan/nlekepmxcintext.html
Information about Nlakaʼpamux
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thompson_language
https://www.ethnologue.com/language/thp
http://www.native-languages.org/thompson.htm
http://www.languagegeek.com/salishan/nlekepmxcin.html
http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/Canada/thompson.html
Coeur d'Alene, Comox, Halkomelem, Klallam, Lushootseed, Lillooet, Nooksack, Nuxalk, Okanagan, Saanich, Salish, she shashishalhem, Shuswap, Squamish, Nlakaʼpamux (Thompson)
Languages written with the Latin alphabet
Page last modified: 01.06.25
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