Nicola language
Encyclopedia
Nicola is the name used for an extinct Athabascan language formerly spoken in the Similkameen
and Nicola Countries
of British Columbia
by the group known to linguists and ethnographers as the Nicola people
, although that name in modern usage refers to an alliance of Interior Salishan bands living in the same area. Almost nothing is known of the language. The available material published by Franz Boas
required only three pages. What the Nicola called themselves and their language is unknown. The Salishan-speaking Thompson language
Indians who absorbed them (today's Nicola people, in part) refer to them as the [stuwix] "the strangers".
So little is known of the language that beyond the fact that it is Athabascan it cannot be classified. Some linguists have suggested that it is merely a displaced dialect of Chilcotin
, but the evidence is too skimpy to allow a decision.
Similkameen Country
The Similkameen Country, also referred to as the Similkameen Valley or Similkameen District, but generally referred to simply as The Similkameen or more archaically, Similkameen, is a region roughly coinciding with the basin of the river of the same name in the Southern Interior of British Columbia...
and Nicola Countries
Nicola Country
The Nicola Country, also known as the Nicola Valley and often referred to simply as The Nicola, and originally Nicolas' Country or Nicholas' Country, adapted to Nicola's Country and simplified since, is a region in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada...
of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
by the group known to linguists and ethnographers as the Nicola people
Nicola Athapaskans
The Nicola Athapaskans, also known as the Nicola people or Stuwix, were an Athabascan people who arrived in the in the migrated into the Nicola Country of what is now the Southern Interior of British Columbia from the north a few centuries ago but were slowly reduced in number by constant raiding...
, although that name in modern usage refers to an alliance of Interior Salishan bands living in the same area. Almost nothing is known of the language. The available material published by Franz Boas
Franz Boas
Franz Boas was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology" and "the Father of Modern Anthropology." Like many such pioneers, he trained in other disciplines; he received his doctorate in physics, and did...
required only three pages. What the Nicola called themselves and their language is unknown. The Salishan-speaking Thompson language
Thompson language
The Thompson language, properly known as Nlaka'pamuctsin or the Nlaka'pamux language, is an Interior Salishan language spoken in the Fraser Canyon, Thompson Canyon, Nicola Country of the Canadian province of British Columbia, and also in the North Cascades region of Whatcom and Chelan counties of...
Indians who absorbed them (today's Nicola people, in part) refer to them as the [stuwix] "the strangers".
So little is known of the language that beyond the fact that it is Athabascan it cannot be classified. Some linguists have suggested that it is merely a displaced dialect of Chilcotin
Chilcotin language
Chilcotin is a Northern Athabaskan language spoken in British Columbia by the Tsilhqot’in people....
, but the evidence is too skimpy to allow a decision.