Kwak'wala-Speaking
/kwɑːkˈwɑːlə ˈspiːkɪŋ/noun
Able to speak or conducted in Kwak'wala, an Indigenous Wakashan language of British Columbia, Canada.
Did you know?Kwak'wala is more precisely written Kwak̓wala, where the raised comma-like symbol represents a glottal stop rather than ordinary punctuation.
Etymological Timeline
19th Century
English
Kwakiutl
“An exonym historically used in English for the Indigenous peoples now commonly called Kwakwaka'wakw; the term also influenced older English names for their language.”
19th Century
Kwak'wala
Kwak̓wala
“The Indigenous name of the language, conventionally interpreted as the language spoken by the Kwakwaka'wakw.”
Late 19th–20th Century
English
Kwakiutl language
“An older English designation for Kwak̓wala, based on the name of one prominent Kwakwaka'wakw community.”
20th Century
English
Kwak'wala
“An English-language spelling of the language name, with the apostrophe often serving as an accessible substitute for the glottal-stop mark.”
Modern English
English
Kwak'wala-speaking
“A compound adjective meaning speaking or using Kwak̓wala.”
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