Klallam language

Klallam, also known as Clallam, Ns'Klallam or S'klallam (endonym: nəxʷsƛ̕ay̕əmúcən, /nxʷst͡ɬʼajˀˈmut͡sn/), is a Salishan language that was historically spoken by the Klallam people at Beecher Bay on Vancouver Island in British Columbia and across the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. The last native speaker of Klallam as a first language died in 2014, but there is a growing group of speakers of Klallam as a second language. Klallam is closely related to the Northern Straits Salish dialects, Sooke, Lekwungen, Saanich, Lummi, and Samish, but the languages are not mutually intelligible. There were several dialects of Klallam, including Elwha Klallam, Becher Bay Klallam, Jamestown S'Klallam, and Little Boston S'Klallam. The first Klallam dictionary was published in 2012. Port Angeles High School, in Port Angeles, Washington, offers Klallam classes, taught as a heritage language "to meet graduation and college entrance requirements". Beginning fall 2020, the Klallam language has been taught at Peninsula College in Port Angeles. The last native speaker of Klallam was Hazel Sampson of Port Angeles, who died on February 4, 2014, at the age of 103. Hazel Sampson had worked along with brother Ed Sampson (d. 1995), Tom Charles (d. 1999), Bea Charles (d. 2009) and Adeline Smith (d. 2013), other native speakers of Klallam, and with language teacher Jamie Valadez and linguist Timothy Montler from 1992 to compile the Klallam Dictionary. In 1999, this effort led to the development of a lesson plan and guidebooks to teach students the basics of the language through storytelling.