
part in a TAC. I know I should learn first how to speak and write a good
English, but I have only one life and there are 6000 languages in the
world!
I'll be learning a bit of Montana Salish language, a term which includes
both Bitterroot Salish (also known as Flathead or Seliš) and Pend
d'Oreilles. The Kalispel (Qalispé) language is very close to Pend
d'Oreilles. I don't know whether the term Montana Salish is to be used
to refer also to Kalispel. Anyway, all the three languages are spoken in
the Flathead Reservation, in Montana. The Spokane (Npoqínišcn) language
differs a bit form the other three varieties, and it is spoken in the
state of Washington. My thread is dedicated to Montana Salish
(especially Bitterroot Salish), but since the four varieties are very
similar, I'll use the resources I've found for all of them.
I choose Montana Salish especially because I like its consonant
clusters. One of the first sentences of the Kalispel lessons resources
(it's a PDF document I found here:
http://www.kalispeltribe.com/kalispel-i-curriculum/) is: kʷ
ećščénˊ? (How are you?). kʷ means 'you' and
ećščénˊ is 'happen'. The 'w' of kʷ is only a
voiceless whisper made with rounded lips, like a little puff.
ć is pronounced [ts] like german or italian z, š
is pronounced [ʃ] (as in shame) and č is [tʃ] (as in chin).
There are neither vowels nor schwa in this consonant cluster.
If you want to listen how Montana Salish sounds, look at this video. I
think the variety is Bitterroot Salish (Seliš):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxJvx9sO ... ideo_title