Kutenai Language
Kutenai is a language historically spoken by the Kutenai people, an Indigenous group residing in the interior regions of British Columbia, Montana, and Idaho. It has been subject to various linguistic classifications, with early 20th-century linguist Edward Sapir suggesting potential ties to several language families, including Algonquian and Salishan, although these connections remain unproven. In more recent analysis, Joseph H. Greenberg proposed a controversial classification of Kutenai within the Almosan-Keresiouan family, which also includes other Indigenous languages. This classification highlights Kutenai's distinctive characteristics, such as its tonal nature, where pitch variations can change meaning, similar to languages like Chinese or Vietnamese.
The Kutenai people traditionally referred to themselves as San'ka, and they are also known by names including Flatbows and Slenderbows. Their historical territory encompasses areas around Kootenay Lake and River, and they have significantly influenced regional geography, contributing their name to multiple landmarks and locations in the Pacific Northwest. As a living language, Kutenai continues to evolve, integrating elements from contemporary English while maintaining its unique heritage.
Subject Terms
Kutenai Language
Culture area: Northwest Coast
Tribes affected: Adanekunik, Akamuik, Akeyenik, Akiskemikinik (Upper Kutenai); Lower Kutenai
Kutenai was the language used by tribes from the interior of British Columbia south to Montana and Idaho. It was thought by Edward Sapir in 1914 to be related to Beothukan, Algonquian, Salishan, Wakeshan, Yurok, and Wiyot in the Algonquian-Wakashan family, but this hypothesis has never been proved. There is also speculation of a Kutenai-Blackfoot connection, similarly unproved. In 1987, Joseph H. Greenberg, in Language in the Americas, placed Kutenai in the Almosan-Keresiouan family of the Northern Amerind subphylum with, among others, Salishan, Algonquian, and (distantly) Keresan, Siouan, Caddoan, and Iroquoian. Even in this last controversial and unproved grouping, Kutenai is relatively distinct.
The term Kutenai is apparently a Blackfoot word. The Kutenai called themselves San’ka. They were also called Flatbows, Kuspelu, Shalsa ulk, Skelsa-ulk, and Slenderbows. They lived along Kootenay Lake, Kootenay River, Arrow Lake, and the upper course of the Columbia River, and in southeastern British Columbia, northwestern Montana, northeastern Washington, and the northern tip of Idaho.
Kutenai is a tone language, like Chinese or Vietnamese. That is, an identical sequence of sounds will have varying meanings depending on the speaker’s rising or falling pitch. Like any living language, it is in a state of flux, adapting to and borrowing freely from English.
The Kutenai have given their name to Kootenay River in British Columbia, Montana, and Idaho; to Kootenay Lake in British Columbia; to the Kootenai Mountains and Kootenai Falls in Montana; to Kootenai County, Idaho; and to a village, Kootenai, in Bonner County, Idaho.