What is the status of BC First nations languages? - First Peoples

First Peoples’ Language Mapof British ColumbiaThe intent of this map is to provide an evolving depiction of British Columbia'sindigenous languages from the First Nation prospective. The language boundariesshown on the map are not an authoritative depiction of First Nations' territories orboundaries.The language names listed on the map use each language's unique spellingsystem, and were gathered from language revitalization projects funded by theFirst Peoples' Heritage, Language and Culture Council, and from the FirstVoicesonline language archive. The British Columbia languages shown on this map areindigenous to our province.Related languages have been represented on the map with corresponding shadesof the same colour. To depict that there are no strict boundaries betweenneighboring languages, the colours blend into one another. Through our researchwe found that languages within a language family have similar structures andbasic vocabulary; however, speakers from two different languages of the samelanguage family may not be able to understand each others’ speech. Neighboringlanguages may be closely connected through marriage ties, sharedstories, beliefs, customs, and traditions.This project was initiated by the First Peoples’ Heritage, Language and CultureCouncil in 2005 with funding from the B.C. Ministry of Education. The languagemap started with contemporary language group boundaries provided by theMuseum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia. Adjustments weremade to the language group boundaries based on Indian reserve locations andthe best available knowledge of languages spoken by First Nations affiliated withreserve lands. Additional historical information on territories of sleepinglanguages was prepared for the Handbook of North American Indians (1996, revised1999) under the supervision of Dr. Ives Goddard and is reproduced withpermission of the Smithsonian Institution.This map is provided by the First Peoples’ Heritage, Language and Culture Council of British Columbia. Allinformation contained herein is provided “as is” without any warranty of any kind, whether express or implied. Allimplied warranties, including, without limitation, fitness of use for a particular purpose, and non-infringement, arehereby expressly disclaimed. Under no circumstances will the First Peoples’ Heritage, Language and Culture Councilof British Columbia be liable to any person or entity for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential, orother damages based on any use of this map.