The Musqueam Language & Culture department strives to support Musqueam learners of hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and encourage our people to live xʷməθkʷəy̓əm culture every day. We also share Musqueam’s culture and history throughout our territory.
hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓
Musqueam’s traditional language is called hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓. Due to colonization, there are no longer any fluent hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speakers, however many people have dedicated their lives to revitalizing the language.
In the 1970’s, Musqueam began our journey of revitalizing hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓. Since then, our community has invested decades of commitment into documenting, researching, and developing teaching and learning resources for hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓.
Orthography & Alphabet
An alphabet is a set of orthographic symbols (letters) used to write the sounds of a language. The Latin alphabet, which is used in English, is not used to write hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓. Upper-case/capital letters are also not used in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓.
After much consideration, Musqueam formally adopted symbols from the North American Phonetic Alphabet (NAPA) for the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ alphabet. NAPA was chosen because of its specialized symbols that are designed to be an accurate language documentation and teaching tool, especially for Indigenous languages within North America.
More resources
hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ Alphabet (Musqueam Teaching Kit)
Writing Systems (First Peoples’ Cultural Council Fact Sheet)
Pronunciation Guide
Below is a guide for how to write and pronounce hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ sounds.
hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ has 36 consonants, 22 of which are not found in English. Some, like t̕ᶿ, are very special sounds, and they appear in only a handful of languages around the world.
Since the majority of hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ sounds are different from those of English, the English alphabet (orthography) is not an adequate writing systems for hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓. Instead, Musqueam uses the NAPA, where each sound is represented by a single distinct symbol. This is a significant advantage for learning how to read, as the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ alphabet creates consistency of interpretation and predictability of pronunciation.
Though they may appear foreign at first, symbols like “ə” (called ‘schwa’) are found in the pronunciation guides of most English dictionaries. Other symbols are used in the alphabets of many Indigenous languages of North America, as well as in several languages from countries around the world.
Vowels
Symbol & Pronunciation
i the “i” in pizza
e the “e” in bet
a the “a” in father
u the “u” in flute
ə the “u” in but
Vowels followed by a “:” (colon) are lengthened.
Consonants symbols & pronunciation
Consonant symbols that are the same sounds in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and English include:
h, k, l, m, n, p, s, t, w, and y
Some of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ consonant symbols and sounds that are different from English:
| c | “ts” sound, as in cats |
| č | “ch” sound as in cheese |
| š | “sh” sound, as in shirt |
| θ | Theta “th” sound, as in think |
| q | Similar to “k” sound, only with your tongue pulled farther back |
| ʔ | Glottal stop The stop you hear in the middle of the word uh-oh |
| x | Like the “h” in huge |
| t̕ᶿ | Starts like a t̕ and then releases into the theta θ sound |
| χ | Chi This is a sort of raspy sound made at the back of the mouth |
| ɬ | We call this a ‘slurpy l’, also known as belted l or voiceless alveolar lateral fricative Place your tongue as though you were going to pronounce an “l” sound, then blow a steady stream of air past the sides of your tongue, where it rests against the inside surface of your molars. |
| ƛ̓ | We call this a ‘running man’, also known as ejective barred lambda This sound starts like a t̕ and then releases into the ɬ sound described above. |
What does that little comma above or next to a letter mean?
Some hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ consonants, such as c̓, k̓, ƛ̓, p̓, q̓, or t̕, are categorized as glottalized or ejective stops. They are distinguished from their non-glottalized counterparts by an audible popping sound upon their release.
l, m, n, w, and y represent the group of consonants known as resonants, characterized as such because of the reverberating or “resonant” quality of their sound. Their glottalized counterparts l̕, m̓, n̓, w̓, and y̓, like the glottalized stops, are also represented with an apostrophe, but are distinguished from the stops by the creaky quality of their sound which is achieved by constricting the vocal cords during the articulation of a particular resonant.
What does that little “w” (ʷ) next to a letter mean?
The little ʷ next to a letter means that the particular sound is made with your lips rounded. So the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ word kʷe:l sounds very similar to the English word quell.
Listen to the sounds
hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ Alphabet (Musqueam Teaching Kit)
Learn hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓
Since 1997, Musqueam has partnered with UBC’s First Nations and Endangered Languages Program (FNEL) to support hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ revitalization. The initial purpose of the partnership was to promote the development and use of hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ through collaborative research initiatives.
Musqueam partners with FNEL to offer linguistics-based hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ classes at a university level.
Currently, there are five hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ courses available through FNEL:
- FNEL 191A – Introduction to an Indigenous Language
- Learn hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ sounds and symbols through song
- Three-week summer intensive class (July & August)
- Five nights a week for three hours (Mon-Fri, 5 – 8pm)
- Taught by Grace Point Bassett
- Great for beginners or experienced language learners
- FNEL 101 & 102 – Introduction to a Salish Language: hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓
- The first level of hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ learning
- Tuesdays & Thursdays, 4:30 – 6pm
- 101 runs September to December & 102 is January to April
- Taught by Dr. Larry Grant & Fiona Campbell
- FNEL 201 & 202 – Intermediate Salish Language: hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓
- The second level of hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ learning
- Mondays & Wednesdays, 4:30 – 6pm
- 201 runs September to December & 202 is January to April
- Taught by Grace Point Bassett
Read more about the classes and our partnership on FNEL’s website.
Musqueam community members have priority registration for these courses. Musqueam band members can contact Vanessa Campbell ([email protected]) to learn more.
About Musqueam Language & Culture department
In accordance with the strategic objectives set out by Musqueam Council, we:
- provide services and coordinate resources to develop educational tools
- create learning environments for Musqueam community members to have increased accessibility to learn their ancestral language
- collaborate with a variety of departments within Musqueam Administrative and with external educational and cultural partners to conduct research and develop hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language resources, consult on hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ translations to promote greater public awareness of xʷməθkʷəy̓əm language and culture, and explore and create new opportunities for hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language education
