Lushootseed (also Dwləšúcid, Puget Salish, Puget Sound Salish, Skagit-Nisqually) is the language of several Salish Native American groups of modern-day Washington state.
Lushootseed, like its neighbour Twana, is in the Southern Coast Salish subgroup of the Salishan family of languages. The language was spoken by many Puget Sound region peoples, including the Duwamish, Suquamish, Squaxin Island Tribe, Nisqually, and Puyallup in the south and the Snohomish, Skagit, and Swinomish in the north.
Subdivisions
Lushootseed consists of two dialect groups which can be further divided into subdialects:
- Northern Lushootseed
- Snohomish (at Tulalip)
- Skagit-Swinomish (on Skagit River and on Whidbey Island)
- Sauk-Suiattle (on Sauk and Suiattle rivers)
- Southern Lushootseed
- Skykomish
- Snoqualmie
- Suquamish
- Duwamish
- Muckleshoot (on Green and White rivers)
- Puyallup
- Nisquilly
- Sahewamish
The division into Northern and Southern groups is based on vocabulary and stress patterns. More accurately, the dialects form a cline.
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