Tsamosan languages

The Tsamosan languages were first proposed as a distinct branch within the Salishan language family in 1950 when Morris Swadesh classified them as the Olympic branch of the Coast Salish languages. Swadesh based his classification based on lexicostatistcal calculations. Isidore Dyen challenged the Tsamosan branch's status as a distinct division within the Coast Salish languages in 1962, but W. W. Elmendorf produced additional evidence in favor of the branch's existence in 1969. Below is a list of the Tsamosan languages and attested dialects as they are commonly accepted today: Tsamosan • Maritime divsion • Quinault • Queets • Quinault • Lower Chehalis • Humptulips • Wynoochee • Westport-Shoalwater • Inland division • Upper Chehalis • Satsop • Oakville Chehalis • Tenino Chehalis • Cowlitz == History ==

Development Lower Chehalis contributed significantly to Chinook Jargon. The name "Tsamosan" was favored over "Olympic" beginning in the 1970s, as two languages (Upper Chehalis and Cowlitz) are predominantly located off the Olympic Peninsula. "Tsamosan" was chosen based on the related words for "eight" in the four languages, which are different from the other Salishan languages. By the 1990s, no Tsamosan language had more than one or two speakers, and collecting new data became extremely difficult. == References ==