Southern Tsimshian dialect

Southern Tsimshian, Sgüüx̣s^{[note 1]} (pronounced: /skiːxs/^[8]) or Sgüümk,^[6] is the southern dialect of the Tsimshian language, spoken by the Gitga'ata and Kitasoo Tsimshians in Klemtu, B.C. It became extinct with the death of the last remaining speaker, Violet Neasloss.

Southern Tsimshian
Sgüüx̣s, Sgüümk
Pronunciation	[skiːxs]
Native to	Canada
Region	northwest British Columbia
Ethnicity	Tsimshian people
Extinct	2013, with the death of Violet Neasloss[1][2]
Revival	4 learners (2018)[1]
Language family	Tsimshianic Maritime Tsimshian Southern Tsimshian
Language codes
ISO 639-2	tsi
ISO 639-3	tsi (with Coast Tsimshian)
Linguist List	tsi-sou
Glottolog	sout2962
ELP	Ski:xs (Southern Tsimshian)
Southern Tsimshian

People	Ts’msyan
Language	Sgüüx̣s
Country	La̱xyuubm Ts’msyen[3]

Sgüüx̣s is close to Coast Tsimshian and has been described^[9] as a highly conservative dialect, however the two may not have been mutually intelligible with Coast Tsimshian.^[10] The name Sgüüx̣s means "the language beside."

Specialist John Asher Dunn wrote several articles on the language,^[11] from which the term Southern Tsimshian arose.^[12]

Notes

1. Also spelled Sgüüxs,^[4] SgüüXs,^[5] Sgüüxs,^[6] or Ski:xs.^[7]