Word Classes in Salish Languages

Abstract Word classes have been controversial in Salish language research, but the current consensus among Salishanists is that the concepts of noun and verb, as well as adjective and adverb, are important for constructing insightful grammars of the languages. Drawing on primary data from the Central Salish language Halkomelem as well as discussions of word classes by various scholars, we show that entity-denoting and event-denoting words can clearly be related to nouns and verbs respectively. Nouns and verbs exhibit clear inflectional differences even though some inflectional processes—such as tense, plural, and diminutive marking—pertain to all lexical classes. We also illustrate morphological processes that change the lexical class of a word. Adjectives have been understudied in Salish languages, which have few true adjectives, as modification is also accomplished by means of stative-resultative forms. Adverbs divide into two types—those that must be followed by a linker and those that can occur in many positions. We conclude that categorial distinctions are relevant to the description and analysis of Salish languages at all levels: root, word, phrase, and clause.