Haida

Haida (X̱aad Kíl, X̱aayda Kil, and related community names) is a language isolate spoken on Haida Gwaii in British Columbia, Canada, and in southeastern Alaska, United States. Its major surviving varieties are Northern Haida, including Masset and Alaskan forms, and Southern or Skidegate Haida; they differ substantially in pronunciation, vocabulary, and orthography. Haida has a rich consonant system with uvular, ejective, and lateral sounds, and community writing systems use modified Latin alphabets. Only a few dozen fully fluent elders remain, making the language critically endangered. Immersion programs, mentor–apprentice initiatives, dictionaries, recordings, and school resources led by Haida communities are creating new speakers and supporting revitalization.