Welcome to Learn Lik̓ʷala
This page is your starting point for learning Lik̓ʷala, the language of the Liǧʷiłdax̌ʷ. Here you’ll find a growing collection of community-built resources — from an interactive alphabet soundboard and arcade-style learning game, to video lessons, flashcards, a dedicated language-learning keyboard, and 52 Weeks of Lik̓ʷala, a resource created by community language keepers and learners to support beginners.
Whether you’re just learning the sounds for the first time or looking to build vocabulary and practice regularly, these tools are designed to meet you wherever you are in your language journey — at your own pace, with no single “right” way to learn.
Language revitalization work like this matters because it keeps Lik̓ʷala alive for future generations, carries forward the knowledge and effort of the Elders and language keepers who came before, and gives community members real, accessible ways to reconnect with and speak their language today.
52 Weeks of Lik̓ʷala
The book, 52 Weeks of Lik̓ʷala, was created by Emma Wilson and ʔixc̓əmatusəlagalis Kirsten Dobler, with language support from Ǧʷixsisəlas Emily Aitken and Mayaniɫ Diana Matilpi. We are deeply grateful to them, and to the other language keepers, learners, and warriors we work alongside and draw inspiration from — especially ƛ̓aqʷasǧəms Lorna Quattell and Qanasumaga Dana Roberts. ʔolak̓ala mulənox̌ʷx̌ ƛus.
Emma and Kirsten gathered words and phrases to support people at the beginning of their language journey. As language learners ourselves, we are always growing and learning new things. Our foundation is in the Lik̓ʷala dialect, and we also want to acknowledge those working in all Bak̓ʷəmk̓ala dialects — we are grateful to work alongside you, and to everyone who continues to speak and learn.
For this project, the International Phonetic Alphabet was used, brought to our community over forty years ago by the Elders of that time. We are open and grateful to all writing systems, and we want to remind people that there is no hierarchy and no one right way to learn. The speakers in this project include ʔixc̓əmatusəlagalis, Emma, and N̓əmnasolaǧa Karen “Cissy” Thompson.
Easy lessons in Lik̓ʷala
Learning our language, one lesson at a time.
Visit this YouTube channel for easy Lik̓ʷala lessons you can follow at your own pace.
Lik̓ʷala Alphabet
View an interactive Lik̓ʷala Alphabet where you click on tiles to hear how the letters of the Lik̓ʷala alphabet are pronounced.
Likʷalamas.com
On this site, we share the Lik̓ʷala and Kʷak̓ʷala resources developed by the Liǧʷiłdax̌ʷ. Our people have contributed to this work over many years. Together, we will continue to learn and speak our language.
Learning Lik̓ʷala: Books, Flashcards & Games
Explore Lik̓ʷala through books, flashcards, and a memory game. Build your vocabulary with words, pictures, and pronunciation, then put it into play — flip each card to see the picture, hear the word spoken, and match the pairs. Learn and practise at your own pace.
Lik̓ʷala Defender
Practise your Lik̓ʷala letters at arcade speed. Pictures fall from the sky — press the letter matching the first sound of each word to shoot them down.
Kwakwala-Liqwala keyboard
This keyboard is designed for the Kʷak̓ʷala language of the BC Coast region of Canada. This is part of a set of keyboards from FirstVoices.
Audio Books
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