Ditidaht is spoken in the southwestern part of Vancouver Island.
The indigenous name is /di:ti:dʔa:ʔtx/. This was originally the name of the group around Nitinat Lake. It was later extended to include all Ditidaht-speaking people. The currently favoured English name Ditidaht is an adaptation of the indigenous name. The more widely used English name Nitinat reflects the fact that the indigenous name used to be pronounced /ni:ti:n?a:?tx/. After the name was borrowed into English, Ditidaht /n/ changed to /d/.
The Ethnologue considers Ditidaht a dialect of Nuuchanulth (which it calls Nootka). This view is not generally accepted among specialists in Wakashan languages.
Ditidaht is a Wakashan language.
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Yinka Déné Language Institute © 2006