The Salishan languages are a group of languages of western Canada and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. They are characterised by astonishing consonant clusters (the Bella Coola word for "make it big!" is /Lk°'tX°/ (SAMPA /l\k^w'tX^w/) and agglutinativity.

Salish is a term that refers to a number of languages of the Salishan family. It usually refers to a Salish language which does not have a true self-designation, such as Thompson River Salish and Interior Salish . Other Salish languages, such as Klallam, Saanich, Bella Coola, Nootka, Nooksack, Squamish and Lushootseed, are referred to by name.