Northern Tutchone language

Northern Tutchone
Northern Tutchone
Dän kʼí
Native to	Canada
Region	Yukon
Ethnicity	Northern Tutchone people
Native speakers	(200 cited 1995)
Language family	Na-Dené Athabaskan–Eyak Athabaskan Northern Athabaskan Northern Tutchone; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	ttm
Glottolog	nort2941
ELP	Northern Tutchone
	Northern Tutchone is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.

Northern Tutchone is an Athabaskan language of southern Yukon in Canada. About a little part of the Northern Tutchone people speak the language. Although they are sometimes considered separate languages, Northern and Southern Tutchone speakers are generally able to understand each other in conversation, albeit with moderate difficulty.^[1]

Northern Tutchone is spoken in the Yukon communities of Mayo, Pelly Crossing, Stewart Crossing, Carmacks, and Beaver Creek.^[2]

The Northern Tutchone language is threatened. In the 2011 census, Northern Tutchone was reported to have 210 speakers.^[2]

Dialects

Big Salmon dialect
Pelly Crossing dialect
Mayo dialect
White River dialect

Phonology

The consonants and vowels of Northern Tutchone and their orthography are as follows:^[3]

Consonants

		Labial	Inter- dental	Alveolar			Post- alveolar	Retro- flex	Velar		Glottal
		Labial	Inter- dental	plain	sibilant	lateral	Post- alveolar	Retro- flex	plain	labial	Glottal
Nasal		m ⟨m⟩		n ⟨n⟩
Plosive/ Affricate	plain		tθ ⟨ddh⟩	t ⟨d⟩	ts ⟨dz⟩	tɬ ⟨dl⟩	tʃ ⟨j⟩		k ⟨g⟩	kʷ ⟨gw⟩	ʔ ⟨ʼ⟩
	aspirated		tθʰ ⟨tth⟩	tʰ ⟨t⟩	tsʰ ⟨ts⟩	tɬʰ ⟨tl⟩	tʃʰ ⟨ch⟩		kʰ ⟨k⟩	kʷʰ ⟨kw⟩
	ejective		tθʼ ⟨tth’⟩	tʼ ⟨t’⟩	tsʼ ⟨ts’⟩	tɬʼ ⟨tl’⟩	tʃʼ ⟨ch’⟩		kʼ ⟨k’⟩	kʷʼ ⟨kw’⟩
	prenasalized	ᵐb ⟨mb⟩		ⁿd ⟨nd⟩			ⁿdʒ ⟨nj⟩
Fricative	voiceless		θ ⟨th⟩		s ⟨s⟩	ɬ ⟨ł⟩	ʃ ⟨sh⟩		x ⟨kh⟩	xʷ ⟨khw⟩	h ⟨h⟩
Fricative	voiced		ð ⟨dh⟩		z ⟨z⟩	ɮ ⟨l⟩	ʒ ⟨zh⟩		ɣ ⟨gh⟩	ɣʷ ⟨ghw⟩
Approximant							j ⟨y⟩	ɻ ⟨r⟩		w ⟨w⟩

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	i ⟨i⟩		u ⟨u⟩
Mid	e ⟨e⟩	ə ⟨ä⟩	o ⟨o⟩
Low	a ⟨a⟩

Vowels are differentiated for nasalization and high, mid, and low tone.

Nasalized: į, ų, ę, ą̈, ǫ, ą
High tone: í, ú, é, ä́ , ó, á
Mid tone: ī, ū, ē, ǟ, ō, ā
Low tone: unmarked

In popular culture

Jerry Alfred's "Etsi Shon" (Grandfather song), sung in Northern Tuchone, won a Juno Award in the Best Aboriginal Album category in 1996.^[4]^[5]

References

^ Krauss, M. E. and V. Golla. (1981). Northern Athapaskan Languages. Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 6: Subarctic, ed. by June Helm, 67–85. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.
^ ^a ^b "Tutchone, Northern". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
^ McClellan, Catharine (1978). "Tutchone". Handbook of North American Indians: Subarctic. Government Printing Office. p. 493. ISBN 9780160045783.
^ Lynn Van Matre (1966-08-01). "Jerry Alfred & the Medicine Beat Etsi Shon". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved 2012-11-27.
^ "Juno Awards Database". junoawards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 20 January 2012. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)

External links

Yukon Native Language Center : Northern Tutchone

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[1] Krauss, M. E. and V. Golla. (1981). Northern Athapaskan Languages. Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 6: Subarctic, ed. by June Helm, 67–85. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.

[:0-2] "Tutchone, Northern". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2017-11-01.

[3] McClellan, Catharine (1978). "Tutchone". Handbook of North American Indians: Subarctic. Government Printing Office. p. 493. ISBN 9780160045783.

[4] Lynn Van Matre (1966-08-01). "Jerry Alfred & the Medicine Beat Etsi Shon". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved 2012-11-27.

[junoawards.ca-5] "Juno Awards Database". junoawards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 20 January 2012. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)

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