Na-Dene (Athabaskan) Language Family

Introduction

Introduction

Na-Dene

The Na-Dené (also called Athabascan or Athapascan) language family includes 47 distantly related languages that are spoken over a large area spanning from northwestern Canada and Alaska south to the Rio Grande. It is the largest language family in North America in terms of number of languages and the number of speakers (after the Uto-Aztecan language family). The name Athabaskan comes from the Cree name for Lake Athabasca in Canada.

The three-branch Na-Dené language family is made up of the two single languages -- Haida and Tlingit -- spoken along the coastline of western Canada and southern Alaska, and the Athabaskan-Eyak group of languages spoken by Indian tribes in interior Alaska and western Canada as well as parts of the Pacific coast of Oregon and California, and in the American Southwest.

All Na-Dené languages, except for Apache-Navajo, are seriously endangered or on the verge of extinction. The Athabaskan-Eyak branch includes Jicarilla, Western Apache, Mescalero, Kiowa-Apache, and Apache Lipan, as well as Navajo (Diné) . Kiowa-Apache and Lipan are close to extinction; Jicarilla has an endangered status; and even among the Navajos, the most numerous of the Athabaskan tribes, only 17 percent of school children speak the language when they enter school.

Haida (2 varieties) spoken in British Columbia	40
Athabaskan-Eyak (43 languages) spoken in the Northwest Territory, the Yukon, and adjacent parts of Canada, west to Cook Inlet in Alaska; in two isolated areas of the Pacific coast (southwestern Oregon and northern California); and in the southwestern United States (mostly in New Mexico and Arizona).
Apachean-Navajo (5 varieties of which 1 is almost extinct)	163,875
Canadian (13 varieties of which 3 are almost extinct)	13,638
Ingalik-Koyukon (3 varieties of which 2 are almost extinct)	350
Pacific Coast (9 varieties of which 5 are extinct and 4 are almost extinct)	20-15
Tahitan-Kaska (3 varieties of which 2 are almost extinct)	437
Tanaina-Ahtna (2 varieties with less than 100 speakers each)	155
Tanana-Upper Kuskokwim (4 varieties 3 of which have fewer than 50 speakers each)	200
Tutchone (2 varieties)	400
Tsetsaut	extinct
Eyak spoken in the Alaskan panhandle	1
Tlingit spoken in southeastern Alaska	700

The largest Na-Dené language is Navajo, spoken in Arizona and New Mexico. It is one of the few North American Indian languages with a growing number of speakers. Other large languages in the Na-Dené family are Western Apache, spoken in western Arizona, and the Chipewyan dialects of the Northwest Territories in Canada.

Athabaskan Man

Athabaskan Woman

Athabaskan family

Structure

Sound System

Na-Dené languages have a relatively small number of vowels that can be short or long (extra long in some languages, such as Navajo). They have a large inventory of consonant phonemes that include many stops, fricatives, and affricates that can be voiced/voiceless, aspirated or ejective.

Na-Dené languages also use tones to distinguish otherwise identical words. For instance, Navajo has a high, low, rising, and falling tones.

Grammar

Na-Dené languages are polysynthetic, i.e., they are characterized by a very high number of morphemes per word. They tend to have very long words that correspond to complete sentences in less synthetic languages such as English. However, Na-Dené languages are not as polysynthetic as Algonquian or Eskimo-Aleut languages.

Vocabulary

Athabaskan cloth

Vocabulary
Here are some basic words in five Na-Dené languages.

Which languages appear to be the closest?
Which words words appear to be the most similar across languages?

	Navajo	Western Apache	Koyukon	Haida	Tlingit
one	Láá'íí	Dalaa	K'eel	Sgwáansang	Tléix'
two	Naaki	Naki	Neteeh	Sdáng	Déix
three	Taá'	Táági	Tokk'ee	Hlgúnahl	Nús'k
four	Dii'	Dii'i	Denk'ee	Stánsang	Dax'ón
five	Ashdla'	Ashdla'i	K'eelts'ednaale	Tl'éihl	Keijín
man	Hastiin	Ndeen	Denaa	Iihlangaa	Káh
woman	Asdzáán	Izdzán	Solt'aanh	Jáadaa	Shawút
sun	Shá	Yá'i	So	Juuyáay	Gugán
moon	Tl'éhonaa'éí	Tl'e'gona'ái	Dolt'ol	Kúng	Dís
water	Tó	Tú	Too	Gántl	IÍsh

Writing

Writing
Until the arrival of European settlers and missionaries, Na-Dené languages were unwritten. Missionaries set to work devising orthographies for these languages in order to translate the Bible. Using the Roman alphabet, they developed orthographies that often missed or misinterpreted important sound features of the languages.

Resources

Na-Dené language and culture study resources
Wikipedia - Na-Dene Languages
Wikipedia - Athabaskan Languages
Alaska Native Language Center
Athabaskan (Na-Dene) Language Family
Athabaskan Languages and the Schools
Nine Aboriginal Languages of Canada

Click here to learn more about Navajo on this website.