Ahtna language

Ahtna or Ahtena (/ˈɑːtnə/, from At Na "Copper River") is the Na-Dené language of the Ahtna ethnic group of the Copper River area of Alaska. The language is also known as Copper River or Mednovskiy.

Ahtna
Koht’aene Kenaege', Atnakenaege’
Native toUnited States
RegionAlaska (Copper River region)
Ethnicity500 Ahtna (1995)
Native speakers
15 (2020)
30 (2011)
Latin (Ahtna alphabet)
Official status
Official language in
 Alaska
Language codes
ISO 639-3aht
Glottologahte1237
ELPAhtna
Pre-contact distribution of Ahtna
Ahtna is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
Coordinates: 62°10′N 143°49′W

The Ahtna language consists of four different dialects: Upper, Central, Lower, and Western. Three of the four are still spoken today. Ahtna is closely related to Dena'ina.

The similar name Atnah occurs in the journals of Simon Fraser and other early European diarists in what is now British Columbia as a reference to the Tsilhqot'in people, another Northern Athapaskan group.

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