Deg Xinag language
Deg Xinag (Deg Hitʼan) is a Northern Athabaskan language spoken by the Deg Hitʼan peoples of the GASH region. The GASH region consists of the villages of Grayling, Anvik, Shageluk, and Holy Cross along the lower Yukon River in Interior Alaska. The language is severely endangered; out of an ethnic population of approximately 250 people, only 2 people still speak the language.
| Deg Xinag | |
|---|---|
| Deg Hitʼan | |
| Native to | United States |
| Region | Alaska (lower Yukon River, Anvik River, Innoko River) |
| Ethnicity | 280 Deg Hitʼan (2007) |
Native speakers | 2 (2020) |
| Latin (Northern Athabaskan alphabet) | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Alaska |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ing |
| Glottolog | dege1248 |
| ELP | Deg Xinag |
The language was referred to as Ingalik by Osgood (1936). While this term sometimes still appears in the literature, it is today considered pejorative. The word "Ingalik" is from the Yupʼik Eskimo language: Ingqiliq, meaning "Indian".
Engithidong Xugixudhoy (Their Stories of Long Ago), a collection of traditional folk tales in Deg Xinag by the elder Belle Deacon, was published in 1987 by the Alaska Native Language Center. A literacy manual with accompanying audiotapes was published in 1993.