Denaʼina language
Denaʼina /dɪˈnaɪnə/, also Tanaina, is the Athabaskan language of the region surrounding Cook Inlet. It is geographically unique in Alaska as the only Alaska Athabaskan language to include territory which borders salt water. Four dialects are usually distinguished:
- Upper Inlet, spoken in Eklutna, Knik, Susitna, Tyonek
- Outer Inlet, spoken in Kenai, Kustatan, Seldovia
- Iliamna, spoken in Pedro Bay, Old Iliamna, Lake Iliamna area
- Inland, spoken in Nondalton, Lime Village
| Denaʼina | |
|---|---|
| Denaʼina Qenaga, Denaʼinaqʼ | |
| Native to | United States |
| Region | Alaska (Cook Inlet region, Lake Clark, Lake Iliamna) |
| Ethnicity | 900 Denaʼina people (2007) |
Native speakers | 5 (2020) |
| Latin (Denaʼina alphabet) | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Alaska |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | tfn |
| Glottolog | tana1289 |
| ELP | Dena'ina |
Tanaina is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
| Person | Dena |
|---|---|
| People | Denaʼina |
| Language | Denaʼina Qenaga |
| Country | Dena'ina Ełnena |
Of the total Denaʼina population of about 900 people, only 75–95 members still speak Denaʼina. James Kari has done extensive work on the language since 1972, including his edition with Alan Boraas of the collected writings of Peter Kalifornsky in 1991. Joan M. Tenenbaum also conducted extensive field research on the language in the 1970s.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.