Gwichʼin language

The Gwichʼin language (Dinju Zhuh Kʼyuu)[6] belongs to the Athabaskan language family and is spoken by the Gwichʼin First Nation (Canada) / Alaska Native People (United States). It is also known in older or dialect-specific publications as Kutchin, Takudh, Tukudh, or Loucheux.[7] Gwich'in is spoken primarily in the towns of Inuvik, Aklavik, Fort McPherson, Old Crow, and Tsiigehtchic (formerly Arctic Red River) in the Northwest Territories and Yukon of Canada.[8] In Alaska of the United States, Gwichʼin is spoken in Beaver, Circle, Fort Yukon, Chalkyitsik, Birch Creek, Arctic Village, Eagle, and Venetie.[9]

Gwichʼin
Dinjii Zhuʼ Ginjik
RegionCanada (Northwest Territories, Yukon), United States (Alaska)
Ethnicity3,000 Gwichʼin people (2007)
Native speakers
ca. 560 (2007–2016)[1]
Latin (Northern Athabaskan alphabet)
Official status
Official language in
 Canada[2][3]
 United States
Language codes
ISO 639-2gwi
ISO 639-3gwi
Glottologgwic1235[5]
A sign in the Fort McPherson identifies the city by its original Gwichʼin name, Teetl'it Zheh

The ejective affricate in the name Gwichʼin is usually written with symbol U+2019 RIGHT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK, though the correct character for this use (with expected glyph and typographic properties) is U+02BC MODIFIER LETTER APOSTROPHE.

Written Gwich’in

A missionary called Robert McDonald first started working on the written representation of Van Tat and Dagoo dialects Gwich'in. He also produced a Bible and a hymn book which was written in Gwich'in in 1898. He was the only one who used English as his model to represent Gwich'in, while other missionaries were translating the Bible from French into languages such as northern Slavey. [10]

Current status

Few Gwichʼin speak their heritage language as a majority of the population shifts to English. According to the UNESCO Interactive Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger, Gwichʼin is now "severely endangered." There are about 260 Gwichʼin speakers in Canada out of a total Gwichʼin population of 1,900. About 300 out of a total Alaska Gwichʼin population of 1,100 speak the language.[6]

In 1988, the NWT Official Languages Act named Gwich'in as an official language of the Northwest Territories, and the Official Languages of Alaska Law as amended declared Gwich'in a recognized language in 2014.[6]

The Gwich'in language is taught regularly at the Chief Zzeh Gittlit School in Old Crow, Yukon Territory.[9]

Projects are underway to document the language and enhance the writing and translation skills of younger Gwich'in speakers. In one project, lead research associate and fluent speaker Gwichʼin elder Kenneth Frank works with linguists and young Gwich'in speakers affiliated with the Alaska Native Language Center at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks to document traditional knowledge of caribou anatomy.[11]

Classification

Gwichʼin is a member of the Northern Athabaskan subgroup of the Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit language family. It shares the Hän-Kutchin subdivision with the Hän language.[12]

Dialects

There are two main dialects of Gwichʼin, eastern and western, which are delineated roughly at the Canada–US border.[12] There are several dialects within these subgroupings, including Fort Yukon Gwichʼin, Arctic Village Gwichʼin, Western Canada Gwichʼin (Takudh, Tukudh, Loucheux), and Arctic Red River. Each village has unique dialect differences, idioms, and expressions. The Old Crow people in the northern Yukon have approximately the same dialect as those bands living in Venetie and Arctic Village, Alaska.

Gwich’in speakers located in Old Crow speak several dialects including Kâachik and Tâachik. They are spoken in Johnson Creek village.[10]

Phonology

Consonants

The consonants of Gwichʼin in the standard orthography are listed below (with IPA notation in brackets):[9]

Labial Interdental Alveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar Glottal
central lateral plain labialized
Nasal voiced (m  /m/) n  /n/
voiceless nh  /n̥/
Plosive plain (b  /p/) d  /t/ dr  /ʈ/ g  /k/ gw  /kʷ/ ʼ  /ʔ/
aspirated t  /tʰ/ tr  /ʈʰ/ k  /kʰ/ kw  /kʷʰ/
ejective tʼ  /tʼ/ trʼ  /ʈʼ/ kʼ  /kʼ/
prenasalized nd  /ⁿd/
Affricate plain ddh  /tθ/ dz  /ts/ dl  /tɬ/ j  /tʃ/
aspirated tth  /tθʰ/ ts  /tsʰ/ tl  /tɬʰ/ ch  /tʃʰ/
ejective tthʼ  /tθʼ/ tsʼ  /tsʼ/ tlʼ  /tɬʼ/ chʼ  /tʃʼ/
prenasalized nj  /ⁿdʒ/
Fricative voiced v  /v/ dh  /ð/ z  /z/ zhr  /ʐ/ zh  /ʒ/ gh  /ɣ/ ghw  /ɣʷ/
voiceless (f  /f/) th  /θ/ s  /s/ ł  /ɬ/ shr  /ʂ/ sh  /ʃ/ kh  /x/ h  /h/
Approximant voiced l  /l/ r  /ɻ/ y  /j/ w  /w/
voiceless rh  /ɻ̥/

Vowels
Front Back
Short Long Short Long
Close i [i] ii [iː] u [u] uu [uː]
Mid e [e] ee [eː] o [o] oo [oː]
Open a [a] aa [aː]
  • Nasal vowels are marked with an ogonek, e.g. [ą]
  • Low tone is marked with a grave accent, e.g. [à]
  • High tone is never marked

Gwichʼin language in place names

The Porcupine River, a 916-kilometre (569 mi) tributary of the Yukon River in Canada and the United States, is called Chʼôonjik[13] in Gwichʼin.

References
  1. Gwichʼin at Ethnologue (21st ed., 2018)
  2. Official Languages of the Northwest Territories
  3. Archived 2013-12-06 at the Wayback Machine (map)
  4. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/04/21/305688602/alaska-oks-bill-making-native-languages-official
  5. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Gwich'in". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  6. "Gwichʼin". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  7. McDonald. ''A Grammar of the Tukudh Language''. Yellowknife, N.W.T.: Curriculum Division, Dept. of Education, Government of the Northwest Territories, 1972.
  8. Firth, William G. 1991. Teetłʼit Gwìchʼin Kʼyùu Gwiʼdìnehtłʼèe Nagwant Trʼagwàłtsàii: A Junior Dictionary of the Teetl'it Gwich'in Language. Department of Culture and Communications, Government of the Northwest Territories. ISBN 978-1-896337-12-8.
  9. "Yukon Native Language Centre". ynlc.ca. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  10. Loovers, Jan Peter Laurens (2011-03-09). "People of the Lakes: Stories of Our Van Tat Gwich'in Elders/Googwandak Nakhwach'ànjòo Van Tat Gwich'in, by Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation and Shirleen Smith". ARCTIC. 64 (1): 118. doi:10.14430/arctic4086. ISSN 1923-1245.
  11. Mishler, Craig (2014), "Linguistic Team Studies Caribou Anatomy", Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCOS), retrieved 11 January 2015
  12. "Did you know Gwich'in is severely endangered?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  13. Holton, Gary (July 16, 2013). "Alaska Native Language Archive: Alaska Place Names". University of Alaska Fairbanks. Retrieved November 3, 2013.

Further reading
  • Firth, William G., et al. Gwìndòo Nànhʼ Kak Geenjit Gwichʼin Ginjik = More Gwichʼin Words About the Land. Inuvik, N.W.T.: Gwichʼin Renewable Resource Board, 2001.
  • Gwichʼin Renewable Resource Board. Nànhʼ Kak Geenjit Gwichʼin Ginjik = Gwichʼin Words About the Land. Inuvik, N.W.T., Canada: Gwichʼin Renewable Resource Board, 1997.
  • McDonald. A Grammar of the Tukudh Language. Yellowknife, N.W.T.: Curriculum Division, Dept. of Education, Government of the Northwest Territories, 1972.
  • Montgomery, Jane. Gwichʼin Language Lessons Old Crow Dialect. Whitehorse: Yukon Native Language Centre, 1994.
  • Northwest Territories. Gwichʼin Legal Terminology. [Yellowknife, N.W.T.]: Dept. of Justice, Govt. of the Northwest Territories, 1993.
  • Norwegian-Sawyer, Terry. Gwichʼin Language Lessons Gwichyàh Gwichʼin Dialect (Tsiigèhchik–Arctic Red River). Whitehorse: Yukon Native Language Centre, 1994.
  • Peter, Katherine, and Mary L. Pope. Dinjii Zhuu Gwandak = Gwichʼin Stories. [Anchorage]: Alaska State-Operated Schools, Bilingual Programs, 1974.
  • Peter, Katherine. A Book of Gwichʼin Athabaskan Poems. College, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center, Center for Northern Educational Research, University of Alaska, 1974.
  • Yukon Native Language Centre. Gwichʼin Listening Exercises Teetlʼit Gwichʼin dialect. Whitehorse: Yukon Native Language Centre, Yukon College, 2003. ISBN 1-55242-167-8
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