Tahltan language

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Tahltan
Dahdzege
Native to Canada
Ethnicity Tahltan people
Native speakers
 130  (2011 census)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 tht

Tahltan is a poorly documented Northern Athabaskan language historically spoken by the Tahltan people (also "Nahanni") who live in northern British Columbia around Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake, and Iskut. Some linguists consider Tahltan to be a language with 3 divergent but mutually intelligible dialects (Mithun 1999). The numbers below are according to Poser (2003):

  • Tahltan   (approximately 35 speakers)
  • Kaska   (approximately 400 speakers)
  • Tagish   (approximately 2 speakers)

Other linguists consider these to be separate languages.

Language revitalization

As of May 2013, language researcher Dr. Judy Thompson estimated that there are 30 Tahltan speakers. A new Language and Culture office is exploring evening "language immersion" classes, a Master-Apprentice program, and creating a "language nest" for teaching the language to young children. Scholarships are planned for part-time language learners.[2]

Lacking written documentation, it was unclear to the language revitalization coordinator how to teach the language, and how to explain the grammar. "After a year of study, Oscar Dennis says he, along with Reginald and Ryan Dennis, have finally cracked the code on Tahltan language’s fundamental patterns."[3] As a Dene language, like Navajo, Tahltan has “encoded” patterns in which small pieces are added to words to create meaning. "Dr. Gregory Anderson from the Living Tongues Institute visited our territory, and was so impressed with the team’s work that he said he 'couldn’t improve upon it.'"[3]

A digital archive of Tahltan recordings, located "at the Tahltan Language Revitalization Offices in Dease Lake, Iskut and Telegraph Creek" can be used on iPods.[3]

Sounds

Consonants

The 45 consonants of Tahltan:

  Bilabial Inter-
dental		 Dental Post-
alveolar		 Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
central lateral plain labial
Nasal plain m   n              
glottalized     nʼ              
Plosive unaspirated p   t       k kʷ q  
aspirated             kʰ kʷʰ qʰ  
ejective             kʼ kʼʷ qʼ ʔ
Affricate unaspirated   tθ ts tɬ tʃ          
aspirated   tθʰ tsʰ tɬʰ tʃʰ          
ejective   tθʼ tsʼ tɬʼ tʃʼ          
Fricative voiceless   θ s ɬ ʃ ç x xʷ χ h
voiced   ð z ɮ ʒ   ɣ ɣʷ ʁ  
Approximant           j   w    

Vowels

Phonological processes

References

  1. ↑ Tahltan reference at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
  2. ↑ "Learn Tahltan language, save our culture". Tahltan Central Council. 2013-05-03. Retrieved 2013-05-14. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Mystery of Tahltan language "code" revealed". Tahltan Central Council. 2013-05-03. Retrieved 2013-05-14. 

  • Cook, Eung-Do. (1972). Stress and Related Rules in Tahltan. International Journal of American Linguistics, 38, 231-233.
  • Gafos, Adamantios. (1999). The Articulatory Basis of Locality in Phonology. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc. ISBN 0-8153-3286-6. (Revised version of the author's doctoral dissertation, Johns Hopkins University).
  • Hardwick, Margaret F. (1984). Tahltan Phonology and Morphology. (Unpublished M.A. thesis, University of Toronto, Ontario).
  • Mithun, Marianne. (1999). The Languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23228-7 (hbk); ISBN 0-521-29875-X.
  • Nater, Hank. (1989). Some Comments on the Phonology of Tahltan. International Journal of American Linguistics, 55, 25-42.
  • Poser, William J. (2003). The Status of Documentation for British Columbia Native Languages. Yinka Dene Language Institute Technical Report (No. 2). Vanderhoof, British Columbia: Yinka Dene Language Institute.
  • Shaw, Patricia. (1991). Consonant Harmony Systems: The Special Status of Coronal Harmony. In Paradis, C. & Prunet, J.-F. (Eds.), Phonetics and Phonology 2, the Special Status of Coronals: Internal and External Evidence (pp. 125–155). London: Academic Press.

External links


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