Western Apache language
| Western Apache | |
|---|---|
| Ndee biyati' / Nnee biyati' | |
| Native to | United States |
| Region | Primarily south-east Arizona |
Native speakers | 14,000 (65% of pop.) (2007)[1] |
|
Dené–Yeniseian
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | apw |
The Western Apache language is a Southern Athabaskan language spoken by over 12,000 of the Western Apaches living primarily in east central Arizona. Goodwin (1938) claims that Western Apache can be divided into five dialect groupings:
- Cibecue
- Northern Tonto
- Southern Tonto
- San Carlos
- White Mountain
Other researchers do not find any linguistic evidence for five groups, but rather three main varieties with several subgroupings:
- San Carlos
- White Mountain
- Tonto
Western Apache is most closely related to other Southern Athabaskan languages like Navajo, Chiricahua Apache, Mescalero Apache, Lipan Apache, Plains Apache, and Jicarilla Apache.
In 2011, the San Carlos Apache Tribe’s Language Preservation Program, located in Peridot, Arizona, began its outreach to the "14,000 tribal members residing within the districts of Bylas, Gilson Wash, Peridot and Seven Mile Wash."[2]
Notes
- ↑ as reported by Willem de Reuse in Golla, Victor. 2007. North America. In Encyclopedia of the world's endangered languages, ed. Christopher Moseley (pp. 1–95). Routledge: London.
- ↑ Sandra Rambler (2011-11-09). "Arizona Silver Belt Tribe focuses on preservation of Apache language". Arizona Silver Belt. Retrieved 2012-12-02.
References and recommended reading
External links
- American Indian Language Development Institute (has children's video of Cactus Boy story in Western Apache)
- Apache Tribe Language
- Western Apache-English Dictionary (White Mountain)
- Simplied Apache Pronunciation at the Wayback Machine (archived October 28, 2009)
- Apache Texts
- Issues in Language Textbook Development: The Case of Western Apache
- White Mountain Apache Language: Issues in Language Shift, Textbook Development, and Native Speaker-University Collaboration
- Western Apache vocabulary word list
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