Koyukon language
| Koyukon | |
|---|---|
| Denaakkenaageʼ, Denaakkʼe, Dinaak̲'a | |
| Pronunciation | təˈnæːqʼə |
| Native to | United States |
| Region | Alaska (middle Yukon River, Koyukuk River) |
| Ethnicity | Koyukon |
Native speakers | 65 (2015 census)[1] |
Dené–Yeniseian?
| |
| Latin | |
| Official status | |
Official language in |  Alaska[2] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | koy |
| Glottolog | koyu1237 |
| ELP | Koyukon |
 Koyukon is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Koyukon (also called Denaakk'e) is the geographically most widespread Athabascan language spoken in
History
Eliza Jones, a Koyukon, came across these manuscripts while studying, and later working, at the
The Koyukon Athabaskan Dictionary is unusually comprehensive in terms of documentation of an American indigenous language, in part because Jetté's notes were of excellent quality and depth. In addition, he wrote about the language and culture nearly a century ago, when the language was far more widely spoken in daily life and the Koyukon people were living in a more traditional way. The use of the word, "Dictionary", in the title is perhaps misleading; the book is more similar to an encyclopedia, as it also is a record of the culture and traditions of the Koyukon people.
The book includes traditional stories recorded by Catherine Attla and published in 1983 by the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Three dialects
As of 1978 there were three Koyukon Language dialects (Lower, Central and Upper).[5] Lower Koyukon was spoken in
Language revitalization
In 2012, Susan Pavskan reported:
On Thursday evenings Denaakk'e (Koyukon Athabascan) classes are held at Yukon-Koyukuk School District offices in
iPods. The students demonstrated these to their parents and grandparents.[6]
The children's show Molly of Denali features the Koyukon language.
Phonology and orthography
Consonants
Sounds are given in IPA with the orthographic equivalent in angled brackets:[7]
Bilabial
|
Alveolar | Palatal
|
Velar | Uvular
|
Glottal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central | Sibilant
|
Lateral | |||||||
| Plosive and Affricate |
Plain | p ⟨b⟩ | t ⟨d⟩
|
ts ⟨dz⟩ | tɬ ⟨dl⟩ | k ⟨g⟩ | q ⟨gg⟩ | ʔ ⟨'⟩ | |
Aspirated
|
tʰ ⟨t⟩ | tsʰ ⟨ts⟩ | tɬʰ ⟨tl⟩ | kʰ ⟨k⟩ | qʰ ⟨kk⟩ | ||||
| Ejective | tʼ
|
tsʼ | tɬʼ ⟨tl'⟩ | kʼ | qʼ ⟨kk'⟩ | ||||
| Fricative | Voiced | z | ɣ ⟨gh⟩ | ||||||
| Voiceless | s | x ⟨h⟩ | h ⟨ĥ⟩ | ||||||
| Sonorant | Voiced | m | n
|
l
|
j ⟨y⟩ | ||||
| Voiceless | n̥ ⟨nh⟩ | l̥ ⟨ł⟩
|
j̊ ⟨yh⟩
|
||||||
Plosives and affricates, other than the labial b and the glottal ', distinguish plain,
Vowels
There are four full vowels in Koyukon:
And there are three reduced vowels:
References
- ^ "Koyukon". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
- ^ "Alaska OKs Bill Making Native Languages Official". NPR.org.
- ^ University of Fairbanks, Alaska Native Language Center, http://www.uaf.edu/anlc/languages/ka/ Archived 2011-08-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Krauss, Michael E. 2007. "Native languages of Alaska", In: The Vanishing Voices of the Pacific Rim, ed. by Osahito Miyaoko, Osamu Sakiyama, and Michael E. Krauss. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Table 21.1, page 408)
- ^ a b Junior Dictionary for Central Koyukon Athabaskan, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Jones, Eliza (author), 1978, http://www.uafanlc.arsc.edu/data/Online/KO972J1978i/koyukon%20junior%20dictionary.pdf[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Interior tribal leaders help promote language with after-school programs" (PDF). Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. March 5, 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-01-30. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- ^
Axelrod, Melissa (April 1990). "Incorporation in Koyukon Athapaskan". S2CID 144552080.
Further reading
- Attla, Catherine (1983). Sitsiy yu̳gh noholnik ts'in' = As my grandfather told it: traditional stories from the Koyukuk. Fairbanks: Alaska Native Language Center and Yukon-Koyukuk School District. LCCN 86621653.
- Axelrod, Melissa (1990). "Incorporation in Koyukon Athabaskan". International Journal of American Linguistics. 56 (2): 179–195. S2CID 144552080.
- Axelrod, Melissa (1993). The Semantics of Time: Aspectual Categorization in Koyukon Athabaskan. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. LCCN 92042719.
- Axelrod, Melissa (2000). "The Semantics of Classification in Koyukon Athabaskan". In Fernald, T; Platero, Paul R. (eds.). The Athabaskan Languages: Perspectives on a Native American Language Family. Oxford University Press.
- Chief Henry (1976). K'ooltsaaẖ Ts'in'. Koyukon Riddles (PDF). Transcribed and edited by Eliza Jones. Fairbanks: Alaska Native Language Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-21.
- Chief Henry (1979). Chief Henry Yugh Noholnigee: The Stories Chief Henry Told. Transcribed and edited by Eliza Jones. Fairbanks: Alaska Native Language Center.
- Henry, David; Henry, Kay (1969). "Koyukon locationals". Anthropological Linguistics. 11 (4): 136–142.
- Jette, Jules; Jones, Eliza (2000). Kari, James (ed.). Koyukon Athabaskan Dictionary. Fairbanks: Alaska Native Language Center.
- Jones, Eliza (1986). Koyukon Ethnogeography. Alaska Historical Commission.
- Jones, Eliza (1992). Junior Dictionary for Central Koyukon Athabaskan: Dinaakkanaaga Ts'inh Huyoza. Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
- Nelson, Richard K. (1986). Make Prayers to the Raven: A Koyukon View of the Northern Forest. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226571638.
External links
- Service Book in the Dialect of the Qlīyukuwhūtana Indians: Portions of the Book of Common Prayer in Upper Koyukon (1908) digitized by Richard Mammana
- Alaska Native Language Center
- Word-Lists of the Athabaskan, Yup'ik and Alutiiq Languages Archived 2012-07-17 at the Wayback Machine by Lt. Laurence Zagoskin, 1847 (containing Koyukon on pages 3–8)
- Koyukon basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database
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| Sign languages | |
| Non-Indigenous | |
