Babine-Witsuwitʼen language facts for kids

Babine–Witsuwitʼen, also called Nadotʼen-Wetʼsuwetʼen, is a language from the Athabaskan family. It is spoken in the central part of British Columbia, Canada. This language is closely related to the Carrier language. Because of this connection, Babine–Witsuwitʼen is sometimes called Northern Carrier or Western Carrier. However, language experts believe it is its own unique language.

The name Babine–Witsuwitʼen comes from its two main dialects:

• "Babine" or "Nedut'en" is spoken by the Babine people. They live around Babine Lake, Trembleur Lake, and Takla Lake.
• "Witsuwitʼen" is spoken by the Wetʼsuwetʼen people. Their name means "People of the blue and green River." They live in the Bulkley Valley, near Broman Lake, and around Skins Lake.

These two dialects are very similar. The main difference is that in the Babine dialect, some sounds have changed.

Is Babine–Witsuwitʼen Endangered?

Like many languages native to British Columbia, Babine–Witsuwitʼen is an endangered language. This means that fewer and fewer people are speaking it. Most of the people who speak it fluently are elders.

In 2016, there were about 161 fluent and 159 partial speakers of the Babine dialect. For the Witsuwitʼen dialect, there were about 131 fluent and 61 partial speakers. Sadly, only a very small number of children still speak the language today. Efforts are being made to help keep the language alive.

How is Babine–Witsuwitʼen Classified?

Babine–Witsuwitʼen is part of the Northern Athabaskan language group. Other languages in this group include Dakelh and Chilcotin. While Chilcotin is related, it is much more different from Babine–Witsuwitʼen.

Some groups classify Babine and Witsuwitʼen as separate languages. They might even group Babine with Carrier. However, language experts disagree with this. They say that the differences between Babine and Witsuwitʼen are small. The bigger difference is between Babine–Witsuwitʼen and the main Carrier language. The confusion comes because some Babine and Carrier speakers call their language Dakelh, but Witsuwitʼen speakers do not.

Writing System

Both the Nedut'en (Babine) and Witsuwitʼen dialects have their own alphabets. These alphabets help people write down and read the sounds of the language.

How the Language Works (Grammar)

Babine–Witsuwitʼen has its own rules for how words are put together.

Word Types

In Witsuwitʼen, words can be nouns (like names of things), verbs (action words), adjectives (describing words), and postpositions. Postpositions are like prepositions in English (e.g., "in," "on"), but they come after the noun.

Nouns

Witsuwitʼen nouns change only to show possession (who owns something). They don't change for things like "the" or "a." How a noun shows possession depends on if it's something that can be easily owned (like a "trap bait") or something that is always connected to someone (like a "brother").

• cʼəni means 'trap bait'. This word stands alone because a trap bait doesn't have to be owned.
• səɬtsen means 'my brother'. The "s-" part shows "my." A brother must always be someone's brother, so it needs this "possessive" part.

Verbs

Witsuwitʼen verbs are made up of a main root and special prefixes. These prefixes show things like when something happened (past, present, future) and who is doing the action. Unlike English, there's no simple "to do" form of a verb. Every verb always shows who is doing the action and when.

Word Order

Like most Athabaskan languages, Babine–Witsuwitʼen usually puts words in a specific order: Subject-Object-Verb (SOV). This is different from English, which is usually Subject-Verb-Object (SVO).

For example:

• Mary dilhtsen yikʼëntsiyʼ
• This means 'Mary loves her own brother.'
• Here, "Mary" is the Subject, "her own brother" is the Object, and "loves" is the Verb.

Common Words and Phrases

Here are some words and phrases in Witsuwitʼen, compared to Southern Carrier and English.

Source: First Voices

See also

• Babine
• Wetʼsuwetʼen
• Dakelh
• Carrier language