Denaʼina language facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Denaʼina
Denaʼina Qenaga, Denaʼinaqʼ
Native to	United States
Region	Alaska (Cook Inlet region, Lake Clark, Lake Iliamna)
Ethnicity	900 Denaʼina people (2007)
Native speakers	5  (2020)
Language family	Dené–Yeniseian? Na-Dené Athabaskan Northern Athabaskan Denaʼina
Writing system	Latin (Denaʼina alphabet)
Official status
Official language in	Alaska
Tanaina is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
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Denaʼina is a special language spoken by the Denaʼina people in Alaska. It is part of the Athabaskan languages family. What makes Denaʼina unique in Alaska is that it is the only Athabaskan language spoken near the ocean, specifically around Cook Inlet.

Sadly, the Denaʼina language is in danger of disappearing. Out of about 900 Denaʼina people, only a very small number (around 75-95) still speak the language. Experts like James Kari and Joan M. Tenenbaum have worked hard to study and record the language since the 1970s.

There are four main ways Denaʼina is spoken, called dialects:

• Upper Inlet, found in places like Eklutna, Knik, Susitna, and Tyonek.
• Outer Inlet, spoken in Kenai, Kustatan, and Seldovia.
• Iliamna, used in Pedro Bay, Old Iliamna, and the Lake Iliamna area.
• Inland, heard in Nondalton and Lime Village.

What the Name Means

The word Denaʼina comes from two parts. dena means 'person', and ina is added to make it plural, meaning 'people'. So, Denaʼina means 'the people'. Even though there's an apostrophe in the middle, most speakers say it with a sound like the 'nine' in English. This is why it was sometimes spelled Tanaina in the past.

How Denaʼina Sounds

Denaʼina is different from some other Athabaskan languages because it does not use "tone" to change the meaning of words. In some languages, saying a word with a high or low voice can change what it means, but not in Denaʼina.

The language has many different consonant sounds. It also has four main vowel sounds: i, a, u, and a sound like the 'e' in 'the' (called a schwa). The sounds i, a, and u are usually spoken clearly and held longer.

Building Words in Denaʼina

Denaʼina is a "polysynthetic" language. This means you can often say a whole English sentence using just one Denaʼina word! This happens because many small parts (called prefixes and suffixes) are added to a main verb.

For example, the Denaʼina word nuntnghel'ił means "I will see you again." It's built from many pieces:

• nu- (again)
• n- (you)
• t- (future)
• n- (see)
• gh- (future)
• sh- (I)
• l- (a special sound)
• 'ił (see/future)

Verbs are very important in Denaʼina. They change a lot depending on who is doing the action, who the action is done to, and when the action happens.

Here is how the verb "to be" (-lan) changes for different people in the Nondalton dialect:

Grammar Rules

Denaʼina uses special prefixes on verbs to show what kind of object is being talked about. For example, the verb might change if you are talking about a round object like a ball, a long object like a stick, or a fabric-like object like a blanket. These prefixes help to describe the object without needing extra words.

Nouns also change to show if they are singular (one) or plural (many). For people, you might add -en for one person and -na or -ina for many. For animals, other endings like -qa are used.

Talking About Where Things Are

Denaʼina has several ways to show where things are or where they are going.

Postpositions

These are like prepositions in English (like "in" or "on"), but they come after the noun.

• Sometimes they are separate words, like "miłni det" (water without), meaning "without water".
• Sometimes they are joined to the word, like "Sheł" (with me), which combines "sh" (me) and "eł" (with).
• You can also add these location words as prefixes to verbs.

Demonstratives

These words point out things, like "this" or "that". Denaʼina has different words for things that are close or far away, and for people versus non-human things.

• gini means "this/these things" (non-human, close).
• ghini means "that/these things" (non-human, distant).
• gunen means "this person" (human, close).
• ghunen means "that person" (human, distant).

For example:

• ghini dghili means "those mountains".
• gunen qisen means "this woman".

Directions

The Denaʼina language has a unique way of talking about directions, often based on how rivers flow. They use prefixes, main parts, and suffixes to show if something is upstream, downstream, near, or far. For example, "yunit" means "at a place far upstream."

Talking About Time

Denaʼina uses special words and changes in verbs to show when an action happens.

Time Words (Adverbs)

These words tell you when something happens:

• ch'queyan - always
• da'a - never
• janiq' - all day
• janq'u - still

For example:

• janiq'e ghestnu means "I worked all day".

Verb Tenses

Verbs change to show if an action is happening now (imperfective), happened in the past (perfect), or will happen in the future.

How Sure You Are (Modality)

Denaʼina has ways to show how certain the speaker is about what they are saying.

Evidentials

These are words, often at the end of a sentence, that show how you know something.

• shughu means "then it is" or "it is true".
• The sound "ł" can mean "it is said," "it seems," or "apparently."

For example:

• shi shughu means "I am the one."
• Denaʼina łu k'elen hqghe'n ninya egh means "The Denaʼina, they say, had some beliefs about the animals."

Emphatics

These words add extra emphasis.

• shida means "I am" (with emphasis).

For example:

• Albert shi shida means "I am Albert, this is who I am."

Sentence Structure

In Denaʼina, the usual word order in a sentence is Subject-Object-Verb (SOV). This means the person or thing doing the action comes first, then the person or thing receiving the action, and finally the action itself. For example, "The boy the ball threw."

Often, the subject or object might be part of the verb itself as a small pronoun. This makes sentences very clear and avoids confusion.

Possession

Denaʼina shows who owns something in two ways.

Natural Possession

Some words are always "owned." For example, family members like "mother" are always possessed. You add a prefix to show whose mother.

• "shunkda" means "my mother." Here, "sh-" means "my," and "-unkda" means "mother."

Here are some prefixes used for natural possession:

• sh- = my
• n- = your (one person)
• be- = his/her
• na = our
• h- = your (many people)
• qu- = their
• k'e- = someone's
• de- = his/her own
• deh- = their own
• nił- = each other's

Other Possession

For things that are not naturally owned (like a book or a car), you add a suffix like "-a" or "-'a" to the end of the noun. If you use a pronoun (like "my"), it goes at the beginning of the noun, and the "-'a" is still added at the end.

Endangerment

The Denaʼina language is in serious danger. As of 2007, only about 75-90 people spoke it, and by 2020, that number was down to 5. In 1970, only 10 people spoke the Kenai dialect.

Linguists (people who study languages) classify languages in danger. Denaʼina is considered "moribund," which means children are not learning it as their first language. This is a big problem for the language's future.

One reason for this danger is that in the past, schools in Alaska did not allow Native students to speak their own languages. They even used punishments. This caused a lot of pain and made older generations avoid speaking Denaʼina, which meant it wasn't passed down to younger people.

Efforts to Help the Language

Many people are working hard to save and bring back the Denaʼina language:

• The Denaʼina Archiving, Training and Access (DATA) project is collecting and organizing Denaʼina materials. They also teach community members how to use technology to help.
• Lake Clark National Park has a collection of audio recordings of the language.
• New books are being published about Denaʼina language and culture.
• There is a yearly Denaʼina festival, followed by a three-week intensive course taught by elders.
• At Kenai Peninsula College, there is a language class for the Cook Inlet dialect. In 2014, about 15 young adults were taking this class, which shows a growing interest.

See also

In Spanish: Idioma dena'ina para niños