Lower Tanana language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lower Tanana |
|
|---|---|
| Menhti Kenaga | |
| Native to | United States |
| Region | Alaska (middle Yukon River, Koyukuk River) |
| Ethnicity | 400 Tanana (2007) |
| Native speakers | 1 (2020) |
| Language family |
Dené–Yeniseian?
|
| Writing system | Latin (Northern Athabaskan alphabet) |
| Official status | |
| Official language in |  Alaska |
The Lower Tanana language, also called Tanana or Middle Tanana, is a language spoken by a very small number of people. It is an endangered language, meaning it is at risk of disappearing forever. This language is found in the middle of Alaska, in villages like Minto and Nenana, along the lower Tanana River.
Out of about 380 Tanana people living in these two villages, only a few still speak the language. As of 2010, the people who grew up speaking Lower Tanana as their first language were mainly in Minto, a village of about 250 people. Lower Tanana is part of a much larger group of languages known as Athabaskan languages, or Dené.
Long ago, some Athabaskan (or Dené) groups lived between the Salcha and Goodpaster rivers. They spoke a special version of the language. Experts call this version the Middle Tanana language.
What Are the Lower Tanana Dialects?
A dialect is a different way of speaking a language. Think of how people in different parts of a country might use slightly different words or accents. The Lower Tanana language has several dialects:
- The Toklat area dialect, called Tutlʼot.
- The Minto Flats-Nenana River dialect. This includes the way people speak in Minto (Menhti) and Nenana (Nina Noʼ).
- The Chena River dialect, spoken in Chena Village (Chʼenoʼ).
- The Salcha River dialect, found in Salcha (Sol Chaget).
Learn Some Lower Tanana Words!
Here are some interesting words from the Lower Tanana language. You can see how different they are from English!
- dena means “man”
- trʼaxa means “woman”
- setseya means “my grandfather”
- setsu means “my grandmother”
- xwtʼana means “clan” (a group of families)
- ddheł means “mountain”
- tu means “black bear”
- tsonee means "brown bear"
- bedzeyh means “caribou” (a type of deer)
- łiga means “dog”
- beligaʼ means “his/her dog”
- kʼwyʼ means “willow” (a type of tree)
- katreth means “moccasin” (a soft shoe)
- trʼiyh means “canoe”
- yoyekoyh means “Northern Lights” (also called Aurora Borealis)
- tena means “trail”
- khwnʼa means “river”
- t’eede gaay means “girl” (in the Middle Tanana dialect)
Songs in Lower Tanana
Songs are a very important part of many cultures. They help keep languages and stories alive. From 2008 to 2009, a language expert named Siri Tuttle worked on a special project. She is from the University of Alaska's Native Language Center.
Siri Tuttle worked with older people who spoke Lower Tanana. Together, they translated and wrote down the words to many songs. Some of these songs were already recorded, and some were new recordings made during the project. This work helps to save the language and its cultural traditions.
Interestingly, in the Minto dialect of Tanana, speakers can sometimes change the number of syllables in longer words. This makes the language very flexible and unique!
