Tlingit language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tlingit |
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| Lingít | ||||
| Pronunciation | /ɬɪ̀nkɪ́tʰ/ | |||
| Native to | United States, Canada | |||
| Region | Alaska, British Columbia, Yukon, Washington | |||
| Ethnicity | 10,000 Tlingit (1995) | |||
| Native speakers | ~50 highly proficient first language speakers in United States, 10 highly proficient second language speakers (2020) 120 in Canada (2016 census) |
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| Language family |
Dené–Yeniseian?
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| Writing system | Tlingit alphabet (Latin script) | |||
| Official status | ||||
| Official language in |  Alaska |
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The Tlingit language (pronounced KLING-kit) is spoken by the Tlingit people. They live in Southeast Alaska and Western Canada. This language is part of the Na-Dene language family. Many people are working hard to bring the Tlingit language and culture back to life. They want to make sure it is preserved for the future.
The first people to write down Tlingit were missionaries from the Russian Orthodox Church. They used the Cyrillic alphabet when the Russian Empire was in Alaska. Later, after the Alaska Purchase, American missionaries used the Latin alphabet to write the language.
Contents
Discovering Tlingit History
The early history of the Tlingit language is not well known. This is because there were no written records until Europeans arrived around the 1790s. Even then, notes about the language were rare until the early 1900s. It seems the language spread north from the Ketchikan area. This is because older features of the language become less common as you go north.
How Tlingit is Classified
Tlingit is seen as its own special branch of Na-Dene. Na-Dene is a family of native languages in North America. Experts like Edward Sapir and Michael E. Krauss studied its connections. They found strong links to the Eyak and Athabaskan languages.
At first, some thought Tlingit was related to the Haida language. But now, Haida is usually considered a language isolate. This means it is not closely related to any other language. However, Haida did borrow some words from Tlingit because they lived close to each other for a long time.
Where Tlingit is Spoken
The Tlingit language is found along the coast of the Gulf of Alaska. It is also spoken on most of the islands in the Alexander Archipelago in Southeast Alaska. There are about four or five different ways Tlingit is spoken, called dialects. Most of these dialects are easy for speakers to understand each other.
Most of the places where Tlingit is native are within Alaska's borders. But there is an area called "Inland Tlingit." This area goes up the Taku River into northern British Columbia and the Yukon. It includes places around Atlin Lake and Teslin Lake. There is also a small group of about 85 speakers in Washington.
Efforts to Revive Tlingit
In 2007, about 500 people in Alaska spoke Tlingit. By 2014, only 2 speakers were reported in Canada.
Good news is that Tlingit classes are offered at the University of Alaska Southeast. In 2014, Alaska officially recognized Tlingit as a state language. This helps a lot with efforts to bring the language back.
Understanding Tlingit Dialects
Tlingit has about five main dialects. These are different ways the language is spoken. They are generally easy for Tlingit speakers to understand.
- The Northern dialect is spoken from Lituya Bay to Frederick Sound. It is also called the Yakutat dialect.
- The Transitional dialect used to be spoken in villages like Petersburg, Kake, and Wrangell. It is almost gone now.
- The Southern dialects of Sanya and Heinya are also almost gone. They were spoken from Sumner Strait south to the Alaska-Canada border.
- The Inland Tlingit dialect is spoken in Canada around Atlin Lake and Teslin Lake.
- The Tongass Tlingit dialect used to be spoken near Ketchikan. Sadly, its last speakers passed away in the 1990s.
Some Tlingit dialects use two tones, and others use three tones. Tongass Tlingit is special because it doesn't use tones. Instead, it uses different ways of saying vowels. Experts believe Tongass Tlingit is the oldest dialect. It kept sounds that were lost in other dialects.
Tlingit Sounds (Phonology)
Tlingit has a complex system of sounds. It is different from languages like English or Spanish. It has many "ejective" consonants. These are sounds made by pushing air out with a closed throat. Tlingit also has several "lateral" sounds, but no "l" sound like in English. Most dialects do not have "p" or "m" sounds, except in words borrowed from English.
Tlingit speakers often blend sounds. For example, "ng" might sound like "nk." Young speakers are starting to make sounds more like English. This means they might say "d" instead of "t" at the end of words.
Experts have studied Tlingit sounds closely. They found that the ejective sounds are truly unique. They are made by closing the throat completely before the sound is released.
Tlingit Vowels
Tlingit has eight vowel sounds. Each vowel can be long or short. In the Northern dialect, vowels can have a high or low tone. A high tone is shown with an accent mark, like áa. A low tone has no mark, like aa. Some Southern dialects have a middle tone too.
Words in Tlingit never start with a vowel sound. If a word would normally start with a vowel, a special sound is added. This sound is like a short pause in your throat.
Writing Tlingit
Before the late 1960s, Tlingit was mostly written by linguists. They used special phonetic symbols. The Russian Orthodox Church also used a little-known Cyrillic alphabet. Many early notes about Tlingit had mistakes. This was especially true for short vowels and ejective sounds.
Today, there are better ways to write Tlingit. This makes it easier to learn and read the language.
Tlingit Grammar Basics
Tlingit grammar might seem complicated at first. But it follows clear rules. It is an agglutinating language. This means words are built by adding many small parts (morphemes) together. The verb is very important in Tlingit. It can include many parts of a sentence.
How Words Are Ordered
In Tlingit, the usual word order is Subject-Object-Verb (SOV). This means the person or thing doing the action comes first. Then comes the thing the action is done to. Finally, the action word (verb) comes last. For example, "The boy the ball threw."
Understanding Nouns
Nouns in Tlingit are quite simple. Many nouns are actually made from verbs.
Using Pronouns
Tlingit has a complex system of pronouns. These are words like "he," "she," or "they." How a pronoun is used depends on its job in the sentence. Some pronouns are part of the verb itself. Others stand alone.
There are different types of pronouns:
- Subject pronouns: These are built into the verb.
- Object pronouns: These can be verbal, nominal (showing possession), or postpositional (used with words like "to" or "from").
- Independent pronouns: These stand completely by themselves.
Tlingit Direction Words
Tlingit has special words for directions. These words act like nouns. They tell you where something is in relation to another place. For example, there are words for "up above," "down below," "upstream," and "downstream." These words can change slightly depending on how they are used in a sentence.
Small Helper Words (Particles)
Particles are small words that are not nouns or verbs. They add meaning to sentences. They can show things like questions, surprise, or emphasis.
- Focus particles: These come after the main part of a sentence. They can show if something is a question or if you are surprised. For example, sá is used for "wh-" questions like "who" or "what."
- Phrasal particles: These come after or before a phrase. They can mean "only then" or "also."
- Mobile particles: These can appear almost anywhere in a sentence. They can mean "just" or "already."
- Sentence-initial particles: These only appear at the very beginning of a sentence. They can show if something is negative ("not") or if you are unsure ("perhaps").
Tlingit in Media
The TV show An Klondike (2015–17) is an Irish series. It is set in Canada in the 1890s. This show includes some dialog in the Tlingit language.
See also
In Spanish: Idioma tlingit para niños
