Everything about Gwich In Language totally explained
The
Gwich’in language is the
Athabaskan language of the
Gwich’in indigenous people. In the
Northwest Territories and
Yukon Territory of
Canada, it's used principally in the towns of
Inuvik,
Aklavik,
Fort McPherson,
Old Crow, and
Tsiigehtchic (formerly Arctic Red River). There are about 430 Gwich’in speakers in Canada out of a total Gwich'in population of 1,900.
In
Alaska, Gwich’in is spoken in
Beaver,
Circle,
Fort Yukon,
Chalkyitsik,
Birch Creek,
Arctic Village,
Eagle, and
Venetie, Alaska. About 300 out of a total Alaska Gwich’in population of 1,100 speak the language.
It is an official language of the Northwest Territories.
The
glottal stop in the name
Gwich’in is usually written with symbol U+2019
RIGHT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK, though the correct character for this use (with expected glyph
and typographic properties) is U+02BC
MODIFIER LETTER APOSTROPHE.
Classification
Gwich'in is a member of the
Canadian sub-group of the
Athabaskan languages, of the
Na-Dene family of languages. It shares the
Han-Kutchin subgroup with the
Han language.
Dialects
There are several dialects of Gwich'in, including Fort Yukon Gwich'in, Arctic Village Gwich'in, Western Canada Gwich'in (Takudh, Tukudh, Loucheux), and Arctic Red River.
Phonology
Consonants
The consonants of Gwich'in in the standard orthography are listed below (with IPA notation in brackets):
| |
Labial |
Interdental |
Alveolar |
Retroflex |
Palatal |
Velar |
Glottal |
| Central |
Lateral |
Plain |
Labialized |
| Nasal | Voiced |
m /m/ |
|
n /n/ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Voiceless |
|
|
nh /n̥/ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Plosive | Voiced |
b /b/ |
|
d /d/ |
|
dr /ɖ/ |
|
g /g/ |
gw /gʷ/ |
|
| Voiceless |
|
|
t /t/ |
|
tr /ʈ/ |
|
k /k/ |
kw /kʷ/ |
’ /ʔ/ |
| Ejective |
|
|
t’ /t’/ |
|
tr’ /ʈ’/ |
|
k’ /k’/ |
|
|
| Nasal release |
|
|
nd /dⁿ/ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Affricate | Voiced |
|
ddh /dð/ |
dz /dz/ |
dl /dɮ/ |
|
dj /dʒ/ |
|
|
|
| Voiceless |
|
tth /tθ/ |
ts /ts/ |
tl /tɬ/ |
|
ch /tʃ/ |
|
|
|
| Ejective |
|
tth’ /tθ’/ |
ts’ /ts’/ |
tl’ /tɬ’/ |
|
ch’ /tʃ’/ |
|
|
|
| Nasal release |
|
|
|
|
|
nj /dʒɲ/ |
|
|
| Fricative | Voiced |
v /v/ |
dh /ð/ |
z /z/ |
|
zhr /ʐ/ |
zh /ʒ/ |
gh /ɣ/ |
ghw /ɣʷ/ |
|
| Voiceless |
|
th /θ/ |
s /s/ |
ł /ɬ/ |
shr /ʂ/ |
sh /ʃ/ |
kh /x/ |
|
h /h/ |
Approxi-
mant | Voiced |
|
|
|
l /l/ |
r /ɻ/ |
y /j/ |
|
w /w/ |
|
| Voiceless |
|
|
|
|
rh /ɻ̥/ |
|
|
|
|
Vowels
» *
short
**
a [a]
» **
e [e]
**
i [i]
» **
o [o]
**
u [u]
» *
long
**
aa [aː]
» **
ee [eː]
**
ii [iː]
» **
oo [oː]
**
uu [uː]
» * nasal vowels are marked by an ogonek accent, for example,
ą
* low tone is optionally marked with a grave accent, for example,
à » * high tone is never marked
Further Information
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