Tanacross #Dene #Language #Alaska
Tanacross has an extensive vocabulary for precisely describing the manner of "cutting"
shíi ta’ihddheɬ "I’m cutting up meat (into small chunks)"
wuk’enindzonh "you cut it in half"
ɬuug dhekk’aayh "I cut (split) the fish"
shinlaats’ógh’ ghiht’aatth "I cut my finger"
ɬatnéedhı̨́htsaat "you sliced it"
It's the time of year when water fowl return to Interior Alaska.
xah Canada goose
dąąxêd snow goose
deeɬ crane
dets’ên duck (general term)
t'aay chox mallard duck
tthí’k’ą̂ąy goldeneye duck
ndeɬ scoter, black duck
k’éɬttheel bufflehead duck
tuhtsêdl green-wing teal
Tanacross borrowed fewer words from colonizer languages than some neighboring languages due to distance from Russian America and later arrival of Euro-Americans.
From Russian:
dayaan "chief"
jeliis "religious cross"
masdlah "butter"
From French:
lsel "salt"
ldîil "tea"
lsaaz "money"
From English:
sųųgąąy "sugar"
goheey "coffee"
Tanacross #Dene #Language #Alaska
taagos "trumpeter swan"
delgok "swan calls"
Taagos have been coming to Interior Alaska each spring since (at least) the Pleistocene to raise their chicks before heading south when nighttime darkness returns in August.
In this time of polycrisis in the human world, remembering there are 25,000 year old rhythms playing out today is helpful to me.
Tanacross #Dene #Language #Alaska
nee’aanděeg’ "our language"
Dihthâad Xt’een Iin Aanděg’ "Mansfield people's language"; a modern phrase. Dihthâad was one of several villages with Tanacross speakers during the pre-1920 Euro-American intrusion.
Dihthâad Xt’een ’iin aanděeg’ dadegdíix "I’m learning Mansfield people’s language"
jâan nee’aanděeg’ s̲h̲íi xiyusiix? "what do they call this in our language?"
The joy of the 1st dog walk after a long cold snap. #yyc #YYCDogs #Indigenous #Dene
Tanacross #Dene #Language #Alaska
Interior Alaska Dene directions are focused on rivers and water.
yaadáa’ tées̲h̲ah "s/he went way downriver"
daadáa’ tées̲h̲ah "s/he went a short ways downriver"
yandîidz ghihkeeɬ "I'm coming by boat from way upriver
yandég ghíhhaaɬ "I'm walking inland, away from the water"
#Dene #Language #Alaska
Tanacross question words:
ndée "where (place)"
ndée dhíndah? "where do you live?"
nt’ih "where (person, thing)"
seey nt’ih? "where is the knife?"
díi "what"
díi nı̨́h’ęh? "what do you see?"
nts’é’ "how"
nts’é’ tâatindaaɬ "how are you getting home?"
dóo "who"
nâan dóo ch’e nt’eh? "who is that?"
Tanacross #Dene #Language #Alaska
nts’é’ t’ínt’eh? "how are you?"
Traditionally, "how are you?" was not said as a greeting as in modern English but rather was a meaningful question.
dhekts’iik "I'm sick"
dhihdlih "I'm cold"
naghishs̲h̲ée’ "I healed up, got better"
ihsųų "I am good, well"
@transitionalaspect @ScoterD
Tanacross #Dene #Language #Alaska
Saa Dzé’edeex Dé’ "winter solstice, lit. when the sun divides" Elders say this refers to the low sun skirting along the peaks of the Alaska Range
Wunenh Nach’ehjedh "December, lit. "month when something is hooked"
nach’imâal "pole used to give and receive gifts"
During the longest winter nights someone would go to each families' skin tent, poke a stick in the door and you had to take whatever was attached to the hook.
"Zoe said he hopes readers of the book gain a better understanding of how traditional knowledge can be combined with a western way of living." https://cabinradio.ca/215388/news/tlicho/new-book-offers-accounts-from-60-indigenous-archaeologists/
#IndigenousPeoples #archaeology #Indigenous #Knowledge #identity #culture #Dene #SubArctic #borealForest #Canada #books #bookstodon
Tanacross #Dene #Language #Alaska
Fires are important for many reasons in Interior Alaska: cooking food and keeping warm are high on the list.
kón’ k’ée "camp fire"
kón’ dįhk’aay "build a fire!"
kón’ déhk’én’ "s/he has a fire burning"
kón’ s̲h̲ęę’ aasts’ęy xdehk’iin’ "they customarily have a campfire outdoors"
kón’ dékk’ąą I built a fire
Thanks for participating in Art Advent Calendar-2024!
Day 1
Here is a photo of mine with lots of holiday colors! Mountain Cranberry, Crowberry, Alpine Bearberry, & Spruce Cone, Whitefish Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada. ©Carl R. Englander
Tanacross #Dene #Language #Alaska
Tanacross has rich and intricate ways of expressing how and where people walk
ghihhaaɬ "I’m walking along"
tinilgaayh "get going, go out!"
na’aatthúug’ nakedédheggáak "I quickly walked down to the water and back"
xdaghins̲h̲ah "she/he walked down the hill"
netétthjáatiiɬ "she/he is walking quickly with a cane"
