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A World of Variety: Tlingit (Na-Dené)
Posted Fri, February 20, 2009 - 8:31 PM
language, nativeamerica
Extent of the Na-Dené language family
Tlingit is a language spoken along the coast of southeastern Alaska and northern British Columbia. It's related to other languages in the interior, the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Alaska, but surprisingly, also to the Navajo language of the American Southwest through its membership in the Na-Dené superfamily.
Liz Smith and Margaret Bob wrote and recorded this audio book in the Teslin dialect of Tlingit. Follow the link to see the fully annotated storybook, complete with illustrations. As is obvious from reading, it's aimed toward younger speakers - not surprising, since younger speakers are the lifeline for any language.
(Audio clip is missing title and last sentence.)
Gughaxhìyí
Àdû sáyá? Khukawxhè áyá. Gùdé sá yà nagút? Â ghwaxhì yêde yà nagút.
Mâ sá khuwanûk? Té akachâk xhʼàn ìtí yís.
Dà sá a dà yù tuyatánk? Gùsû yá tláxchˋ?
Dà sá àghâ wùgùt? Tláxchˋ ayasahâ. Gán tsú àwatˋì.
Dà sá àghâ khushî? Khâsʼghà khushî.
Khâsʼ gí amsitʼì? Ą̀, du jintâde yê adàné. Sh tughâ ditì.
Dà sá agas·î? Suknên agas·î. Suknên akàwahîn wé gúxʼà.
Du ît gí yàn·uwahâ? Ą̀, tlaxh xʼêghà du ît yàn·uwahâ. Yàn jiyìt xhʼamditʼáxh.
De yan uwa·î gí wé suknên? Ą̀, yan uwa·î. Du tùwê takʼê suknên axhàyí.
Mâ sá dês khuwanûk? Yan at wuxhàyí xhʼàn gùgú wùtà. De xìwa·át. Khutghanahâ kha dís duwatîn.
Camping
Who is this? This is Khukawxhè. Where is he going? He's walking to where he's going to camp.
What is he doing? He's piling up rocks for the fireplace.
What is he thinking about? "Where is the dry brush?"
What did he go for? He's gathering dry brush. He found wood, too.
What's he looking for? He's looking for matches.
Did he find matches? Yes, he's putting them into his hand. He's pleased with himself.
What is he cooking? He's cooking bannock. He has mixed the batter in a can.
Is he hungry? Yes, he's really hungry. He's so hungry his mouth is wide open.
What is he doing now? After he finished eating, he went to sleep by the fire. It's nighttime. You can see the stars and the moon.
(from Yukon Native Language Center) A great site for many northwestern NA native languages.