Northern Athabaskan languages

Last updated
Northern Athabaskan
Geographic
distribution
Alaska, Yukon
Ethnicity Dene
Linguistic classification Dené–Yeniseian?
Language codes
Glottolog None
Northern athabaskan.svg

Northern Athabaskan is a geographic sub-grouping of the Athabaskan language family spoken by indigenous peoples in the northern part of North America, particularly in Alaska (Alaskan Athabaskans), Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. The sprachraum of Northern Athabaskan languages spans the interior of Alaska to the Hudson Bay in Canada and from the Arctic Circle to the Canadian-American border. [1] Languages in the group include Dane-zaa, Chipewyan, Babine-Witsuwitʼen, Carrier, and Slavey;. [1] The Northern Athabaskan languages consist of 31 languages that can be divided into seven geographic subgroups.

Contents

Classification

Phonology

In at least one Northern Athabaskan language, Slavey, a shift has occurred in the fricative /θ/ to /f/; this is the same sound change found in the Cockney dialect of English. [2]

References

  1. 1 2 McDonough, Joyce; Wood, Valerie (July 2008). "The stop contrasts of the Athabaskan languages" . Journal of Phonetics. 36 (3): 427–449. doi:10.1016/j.wocn.2007.11.001.
  2. Heltoft, Lars; Igartua, Iván; Joseph, Brian D.; Kragh, Kirsten Jeppesen; Schøsler, Lene (2019-06-15). Perspectives on Language Structure and Language Change: Studies in honor of Henning Andersen. John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 109. ISBN   978-90-272-6263-9.

Further reading