Tanana
Tanana Athabascan is now spoken only at Nenana and Minto on the Tanana River below Fairbanks. The Athabascan population of those two villages is about 380, of whom about 30, the youngest approaching age 60, speak the language.
Michael Krauss did the first major linguistic fieldwork on this language beginning in 1961, and this was continued by James Kari. Recent publications in the language include the 1992 edition of stories told by Teddy Charlie as recorded by Krauss in 1961, and a preliminary dictionary compiled by Kari in 1994. In 2009, a Lower Tanana pocket dictionary was published by Siri Tuttle.
Common Expressions
| Basi' | thank you |
| Segena' | my friend |
| Do'int'a? | hello (how are you?) |
Language revitalization/Graduate Work
Hishinlai' Peter: Classroom Culture and Indigenous Classrooms (pdf)
Links and Resources
- Lower Tanana publications from the ANLC press
- Upper Tanana publications from the ANLC press
- The name Troth Yeddha' - About Chief Peter John's 1994 blessing and vision for Troth Yeddha' and the University of Alaska Fairbanks
Learn More:
Alaska is home to at least twenty distinct indigenous languages. More than just dialectal variants, these different languages reflect the diverse cultural heritage of Alaska's Native peoples. For more information about particular languages, click below.