Upper Tanana
Upper Tanana Athabascan is spoken mainly in the Alaska villages of Northway, Tetlin, and Tok, but has a small population also across the border in Canada. The indigenous name for the language is Nee'aaneegn'. During the 1960s, Paul Milanowski established a writing system, and he worked with Alfred John to produce several booklets and a school dictionary for use in bilingual programs. James Kari recorded and transcribed a book of stories by Mary Tyone in 1996.
Common Expressions
| maasee' | thank you |
| betlanh | my friend |
| do'eent'aa? | hello (how are you?) |
- Upper Tanana publications from the ANLC Press
- Yukon Native Language Center materials on Upper Tanana. YNLC supports YFNs with language revitalization by providing training, capacity building,
technical expertise, advocacy and being a central repository for all to access and
use.
- UAF Newsroom article on postdoctoral fellow Olga Lovick's work with Upper Tanana
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.