Dogrib language

Tłıchǫ Yatıì was traditionally only an oral language. Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì was one of the many Indigenous Canadian languages affected by the Canadian Indian residential school system. Through the British North America Act 1867 and the Indian Act of 1876, the Canadian Government formalised its unilateral control over Indigenous people and their lands. By the 1920s these schools became mandatory for all indigenous children to attend. Indigenous languages were not allowed to be spoken at these schools since the late 19th century. The last of the residential schools closed in 1996. These schools contributed heavily to language shift away from Indigenous languages, including Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì, and towards English.{{cite journal|doi=10.3828/bjcs.2017.11|title=Redress for linguicide: Residential schools and assimilation in Canada|year=2017|last1=Fontaine|first1=Lorena Sekwan|journal=British Journal of Canadian Studies|volume=30|issue=2|pages=183–204|s2cid=148990297}}

In 1992, the first edition of the Tłıchǫ Yatıì Enįhtł’è - A Dogrib Dictionary was published which provided the Tłıchǫ people with a database of words and spelling. This sparked the interest of community members and became the first step in revitalization efforts.{{cite web |author=Dogrib Divisional Board of Education |title=Tłıchǫ Yatıì Enįhtł'è - A Dogrib Dictionary |url=https://www.tlicho.ca/sites/default/files/A_Dogrib_Dictionary.pdf |publisher=Tłıchǫ Government |access-date=18 March 2018}}

In 2005, the Tłıchǫ signed the Tłıchǫ Agreement for Self-Governance.{{cite web |title=Land Claims and Self-Government Agreement Among the Tłıchǫ |url=https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/DAM/DAM-INTER-HQ/STAGING/texte-text/ccl_fagr_nwts_tliagr_tliagr_1302089608774_eng.pdf |website=Government of Canada |access-date=18 March 2018 |archive-date=22 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322203716/https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/DAM/DAM-INTER-HQ/STAGING/texte-text/ccl_fagr_nwts_tliagr_tliagr_1302089608774_eng.pdf |url-status=dead}} This allowed the Tłıchǫ people to prioritize the preservation of their language, culture and way of life. Since its implementation, the Tłıchǫ Government has been working hard to help younger generations of Tłıchǫ learn the language by declaring Tłıchǫ Yatıì as one of two official languages of the Tłıchǫ Government. Revitalization efforts include putting up signs in Tłıchǫ Yatıì, creating on the land programs, providing Tłıchǫ Yatıì classes for community members.{{cite web|title=Tłıchǫ Government Administrative Policy and Procedures|url=https://www.tlicho.ca/sites/default/files/documents/government/20180101TEOPolicy.pdf|website=Tłıchǫ Government|access-date=18 March 2018|archive-date=15 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215232318/https://www.tlicho.ca/sites/default/files/documents/government/20180101TEOPolicy.pdf|url-status=dead}}

Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì is one of the nine official Indigenous languages of the Northwest Territories (NWT) in Canada. Because of its official status, the NWT's department of Education, Culture, and Employment, has been monitoring the language through the Indigenous Languages and Education Secretariat since 2014. This department is devoted to the revitalization of the official languages in the NWT and has policies that ensure the continued use and growth of Indigenous languages.{{Cite web|title=Indigenous Languages and Education Secretariat|url=https://www.ece.gov.nt.ca/en/services/ILES|last=Education|first=Culture and Employment|website=www.ece.gov.nt.ca|language=en|access-date=2020-05-26}} According to the 2018 - 2019 Annual Report on Official Languages, multiple revitalization efforts have been made by the Tłı̨chǫ Government.{{Cite web|title=2018 - 2019 Annual Report on Official Languages|url=https://www.ece.gov.nt.ca/sites/ece/files/resources/3550_gnwt_ece_official-languages-annual-report-english-web.pdf|website=Government of the Northwest Territories}} Some of which include an Elder Evening Story Telling that occurs weekly, transcribing and translating materials into Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì for classes, setting up a radio station, and having community language classes in the language, now including immersion classes in grades K-7. In addition to local efforts, the Official Languages Act ensures that Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì and the other indigenous languages are used in providing government services.

The language is mainly spoken in the Northwest Territories of Canada. The four official Tłıchǫ communities are Gamètì, Behchokǫ̀, Wekweètì and Whatì. Both communities of Yellowknife and Dettah also have many Tłıchǫ speakers, mostly speaking the Wıı̀lıı̀deh Yatıı̀ dialect.

The Yellowknives Dene speak a dialect of Tłı̨chǫ called Wıı̀lıı̀deh Yatıı̀. This dialect came into existence when speakers of Chipewyan began speaking Tłı̨chǫ after 1829 and incorporated some Chipewyan words and grammar.{{cite web |url=https://ykdene.com/about/our-language/ |title=Our Language |author= |date= |website=Yellowknives Dene First Nation |publisher=Yellowknives Dene First Nation |access-date=2021-04-15 |archive-date=2021-04-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415150044/https://ykdene.com/about/our-language/ |url-status=dead }}

The consonants of Tłıchǫ Yatıì in the standard orthography are listed below (with IPA notation in brackets){{Clarify|reason=Why, then, are the IPA symbols outside brackets and why is what looks like orthography in brackets?|date=May 2024}}:{{cite thesis |last=Coleman |first=Phyllis Young |title=Dogrib Phonology |publisher=University of Iowa |type=PhD dissertation |date=1979}}

Tenuis stops may be lightly voiced. Aspirated stops may be fricated {{IPA|[Cˣʰ]}} before back vowels.

{{Location_map+

|Canada Northwest Territories

| width = 240

| float = right

| caption = Tlicho communities in the Northwest Territories

| places =

{{Location map~|Canada Northwest Territories | label=Dettah | lat=62.24 | long=-114.307| label_size=75 | marksize=6|position=left}}

{{Location map~|Canada Northwest Territories | label=Ndilǫ | lat=62.411 | long=-114.334 | label_size=75 | marksize=6| position=right}}

{{Location map~|Canada Northwest Territories | label=Behchokǫ̀ | lat=62.8 | long=-116.04 | label_size=75 | marksize=6| position=right}}

{{Location map~|Canada Northwest Territories | label=Gamèti | lat=64.11 | long=-117.35| label_size=75 | marksize=7|position=left}}

{{Location map~|Canada Northwest Territories | label=Wekweètì | lat=64.19 | long=-114.1827 | label_size=75 | marksize=7}}

{{Location map~|Canada Northwest Territories | label=Whatì | lat=63.14 | long=-117.27 | label_size=75 | marksize=7| position=left}}

}}

The language uses long, short and nasal vowels, and distinguishes them in writing, along with low tone:

:* Nasal vowels are marked by an ogonek (called wı̨ghǫą, 'its little nose', in Tłı̨chǫ Yatıı̀) e.g. ą.

:* Low tone is marked with a grave accent (called wets'aà, 'its hat', in Tłı̨chǫ Yatıı̀), e.g. à.

:* High tone is never marked.

:* The letter 'i' is written without a dot (tittle).

Typologically, Tłıchǫ Yatıì is an agglutinating, polysynthetic head-marking language, but many of its affixes combine into contractions more like fusional languages. The canonical word order of Tłıchǫ Yatıì is SOV. Tłıchǫ Yatıì words are modified primarily by prefixes, which is unusual for an SOV language (suffixes are expected).

Like Spanish and Portuguese, Tłıchǫ Yatıì has two verbs similar to English 'be'. One is used for ways of being that are more dynamic or temporary; the other for more permanent and immutable properties. For example, nàzèe-dǫǫ̀ ts’ı̨ı̨lı̨ and nàzèe-dǫǫ̀ ats’ı̨ı̨t’e both mean 'we are hunters', but the first means that the speakers are currently hunters (for example, part of a hunting party), while the second implies that hunting is their regular profession.{{cite journal|last1=Welch|first1=Nicholas|title=Copulas are not just inflection: Evidence from Tłı̨chǫ Yatıı̀|journal=Canadian Journal of Linguistics|date=March 29, 2016|volume=61|issue=1|pages=98–106|doi=10.1017/cnj.2016.8|s2cid=231889340}}

In addition to verbs and nouns, there are pronouns, clitics of various functions, demonstratives, numerals, postpositions, adverbs, and conjunctions in Tłıchǫ.{{cite book|last1=Ackroyd|first1=Lynda|title=Dogrib grammar|date=1982|publisher=unpublished|pages=32–58}}{{cite book|last1=Saxon|first1=Leslie|last2=Siemens|first2=Mary|title=A Dogrib dictionary|date=1997|publisher=Dogrib Divisional Board of Education|location=Rae-Edzo, Northwest Territories, Canada|isbn=978-1-896790-00-8|page=vi-xiv}} The class of adjectives is very small, probably around two dozen words: most descriptive words are verbs rather than adjectives.{{cite journal|last1=Welch|first1=Nicholas|title=Propping up predicates: Adjectival predication in Tłı̨chǫ Yatıı̀|journal=Glossa|date=April 2016|volume=1|issue=1|pages=1–23|doi=10.5334/gjgl.7|doi-access=free|s2cid=124538391 }}

Example words and phrases:{{cite book| last1=Saxon|first1=L.|last2=Siemens |first2=M. |title=Tłıchǫ Yatıì Enįhtł'è – Dogrib Dictionary|location=Rae-Edzo|publisher=Dogrib Divisional Board of Education |year=1996}}{{citation |url= http://tlicho.ling.uvic.ca/ |title=Tlinchon Yatıì Multimedia Dictionary |first1=L.|last1=Saxon|first2=M.|last2=Siemens|location=Victoria|publisher=U. of Victoria Linguistics Dept.|date=2011 |access-date=2014-05-12|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140505221436/http://tlicho.ling.uvic.ca/|archive-date=2014-05-05|df=dmy-all}}

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}

• {{lang|dgr|Tłı̨chǫ got'ı̨ı̨̀}} – Tłıchǫ people
• {{lang|dgr|tłı̨}} – dog
• {{lang|dgr|tłı̨cho}} – dog rib
• {{lang|dgr|łıwe / łıe}} – fish
• {{lang|dgr|detʼǫ}} – duck
• {{lang|dgr|eyè}} – egg
• {{lang|dgr|ejietʼò}} – milk
• {{lang|dgr|dìga}} – wolf
• {{lang|dgr|tʼooh}} – poplar
• {{lang|dgr|deh}} – river
• {{lang|dgr|elà}} – canoe
• {{lang|dgr|dı}} – island
• {{lang|dgr|kwe}} – rock
• {{lang|dgr|sìh}} or {{lang|dgr|shìh}} – mount
• {{lang|dgr|tı}} – lake
• {{lang|dgr|zhah}} – snow
• {{lang|dgr|chǫ}} or {{lang|dgr|tsǫ}} – rain
• {{lang|dgr|ło}} – smoke
• {{lang|dgr|kǫ̀}} – house
• {{lang|dgr|degoo}} – white
• {{lang|dgr|dezǫ}} – black
• {{lang|dgr|dekʼo}} – red
• {{lang|dgr|dǫ nàke laànì nàtso}} – strong like two people

{{div end}}

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{{reflist|30em}}

• [http://www.omniglot.com/writing/tlicho.htm Alphabet and pronunciation] at Omniglot
• [http://tlicho.ling.uvic.ca/ Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì Multimedia Dictionary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505221436/http://tlicho.ling.uvic.ca/ |date=2014-05-05 }}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120528193303/http://www.tlicho.ca/gonaowo/resources Dictionaries and Tłıchǫ language sources] in PDF format
• [http://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/response.cgi?root=new100&morpho=0&basename=new100\nde\pca&limit=-1 Dogrib basic lexicon] at the Global Lexicostatistical Database
• {{e18|code=dgr}}

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Category:First Nations in the Northwest Territories

Category:First Nations languages in Canada

Category:Indigenous languages of the North American Subarctic

Category:Northern Athabaskan languages

Category:Tłı̨chǫ