View source for Tanacross language

{{Short description|Endangered Athabaskan language of Alaska}}
{{For|the Alaskan village|Tanacross, Alaska}}

{{Infobox language
|name=Tanacross
|nativename={{lang|tcb|Neeʼaanděgʼ}}
|states=[[United States]]
|region=[[Alaska]] (middle [[Tanana River]])
|ethnicity=220 [[Tanana Athabaskans|Tanana]] (2007){{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}
|speakers=<10
|date=2020
|ref=<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/Portals/4/pub/ANLPAC/ANLPAC%202020%20Report%20to%20the%20Governor%20and%20Legislature.pdf |title=ANLPAC 2020 Report to the Governor and Legislature |access-date=2023-07-19 |date=2020 |website=commerce.alaska.gov}}</ref>
|familycolor=Dené-Yeniseian
|fam2=[[Na-Dené languages|Na-Dené]]
|fam3=Athabaskan–Eyak
|fam4=[[Athabaskan languages|Athabaskan]]
|fam5=[[Northern Athabaskan languages|Northern Athabaskan]]
|iso3= tcb
|glotto=tana1290
|glottorefname=Tanacross
|script=[[Latin script]]
| nation           = {{flag|Alaska}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/04/21/305688602/alaska-oks-bill-making-native-languages-official|title = Alaska OKs Bill Making Native Languages Official|newspaper = NPR|date = 21 April 2014|last1 = Chappell|first1 = Bill}}</ref> 
|notice=IPA
|map=Lang Status 20-CR.svg
|mapcaption={{center|{{small|Tanacross is classified as Critically Endangered by the [[UNESCO]] ''[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]''}}}}
}}

[[Image:tanacross-mountain.jpg|frame|Tanacross Mountain]]
'''Tanacross''' (also '''Transitional Tanana''') is an [[endangered language|endangered]] [[Athabaskan languages|Athabaskan language]] spoken by fewer than 60 people in eastern [[Alaska Interior|Interior Alaska]].

== Overview ==
The word Tanacross (from "[[Tanana Athabaskans|Tanana]] Crossing") has been used to refer both to a village in eastern Alaska and to an [[ethnolinguistic]] group. The modern village of [[Tanacross, Alaska|Tanacross]] is accessible by a short access road from the [[Alaska Highway]], and some speakers now reside in the regional center of [[Tok, Alaska|Tok]], located approximately ten miles east of the village on the highway. In addition several speakers now reside in the nearest commercial center of [[Fairbanks, Alaska|Fairbanks]], located two hundred miles downstream from Tanacross village and accessible by all-weather highway.

[[Image:tanacross-map.png|frame|Location of Tanacross language area]]
Tanacross is the ancestral language of the Mansfield-Kechumstuk and [[Healy Lake, Alaska|Healy Lake]]-Joseph Village bands of [[Tanana Athabaskans|Tanana Athabaskan]] people, whose ancestral territory encompassed an area bounded by the [[Goodpaster River]] to the west, the [[Alaska Range]] to the south, the [[Fortymile River|Fortymile]] and [[Tok River|Tok]] rivers to the east, and the [[Yukon]] [[Upland (geology)|Uplands]] to the north.

In the late nineteenth century [[trading post]]s were established at [[Tanana Crossing]], a [[Ford (crossing)|ford]] along the [[Eagle Trail]], directly across the [[Tanana River]] from the present-day village of Tanacross. A telegraph station followed in 1902, and an Episcopal mission in 1909. Both the Mansfield-Kechumstuk and Healy Lake-Joseph Village bands eventually settled in Tanana Crossing, eventually shortened to Tanacross (McKennan 1959). The village was relocated across the river to its present location in the early 1970s, and most present-day Tanacross speakers live in or near the village of Tanacross.

==Etymology==
The name Tanacross has only recently been applied to the language and still has limited currency outside academic circles. Many other [[linguonyms]] have been used. Wrangell's 1839 wordlist refers to the language as the “Copper River Kolchan”, though Wrangell certainly had no notion of the linguistic geography of the Tanacross region. The first extensive ethnographic research in the area was conducted by McKennan in 1929-30, who excludes Tanacross from his map of what he labels as the [[Upper Tanana]] region (1959: 16). However, [[Robert McKennan|McKennan]] later appears to lump Tanacross and Upper Tanana together under the label Upper Tanana, noting:

<blockquote>
“In considering the Tanana River as a whole, however, the [Tanana] Crossing and Upper Tanana natives should be lumped together, for between the Crossing and Healy River occur a whole series of rapids which today make navigation exceedingly dangerous and in earlier days practically prevented it.” (23)
</blockquote>

McKennan mistakenly assumes that the Tanana River was a major transportation corridor, when in fact the various Tanacross bands have never had a true [[riverine]] culture, having only settled on the Tanana River in the twentieth century. The rapids referred to by McKennan serve as a barrier to [[salmon]] migration and remove a major incentive for river settlement (de Laguna & McClellan 1960). In contrast, land travel in this region is relatively easy, and extensive networks of trails connect the villages of the Tanacross region. Many of these trails are still used for hunting access. And at least until the construction of the Alaska Highway in 1942, foot and sled travel between [[Healy Lake]], [[Mansfield Lake|Mansfield]] and [[Kechumstuk]] was extremely common (Ellen Demit, p.c.).

Osgood (1936) uses the term Tanana for the entire region of the Tanana River drainage below the Tok River to the confluence of the Tanana and [[Yukon River|Yukon]] rivers. [[David Shinen|Shinen]] (1958), who recorded a word list from Mary Charlie and Oscar Isaac in Tanacross village, refers to the language as the “Nabesna dialect”, and Shinen's term was repeated in [[Harry Hoijer|Hoijer]] (1963).<ref>Shinen, David C. 1958. A word list of the Nabesna dialect of the Alaska Athapaskans. Manuscript, Alaska Native Language Center Archives. Fairbanks.</ref><ref>Hoijer, Harry. 1963. The Athapaskan languages. Studies in the Athapaskan Languages, ed. by H. Hoijer, 1-29. (University of California Publications in Linguistics 29). Berkeley: University of California Press.</ref> Nabesna was actually Osgood's preferred term for Upper Tanana, so Shinen appears to have followed McKennan in lumping Tanacross and Upper Tanana together but adopted Osgood's [[linguonym]]. Shinen's list is clearly of Tanacross, not Upper Tanana origin. De Laguna & McClellan (1960) use the term Tanacross language, but only in a restricted sense referring to the language of Tanacross village proper.<ref>de Laguna, Frederica & Catherine McClellan. 1960. Tanacross fieldnotes. Ms, Alaska Native Language Center Archives, Fairbanks.</ref> Krauss originally included Tanacross with [[Lower Tanana]], but after a more extensive linguistic survey of the region in the 1960s, he began using the term “Transitional Tanana”, recognizing the distinction between Tanacross and the remainder of [[Tanana languages|Tanana]] ([[Michael E. Krauss|Krauss]], p.c.). As the significance of this distinction grew to justify a language rather than dialect boundary, the name Tanacross was applied to the Tanacross linguistic region, appearing for example in Krauss’ 1973 survey of the Athabaskan languages.<ref>Krauss, Michael E. 1973. Na-Dene. Linguistics in North America, ed. by T.A. Sebeok, 903-78. (Current Trends in Linguistics 10). The Hague: Mouton.</ref> The preferred self-designation for the language is simply “Indian”, though “Native Language” is sometimes used in more formal contexts. The term “Athabaskan” is disliked. The indigenous word neò/aòneg, usually translated as ‘our language’, is also sometimes heard, though this is likely a neologism.

Tanacross is part of a large language/dialect complex, and the Tanacross linguistic region is bordered by several other closely related Athabaskan languages. To the northwest is [[Hän language|Han]], spoken in Eagle and across the Canada–US border in Dawson and Moosehide. To the east is the language known by the geographic term [[Upper Tanana]], spoken in the villages of Tetlin, Northway, Scottie Creek, Beaver Creek, and (formerly) Chisana. Tanacross and Upper Tanana share a high degree of mutual intelligibility, though the tonal patterns (with the exception of the Tetlin dialect, which is apparently toneless) are reversed. To the south near the headwaters of the Copper River in Mentasta is the [[Ahtna language]]. The Mentasta dialect of Ahtna is the most divergent of the four main Ahtna dialects and shares many lexical and phonological features with Tanacross rather than with the other Ahtna dialects. McKennan remarks:

<blockquote>
“The Tanana Crossing people have always been in much closer contact with the Indians of Copper River, the valley of the Tok [River] leading to the easy Mentasta Pass and thence down [[Slana River]] to the Copper. The Upper Tanana natives maintain that the Crossing dialect is much more similar to that of the Copper River than is their own.” (23)<ref>McKennan, Robert A. 1959. The Upper Tanana Indians. (Yale University Publications in Anthropology 55). New Haven: Yale University Department of Anthropology.</ref>
</blockquote>

==Dialectology==
Until very recently Lower Tanana was spoken at [[Salcha, Alaska|Salcha]] ({{lang|tcb|Saagescheeg}}), just west of the Tanacross language area near the mouth of the [[Salcha River]]. As might be expected, Salcha shares many features with Healy Lake, the westernmost dialect of Tanacross, though the two are readily distinguished as separate languages (in particular by the presence of high marked tone in Healy Lake). With the passing of the Salcha dialect, the nearest Lower Tanana villages are located more than one hundred miles downstream at [[Nenana, Alaska|Nenana]] and [[Minto, Alaska|Minto]], and the linguistic boundary between Tanacross and Lower Tanana is now even more distinct.

The Tanacross linguistic region is geographically small by Alaska Athabaskan standards and hence contains little dialectal variation. A small number of phonological features distinguish two major dialects. The Mansfield ({{lang|tcb|Dihthâad}})-Kechumstuk ({{lang|tcb|Saages Cheeg}}) (MK) dialect of Tanacross ({{lang|tcb|Dihthaad Xt'een Aandeg'}} - ″The Mansfield People's Language″, referring to the traditional village of [[Mansfield Lake, Alaska|Mansfield]] ({{lang|tcb|Dihthâad}}), north of Tanacross) was formerly spoken at Mansfield Lake ({{lang|tcb|dihTa$òd/}}) and Kechumstuk, until those bands combined and later moved to Tanacross village. This is the dialect spoken in Tanacross village and the dialect upon which this study is based. Unless indicated otherwise reference to Tanacross language should be assumed to mean the MK dialect. A second dialect of Tanacross is spoken by the Healy Lake-Joseph Village bands at [[Healy Lake]] ({{lang|tcb|Mendees Cheeg}}) and [[Dot Lake]] ({{lang|tcb|Kelt’aaddh Menn’}}) to the west, and formerly at Joseph Village, and is linguistically distinguished by the retention of [[schwa]] [[suffix]]es.<ref>Krauss, Michael E. 1973. [Healy Lake Materials]. Ms, Alaska Native Language Center Archives, Fairbanks.</ref>

== Status ==
As with all of the Athabaskan languages of Alaska, Tanacross is extremely [[Endangered language|endangered]]. Although most children have passive understanding of simple commands and phrases, most [[Language proficiency|fluent]] speakers of Tanacross are at least fifty years old. Only among the oldest speakers is Tanacross the language of daily communication. Based on the age of the youngest speakers, Krauss (1997) estimates 65 speakers out of a total population of 220.<ref>Krauss, Michael E. 1997. The indigenous languages of the north: A report on their present state. Northern Minority Languages: Problems of Survival, ed. by H. Shoji & J. Janhunen, 1-34. (Senri Ethological Studies 44). Osaka, Japan: National Museum of Ethnology.</ref> In spite of the relatively small number of speakers, the percentage of speakers out of the total population is quite high for an [[Northern Athabaskan languages|Alaska Athabaskan language]]. Outside [[Tanacross, Alaska|Tanacross village]] proper the percentage is much lower. Although 1990 census figures place the combined populations of Dot Lake and Healy Lake at 117, Kari (p.c.) estimates fewer than four speakers at Healy Lake and perhaps two or three at Dot Lake.

In spite of its small size (population 140) and proximity to predominantly non-native community of [[Tok, Alaska|Tok]], Tanacross village maintains its own school, where Tanacross literacy is sometimes taught. In addition, most households in the village contain at least one fluent Tanacross speaker.
Recently there has been an increase in interest in [[language revitalization]], particularly among middle aged adults. A Tanacross Language Workshop was conducted in 1990, and several training sessions were held at the Yukon Native Language Centre in [[Whitehorse, Yukon|Whitehorse]] throughout the 1990s. These training sessions resulted in [[Native-language instruction|Native Language teaching]] certification for at least one speaker. Tanacross language classes are planned at the [[University of Alaska System|University of Alaska]] regional center in Tok.

== Phonology ==
Tanacross is one of four Athabaskan [[Tone (linguistics)|tone languages]] spoken in Alaska. The others are [[Gwichʼin language|Gwichʼin]], [[Hän language|Han]], and [[Upper Tanana]]. Tanacross is the only Alaska Athabaskan language to exhibit high tone as a reflex of Proto-Athabaskan constriction.

=== Vowels ===
There are six phonemic vowels:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Central vowel|Central]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[High vowel|High]]
| {{IPA link|i}}
|
| {{IPA link|u}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|e}}
| {{IPA link|ə}}
| {{IPA link|o}}
|-
! [[Low vowel|Low]]
|
| {{IPA link|a}}
|
|}

The [[vowel]]s {{IPA|i}}, {{IPA|e}}, {{IPA|a}}, and {{IPA|u}} may be distinguished for length, indicated in the practical [[orthography]] by doubling the vowel. The [[reduced vowel]] {{IPA|ä}} is indicated via the letter {{angbr|e}}. Thus, the practical orthography does not distinguish short {{IPA|e}} from {{IPA|ə}}.

Vowels may be marked for high (á), rising (ǎ), falling (â) or extra-high (á́) [[Tone (linguistics)|tone]]. Low tone is unmarked.

=== Consonants ===
The [[consonant]]s of the Tanacross practical orthography are shown below. This practical orthography follows standard Athabaskan conventions, in particular, [[Stop consonant|stops]] and [[Affricate consonant|affricates]] are grouped together phonologically. Also, voiceless [[Aspiration (phonetics)|unaspirated]] stops/affricates consonants are indicated using, for the most part, the [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] symbols for [[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]] consonants, while voiceless aspirated consonants are indicated using the IPA symbols for voiceless consonants. Note that in [[syllable coda|coda]] position the unaspirated/aspirated distinction reverts to a voiceless/voiced distinction, providing further motivation for the choice of symbols in the practical orthography.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="2" | 
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Dental consonant|Dental]]
! [[Lateral consonant|Lateral]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! rowspan="3" | [[Plosive]]/<br />[[Affricate]]
! <small>unaspirated</small>
| 
| {{IPA link|t}} {{angbr|d}}
| {{IPA link|t͜s}} {{angbr|dz}}
| {{IPA link|t͜θ}} {{angbr|ddh}}
| {{IPA link|t͜ɬ}} {{angbr|dl}}
| {{IPA link|t͜ʃ}} {{angbr|j}}
| {{IPA link|k}} {{angbr|g}}
| {{IPA link|ʔ}} {{angbr|'}}
|-
! <small>aspirated</small>
| 
| {{IPA link|tʰ}} {{angbr|t}}
| {{IPA link|t͡sʰ}} {{angbr|ts}}
| {{IPA link|t͡θʰ}} {{angbr|tth}}
| {{IPA link|t͡ɬʰ}} {{angbr|tl}}
| {{IPA link|t͡ʃʰ}} {{angbr|ch}}
| {{IPA link|kʰ}} {{angbr|k}}
| 
|-
! <small>ejective</small>
| 
| {{IPA link|tʼ}} {{angbr|t'}}
| {{IPA link|t͡sʼ}} {{angbr|ts'}}
| {{IPA link|t͡θʼ}} {{angbr|tth'}}
| {{IPA link|t͡ɬʼ}} {{angbr|tl'}}
| {{IPA link|t͡ʃʼ}} {{angbr|ch'}}
| {{IPA link|kʼ}} {{angbr|k'}}
| 
|-
! rowspan="3" | [[Fricative]]
! <small>voiced</small>
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|z}} {{angbr|z}}
| {{IPA link|ð}} {{angbr|dh}}
| {{IPA link|ɮ}} {{angbr|l}}
| {{IPA link|ʒ}} {{angbr|zh}}
| {{IPA link|ɣ}} {{angbr|gh}}
| 
|-
! <small>semi-voiced</small>
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|z̥}} {{angbr|<u>s</u>}}
| {{IPA link|ð̥}} {{angbr|<u>th</u>}}
| {{IPA link|ɮ̊}} {{angbr|<u>ł</u>}}
| {{IPA link|ʒ̊}} {{angbr|<u>sh</u>}}
| {{IPA link|ɣ̊}} {{angbr|<u>x</u>}}
| 
|-
! <small>voiceless</small>
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|s}} {{angbr|s}}
| {{IPA link|θ}} {{angbr|th}}
| {{IPA link|ɬ}} {{angbr|ł}}
| {{IPA link|ʃ}} {{angbr|sh}}
| {{IPA link|x}} {{angbr|x}}
| {{IPA link|h}} {{angbr|h}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Sonorant]]
! <small>voiced</small>
| {{IPA link|m}} {{angbr|m}}
| {{IPA link|n}} {{angbr|n}}
| 
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|j}} {{angbr|y}}
| 
| 
|-
! <small>voiceless</small>
| 
| {{IPA link|n̥}} {{angbr|nh}}
| 
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|j̊}} {{angbr|yh}}
| 
| 
|}

=== Semi-voiced fricatives ===
One of the distinguishing features of Tanacross is the presence of so-called '''semi-voiced''' [[Fricative consonant|fricatives]], a unique type of segment which appear to begin voiceless and transition to fully voiced. Acoustically, semi-voiced fricatives are characterized by lower intensity of high-frequency frication.<ref name="Holton, Gary 2001">Holton, Gary. 2001. Fortis and lenis fricatives in Tanacross Athapaskan. International Journal of American Linguistics 67 (4): 396-414.</ref> Semi-voiced fricatives occur in stem-initial position in lieu of fully voiced fricatives. Even though they are essentially [[Allophone|allophonic]] variants of the voiced fricatives, semi-voiced fricatives are indicated in the practical [[orthography]] via an underscore beneath the corresponding voiceless segment.

{| align="center" border="0" cellpadding="3"
|-
| łii
| 'dog'
|-
| sh<u>ł</u>ǐig'
| 'my dog' ({{Audio|my dog TCB.ogg|listen}})
|-
|}

== Relationship to other languages ==
Tanacross is a member of the [[Athabaskan languages|Athabaskan family of languages]], a well-established genetic grouping whose members occupy three discontinuous areas of North America: the [[Northern Athabaskan languages|Northern group]] in northwestern Canada and Alaska, the [[Pacific Coast Athabaskan languages|Pacific Coast]] in northern California, Oregon, and southern Washington, and the [[Southern Athabaskan languages|Apachean group]] in the desert southwest of the continental United States. The seven Apachean languages include [[Navajo language|Navajo]], the largest North American language in terms of number of speakers. Apachean is a very tightly related and well-defined branch.<ref>Hoijer, Harry. 1938. The Southern Athabaskan languages. American Anthropologist 40.75-87.</ref> The Pacific Coast group is much less closely related than Apachean and is perhaps more of a geographic subgroup containing perhaps six languages. Of these only [[Tolowa language|Tolowa]] and [[Hupa language|Hupa]] are still spoken today, and these only by a handful of speakers. Of the roughly 24 Northern Athabaskan languages, eleven are spoken in [[Alaska]], three of which straddle the border with [[Canada]].

Given the available data, it is difficult to discern linguistic subgroups within Northern Athabaskan. This is certainly true for the languages of the [[Tanana River]] drainages, which form a continuum extending from Lower Tanana in the west (downriver) to Upper Tanana in the east (upriver). Tanacross itself was not defined as a distinct language until the late 1960s (Krauss 1973a). The [[dialectology]] of this area has not been completely unraveled, but it is clear that Tanacross of course shares many features with neighboring languages and dialects, especially the Mentasta dialect of Ahtna, the (now extinct) Salcha dialect of Lower Tanana, the Tetlin dialect of Upper Tanana, and the Han language.

However, Tanacross is distinguished most dramatically from neighboring languages by the development of Proto-Athabaskan (PA) constricted vowels into high tone. In contrast, [[Lower Tanana language|Lower Tanana]], [[Hän language|Hän]] and [[Upper Tanana language|Upper Tanana]] developed low tone, while [[Ahtna language|Ahtna]] either did not develop or lost tone. The Tanacross tone system remains active in the [[phonology]] and [[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]] of the language. Tanacross shares close linguistic, geographical and social ties with Upper Tanana to the east. In fact, the close social ties which have bound Tanacross with other groups in the upper Tanana drainage area argue for the definition of a Tanana Uplands language and culture area.  This area would include all groups which have regularly participated in [[potlatch]] ceremonies with Tanacross, including the Upper Tanana of [[Tetlin, Alaska|Tetlin]], [[Northway, Alaska|Northway]] and [[Beaver Creek, Yukon|Beaver Creek]]; the [[Han (North American people)|Han]] of the vicinity of [[Eagle, Alaska]] and [[Dawson City]], [[Yukon]]; and the Mentasta [[Ahtna people|Ahtna]] of the Mentasta area. Mentasta is the most divergent dialect of Ahtna and shares many linguistic features with Tanacross and Upper Tanana. Due to extensive [[multilingualism]] within the Tanana Uplands area, any study of Tanacross must account for the larger [[Sociolinguistics|socio-linguistic]] framework within which Tanacross is embedded.

== Early research ==
In addition to the strictly linguistic resources to be discussed below, Isaac (1988) and Simeone (1995) provide important cultural background on the Tanacross community. The former is an [[oral history]] told by Chief Andrew Isaac, the last traditional chief of Tanacross. Though much of the text has been translated into English, the translation maintains much of the speech style of the original Tanacross language. The text contains many references to Tanacross flora and fauna, as well as cultural items. Simeone's book is an [[ethnography|ethnographic]] sketch written by an Episcopal lay worker who spent much of the 1970s living in [[Tanacross, Alaska|Tanacross village]]. Ethnographies of the eastern Alaska Athabaskan region, though not specific to Tanacross, can be found in McKennan (1959) and Andrews (1975). De Laguna & McClellan's (1960) field notes also contain extensive ethnographic information.

The earliest written record by far of the Tanacross language is the “Copper River Kolchan” vocabulary recorded in Wrangell (1839).<ref>Wrangell, Ferdinand Petrovich von. 1839. Statistische und ethnographische Nachrichten über die Russische Besitzungen an der Norwestküste von Amerika, ed. by K.G. von Baer & G. von Helmersen, 101-03, 259. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag.</ref> This list was probably collected at Nuchek in [[Prince William Sound]], but its character is unmistakably Tanacross.  Another short (three typescript pages) word list was collected by J.T. Geoghegan (Geoghegan & Geoghegan 1904). David Shinen compiled a somewhat longer Tanacross word list from Mary Charlie and Oscar Isaac in Tanacross village,<ref>Shinen, David C. 1958. A word list of the [[Upper Tanana language|Nabesna]] dialect of the Alaska Athapaskans. Ms, Alaska Native Language Center Archives, Fairbanks.</ref> and a portion of this list was later published under the heading “Nabesna” in Hoijer (1963). More substantive documentation of Tanacross began with exploratory fieldwork by Krauss, who first called it “transitional Tanana”.<ref>Krauss, Michael E. 1962. [Tanacross materials]. Ms, Alaska Native Language Center Archives, Fairbanks.</ref> In the early 1970s Nancy McRoy compiled some textual materials with speaker Mary Charlie<ref>Charlie, Mary & Nancy McRoy. 1972. [Tanacross Texts]. Ms, Alaska Native Language Center Archives, Fairbanks.</ref> and a short wordlist containing about 400 items, mostly nouns,<ref>McRoy, Nancy. 1973. Beginning Tanacross Dictionary. Ms, Alaska Native Language Center Archives, Fairbanks.</ref> as well as some basic literacy materials. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Jeff Leer compiled further notes on [[Grammatical category|grammatical paradigms]]<ref>Leer, Jeff. 1982. Subject-classifier paradigms in Tanacross. Ms, Alaska Native Language Center Archives, Fairbanks.</ref> and [[Distinctive feature|phonological features]],<ref>Leer, Jeff. 1977. Stem Syllable Development in Tanacross and Upper Tanana. Ms, Alaska Native Language Center Archives, Fairbanks.</ref><ref>Leer, Jeff. 1982. Issues in Tanacross Orthography. Ms, Alaska Native Language Center Archives.</ref> including the three-way fricative voicing contrast. Marilyn Paul (1978) presents some notes compiled from a class taught by Leer at ANLC.<ref>Paul, Marilyn. 1978. [Tanacross Notes]. Manuscript, Alaska Native Language Archive</ref> Ron Scollon transcribed and translated a collection of texts from speaker Gaither Paul using a revised [[orthography]] which indicates [[tone (linguistics)|tone]].<ref>Paul, Gaither. 1979. The Story of How Dentalium Necklaces Came to the People. Ms, Alaska Native Language Center Archives, Fairbanks.</ref> Kari has compiled a preliminary stem list based on information collected from several speakers in the 1980s, but tone is not marked.<ref>Kari, James. 1991. Tanacross Stem List. Ms, Alaska Native Language Center Archives, Fairbanks.</ref> Alice Brean has compiled lexical and paradigmatic information.<ref>Brean, Alice  & James Kari. 1991. [Tanacross Language Notes]. Ms, Alaska Native Language Center Archives, Fairbanks.</ref> Minoura has compiled a short word list and information on tone.<ref>Minoura, Nobukatsu. 1991. [Tanacross Fieldnotes]. Ms, Alaska Native Language Center Archives, Fairbanks. 1994. A comparative phonology of the Upper Tanana Athabaskan dialects. Languages of the North Pacific Rim, ed. by O. Miyaoka, 159-96. (Hokkaido University Publications in Linguistics 7.). Sapporo: Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Letters, Hokkaido University.</ref> In spite of the various sources of lexical documentation, Krauss (p.c.) estimates than only twenty percent of the extant body of [[Lexicon|lexical]] information has been documented by linguists.

During the early 1990s John Ritter of the Yukon Native Language Center (YNLC) began a comprehensive study of Tanacross phonology in the early 1990s and developed a practical orthography. Tanacross speakers Irene Solomon Arnold and Jerry Isaac have participated in literacy workshops in [[Tok, Alaska|Tok]], [[Whitehorse, Yukon|Whitehorse]] and [[Dawson City]], resulting in the production of literacy materials with accompanying cassette tapes.<ref>Solomon, Irene. 1994. Tanacross Athabaskan Language Lessons. Whitehorse: Yukon Native Language Centre.</ref><ref>Solomon, Irene. 1996. Tanacross Listening Exercises. Whitehorse: Yukon Native Language Centre.</ref><ref>Isaac, Jerry. 1997. Tanacross Listening Exercises. Whitehorse: Yukon Native Language Centre.</ref> Solomon & Ritter (1997) provides crucial data for the description of [[Tone (linguistics)|tone]] phenomena.<ref>Solomon, Irene. 1997. Tanacross Diagnostics. Ms, Alaska Native Language Center Archives, Fairbanks.</ref> Phonology and morphology are described in Holton's 2000 University of California Santa Barbara dissertation.<ref>Holton, Gary. 2000. The Phonology and Morphology of the Tanacross Athabaskan Language. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara.</ref> Semi-voiced fricatives are described by Holton (2001).<ref name="Holton, Gary 2001"/> The interaction of tone and intonation is described in Holton (2005).<ref>Holton, Gary. 2005. Pitch, tone and intonation in Tanacross. In Keren Rice & Sharon Hargus (eds.), Athabaskan Prosody, 249-75. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.</ref> Additional sound recordings and field notes are available at YNLC and the [[Alaska Native Language Archive]]. Since 2000 Irene Solomon has worked as a language specialist at the [[Alaska Native Language Center]] and has collaborated on a number of projects with linguist [[Gary Holton (linguist)|Gary Holton]], including a phrase book,<ref>Arnold, Irene Solomon, Gary Holton & Richard Thoman. 2003. Tanacross Phrase and Conversation Lessons. Fairbanks: Alaska Native Language Center.</ref> a learners' dictionary,<ref>Arnold, Irene, Richard Thoman & Gary Holton. 2009. Tanacross Learners' Dictionary: Dihtâad Xt'een Iin Anděg Dínahtlǎa'. Fairbanks: Alaska Native Language Center.</ref> and a multimedia description of the sound system.<ref>Holton, Gary, and Rick Thoman. 2008. [https://web.archive.org/web/20181115212251/https://www.uaf.edu/anlc/languages/tc/tss/ The Sounds of Tanacross]. Archived from the [https://www.uaf.edu/anlc/languages/tc/tss/ original] on 2018-11-15.</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/response.cgi?root=new100&morpho=0&basename=new100\nde\pca&limit=-1 Tanacross basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160306130221/https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tanacross-learners-dictionary/id591462817?mt=8 Tanacross Learners' Dictionary] iPhone app

{{Athabaskan languages}}
{{Languages of Alaska}}

[[Category:Tanana Athabaskans]]
[[Category:Indigenous languages of Alaska]]
[[Category:Northern Athabaskan languages]]
[[Category:Indigenous languages of the North American Subarctic]]
[[Category:Endangered Athabaskan languages]]
[[Category:Official languages of Alaska]]