Tahltan language

Tahltan, Tāłtān, also called Tałtan ẕāke ("Tahltan people language"), dah dẕāhge ("our language") or didene keh ("this people’s way") is a poorly documented and endangered Northern Athabaskan language spoken by 235 of the Tahltan people (also "Nahanni") who live in northern British Columbia around Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake, and Iskut. Tahltan is a critically endangered language. Several linguists classify Tahltan as a dialect of the same language as Tagish and Kaska (Krauss and Golla 1981, Mithun 1999).

Language revitalization

As of May 2013, language researcher Dr. Judy Thompson estimated that there are 30 Tahltan speakers. A new Language and Culture office is exploring evening "language immersion" classes, a Master-Apprentice program, and creating a "language nest" for teaching the language to young children. Scholarships are planned for part-time language learners.

Lacking written documentation, it was unclear to the language revitalization coordinator how to teach the language, and how to explain the grammar. "After a year of study, Oscar Dennis says he, along with Reginald and Ryan Dennis, have finally cracked the code on Tahltan language’s fundamental patterns." As a Dene language, like Navajo, Tahltan has “encoded” patterns in which small pieces are added to words to create meaning. "Dr. Gregory Anderson from the Living Tongues Institute visited our territory, and was so impressed with the team’s work that he said he 'couldn’t improve upon it.'"

A digital archive of Tahltan recordings, located "at the Tahltan Language Revitalization Offices in Dease Lake, Iskut and Telegraph Creek" can be used on iPods.

Phonology

Consonants

There are 47 consonant sounds:

		Labial	Dental			Inter- dental	Post- alveolar	Velar		Uvular	Glottal
			plain	sibilant	lateral			plain	labial
Nasal	plain	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
	voiceless		Template:IPAlink
	glottalized		Template:IPAlink
Plosive/ Affricate	voiced	Template:IPAlink
	unaspirated		Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPA link	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
	aspirated		Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
	ejective		Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPA link	Template:IPAlink
Fricative	voiceless			Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlinkTemplate:Efn	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPA link	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
	voiced			Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlinkTemplate:Efn	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPA link	Template:IPAlink
Approximant							Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink
	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink
Mid	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
Open			Template:IPAlink

Phonological processes

• Vowel flattening.
• Consonant harmony
• Vowel nasalization
• Vowel laxing

Further reading

• . (Revised version of the author's doctoral dissertation, Johns Hopkins University).
• Template:Cite thesis
• Template:Cite report

External links

• Tahltan Central Council language page
• OLAC resources in and about the Tahltan language
• Alderete, John, Tanya Bob and Thomas McIlwraith. An annotated bibliography of Tahltan language materials