Sekani language

Sekani
Tse'khene
Native toCanada
RegionBritish Columbia
Ethnicity1,410 Sekani people (2014, FPCC)[1]
Native speakers
200, 14% of ethnic population (2016 census)[2]
Latin script
Canadian Aboriginal syllabics
Language codes
ISO 639-3sek
Glottologseka1250
ELPTse'khene (Sekani)
Sekani is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
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The Sekani language or Tse’khene is a Northern Athabaskan language spoken by the Sekani people of north-central British Columbia, Canada.

Phonology[edit]

Consonants[edit]

Sekani has 33 consonants:

Bilabial Alveolar Post-
Alveolar
Velar Glottal
plain sibilant lateral plain labial
Stop voiceless p t ts k
aspirated () tsʰ tɬʰ tʃʰ kʷʰ
ejective tsʼ tɬʼ tʃʼ kʼʷ ʔ
Nasal m n
Fricative-
Approximant[a]
voiceless s ɬ ç x h
voiced z l j ɣ w
  1. ^ Sekani, like other Athabaskan languages, does not contrast fricatives with approximants.

Vowels[edit]

Front Central Back
Close i ĩ u ũ
Near-close ɪ ʊ
Mid e o õ
Near-open ɐ ɐ̃
Open ɑ ɑː ɑ̃

/ɪ/, /ʊ/, and /ɐ/ are reduced vowels, that is, phonetically shorter and not found word finally. Nasal vowels are rarely reduced, but there are at least two words with /ɐ̃/.[3]

Tone[edit]

Sekani has two tones: low and high. High tone is the more common tone. Syllables phonologically marked for tone are low. For example, tsun means 'dirt', while tsùn means 'meat'.[4]

Nasalization[edit]

Nasalization of vowels is phonemic. The root *ghèl means 'scrape', while the root *ghę̀l means 'roll'.[4] Nasal vowels also contrast with vowels followed by /n/. A near-minimal pair is /ɬõ˩/ 'correct' and /tɐlon/ 'it's solid'.[3]

Orthography[edit]

The orthography of the Kwadcha Tsek'ene dictionary uses the following letters.[5][3]

Kwadacha Tsek'ene alphabet
Letter IPA
Syll. init. Syll. final
ʔ
a ɑ
à ɑ˩
ą ɑ̃
ą̀ ɑ̃˩
b p -
ch t͡ʃʰ -
ch’ t͡ʃ’ -
d d -
dl -
dz ts -
e e
ę
è
ę̀ ẽ˩
g k -
gw -
h h
i ɪ -
į ɪ̃ -
ì ɪ˩ -
į̀ ɪ̃˩ -
j -
ii i
įį ĩ
ìì
į̀į̀ ĩ˩
k k
k’ k’ -
kh x
gh ɣ
kw -
kw’ kʷ’ -
l l
lh ɬ
m m
n n
o o
ǫ õ
ò
ǫ̀ õ˩
oo u
ǫǫ ũ
òò
ǫ̀ǫ̀ ũ˩
p p
s s
z z
sh ʃ
t t
t’ t’ -
tl
tl’ tɬ’ -
ts tsʰ ts
ts’ ts’ -
u ɐ -
ų ɐ̃ -
ù ɐ˩ -
ų̀ ɐ̃˩ -
w w
yh ç -
y j
zh ʒ -

In addition, ⟨wu⟩ represents /ʊ/, ⟨iii⟩ represents //, ⟨ee⟩ represents //, and ⟨aa⟩ represents /ɑː/.

Sample words[edit]

These words are from the FirstVoices dictionary for Kwadacha Tsek'ene dialect.[5]

Kwadacha Tsek'ene English
dune man, person
tlįį dog
wudzįįh caribou
yus snow
chǫ rain
k’wus cloud
kwùn fire (n)
’įįbèh summer
too water
mun lake
nun land
tselh axe
ʼukèʼ foot
’àtse my grandfather
’àtsǫǫ my grandmother
lhìghè’ one
lhèkwudut’e two
tadut’e three
dįįdut’e four
ǫ yes
Tlįį duchę̀’ ’ehdasde January
Dahyusè’ nùkehde wìlę February
’Iihts’ii nùtsudawit’į̀į̀h March
Nùts’iide March
Dasè’ April
’Ut’ǫ̀’ kùlhaghnukehde wìlę May
’Ut’ǫ̀’ kùnuyehde May
Jìje dinììdulh July
Yhììh nunutsunde wìlę August
Yhììh ukudeh’àsde September
’Udììtl’ǫh ’uwit’į̀į̀h October
Yus ’ut’į̀į̀h November
Khuye ’uwììjàh December

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Sekani language at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Canada, Government of Canada, Statistics (2 August 2017). "Language Highlight Tables, 2016 Census - Aboriginal mother tongue, Aboriginal language spoken most often at home and Other Aboriginal language(s) spoken regularly at home for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census – 100% Data". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 17 November 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b c Hargus, Sharon (26 September 2016). "Sounds and writing systems of Deg Xinag, Tsek'ene and Witsuwit'en" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2022.
  4. ^ a b Hargus, Sharon (21 April 2000). "Ft. Ware (Kwadacha) Sekani Dictionary". Alaska Native Language Archive. University of Alaska Fairbanks. CN990H2000.
  5. ^ a b "Kwadacha Tsek'ene alphabet". FirstVoices. Retrieved 13 January 2024.

Bibliography[edit]

Articles[edit]

External links[edit]