| Also Known As: Thlinget,Tlinkit,Tlingit
Description:
The Tlingit language (pronounced /ˈklɪŋkɪt/ in English, Lingít [ɬɪŋkɪ́t] in Tlingit (Maddieson et al. 2001)) is spoken by the Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska and Western Canada. It is a branch of the Na-Dené language family. Tlingit is very endangered, with fewer than 140 native speakers still living, all of whom are bilingual or near-bilingual in English. Extensive effort is being put into revitalization programs in Southeast Alaska to revive and preserve the Tlingit language and its culture.
The history of Tlingit is poorly understood, mostly because there is no written record until first contact with Europeans around the 1790s, and even then it remains sparse and irregular until the early 20th century. The language appears to have spread northward from the Ketchikan–Saxman area towards the Chilkat region, since certain conservative features are reduced gradually from south to north. The shared features between the Eyak language found around the Copper River delta and Tongass Tlingit near the Portland Canal are all the more striking for the distances that separate them, both geographic and linguistic.
Tlingit is currently classified as a distinct and separate branch of the..... full article at Wikipedia |
