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The
Sekani language is a
Northern Athabaskan languageAthabaskan or Athabascan is a large group of indigenous peoples of North America, located in two main Southern and Northern groups in western North America, and of their language family...
spoken by the
SekaniSekani is the name of an Athabaskan First Nations people in the Northern Interior of British Columbia. Their territory includes the Finlay and Parsnip River drainages of the Rocky Mountain Trench. The neighbors of the Sekani are the Babine to the west, Dakelh to the south, Dunneza to the east, and...
people of north-central
British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
,
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Consonants
Sekani has 33 consonants:
| |
Bilabial |
Alveolar |
Post-
Alveolar |
Velar |
Glottal |
| central |
lateral |
plain |
labial |
| Stop |
unaspirated |
p |
t |
|
|
k |
kʷ |
|
| aspirated |
(pʰ) |
tʰ |
|
|
kʰ |
kʷʰ |
|
| ejective |
|
tʼ |
|
|
kʼ |
kʼʷ |
ʔ |
| Affricate |
unaspirated |
|
ts |
tɬ |
tʃ |
|
|
|
| aspirated |
|
tsʰ |
tɬʰ |
tʃʰ |
|
|
|
| ejective |
|
tsʼ |
tɬʼ |
tʃʼ |
|
|
|
| Nasal |
|
m |
n |
|
|
|
|
|
Fricative-
Approximant* |
voiceless |
|
s |
ɬ |
ç |
x |
xʷ |
h |
| voiced |
|
z |
l |
j |
ɣ |
w |
|
- *Sekani, like other Athabaskan languages
Athabaskan or Athabascan is a large group of indigenous peoples of North America, located in two main Southern and Northern groups in western North America, and of their language family...
, does not contrast fricatives with approximants.
Vowels
| |
Front |
Central |
Back |
| High |
i |
|
u |
| Mid |
e |
ə |
o |
| Low |
|
a |
|
Tone
Sekani has two tones, low and high. High is the default. That is, syllables normally have high tone. Syllables phonologically marked for tone are low.
Examples
Kwadacha Tsek'ene dialect
- dune man; person
- tlįį dog
- wudzįįh caribou
- yus snow
- chǫ rain
- k’wus cloud
- kwùn fire
- ’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
- Nùtsʼiide March
- 'ʼUtʼǫ̀ʼ 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
External links