Dakelh
Carrier
Na-Dené (Athabaskan, Northern)
Carrier (Dakelh) is a Northern Athabaskan language native to the central interior of British Columbia, Canada, with ~600 mostly elderly speakers across multiple dialect-variant communities. The English name "Carrier" comes from the cultural practice where widows carried the cremated remains of deceased husbands. Ten dialect groups including Stuart Lake, Nazko, and Babine-Witsuwit'en. Tonal language with complex prefix-rich verb morphology typical of Athabaskan. Carrier syllabics (1885 Father Adrien-Gabriel Morice) and modern Latin orthography both used; UBC and the First Nations Education Steering Committee support revitalization.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Carrier
Water
tu
/tu/
Fire
kwen
/kʷen/
Sun
sa
/sa/
Moon
sa-tlhaeh
/sa tɬaeh/
Mother
oo
/oː/
Father
abe
/abe/
Eat
ʼoonjuh
/ʔoːndʒuh/
Drink
dunjuh
/dundʒuh/
Love
sjut
/sdʒut/
Heart
ʼunjid
/ʔundʒid/
Tree
dechen
/detʃen/
House
yoh
/joh/
Dog
łi
/ɬi/
Cat
gus
/ɡus/
Hand
la
/la/
Eye
ʼunaq
/ʔunaq/
Hello
ʼahdoozaee
/ʔahdoːzaː/
Thank you
snachailya
/snatʃailja/
One
ʼulhah
/ʔuɬah/
Good
nezuʼ
/nezuʔ/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Na-Dené (Athabaskan, Northern) languages
| Meaning | Carrier | Chipewyan | Koyukon | Hadza | Western Apache | Bislama | Pijin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | tu /tu/ | tu /tu/ | too /toː/ | ʼati /ʔati/ | tu /tu/ | wota /wota/ | wata /wata/ |
| Fire | kwen /kʷen/ | kʼón /kʼón/ | konh /konh/ | ʼimi /ʔimi/ | kǫʼ /kṍʔ/ | faea /faea/ | faea /faja/ |
| Sun | sa /sa/ | sa /sa/ | so /so/ | ʼisha /ʔiʃa/ | shándaʼá /ʃándaːʔá/ | san /san/ | san /san/ |
| Moon | sa-tlhaeh /sa tɬaeh/ | hadelyi /haðeli/ | oolts'enh /ooltsʼenh/ | heto /heto/ | tłʼéʼsanaaʼái /tɬʔeʔsanaːʔai/ | mun /mun/ | mun /mun/ |
| Mother | oo /oː/ | ená /ena/ | enaa /enaː/ | ama /ama/ | shimá /ʃima/ | mama /mama/ | mami /mami/ |
| Father | abe /abe/ | etá /eta/ | etaa /etaː/ | aba /aba/ | shitaa /ʃitaː/ | papa /papa/ | dadi /dadi/ |
| Eat | ʼoonjuh /ʔoːndʒuh/ | ɂıłtsu /ʔiɬtsu/ | ghen /ɣen/ | ʼicha /ʔitʃa/ | yiyąʼ /jijãʔ/ | kakae /kakae/ | kaikai /kajkaj/ |
| Drink | dunjuh /dundʒuh/ | ɂıdla /ʔidla/ | don /don/ | ʼo /ʔoː/ | yidlą /jidlãˀ/ | dring /driŋ/ | dring /driŋ/ |
| Love | sjut /sdʒut/ | hı́́la /hila/ | k'oonejee /kʼooneʒeː/ | ʼuwakitchi /ʔuwakitʃi/ | ayóigóʼíí /ʔajoiɣoʔiː/ | laekem /laekem/ | lavem /lavem/ |
| Heart | ʼunjid /ʔundʒid/ | eθey /eθej/ | heł /heɬ/ | ʼaitchi /ʔaitʃi/ | bíjéí /bidʒeː/ | bel /bel/ | hat /hat/ |
| Tree | dechen /detʃen/ | tθʼen /tθʼen/ | k'eyh /kʼejh/ | ʼani /ʔani/ | tsin /tsin/ | tri /tri/ | tri /tri/ |
| House | yoh /joh/ | kǫ́é /kɔ̃e/ | kkun /kːun/ | ndolo /ndolo/ | kį /kĩ/ | haos /haos/ | haos /haos/ |
| Dog | łi /ɬi/ | łı́ /ɬi/ | łeek /ɬeːk/ | kongwesi /koŋɡwesi/ | łį́į́ʼ /ɬĩːʔ/ | dog /doɡ/ | dogi /doɡi/ |
| Cat | gus /ɡus/ | nábaye /nabaje/ | dotonh /dotonh/ | ʼmiu /ʔmiu/ | mósí /mosi/ | pusi /pusi/ | puskat /puskat/ |
| Hand | la /la/ | ela /ela/ | ela /ela/ | kwaʼla /kʷaʔla/ | shílaʼ /ʃilaʔ/ | han /han/ | han /han/ |
| Eye | ʼunaq /ʔunaq/ | índa /inda/ | nełtonh /neɬtonh/ | ʼaha /ʔaha/ | nadáá /nadaː/ | ae /ae/ | ae /ae/ |
| Hello | ʼahdoozaee /ʔahdoːzaː/ | edlanetʼè /eðlanetʼe/ | enaa basee' /enaː baseːʔ/ | ʼmtana /ʔmtana/ | dahgotʼe /dahɡotʔe/ | halo /halo/ | halo /halo/ |
| Thank you | snachailya /snatʃailja/ | mahsi cho /mahsi tʃo/ | baasee' /baːseːʔ/ | ʼmbweko /ʔmbweko/ | ahéheʼe /ʔaheːheʔe/ | tangkyu /taŋkju/ | tagio /taɡio/ |
| One | ʼulhah /ʔuɬah/ | ɂıłąɣe /ʔiɬɔ̃ɣe/ | łeek'eyh /ɬeːkʼejh/ | ihtche /ihtʃe/ | dááłeʼ /daːɬeʔ/ | wan /wan/ | wanfala /wanfala/ |
| Good | nezuʼ /nezuʔ/ | nezų /nezũ/ | nezoonh /nezoːnh/ | ʼiyaʼe /ʔijaʔe/ | nzhǫǫ /nʒõː/ | gud /ɡud/ | gud /ɡud/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.