Denaakkʼe
Koyukon
Na-Dené (Athabaskan, Northern, Central Alaska)
Koyukon (Denaakkʼe, "people's words") is the largest Northern Athabaskan language of central interior Alaska, spoken along the Yukon, Koyukuk, and Tanana rivers. The Koyukon people are traditional fisher-hunters who developed an extraordinarily detailed indigenous knowledge of the boreal ecosystem — documented in Richard K. Nelson's anthropological classic "Make Prayers to the Raven" (1983). Tonal with three registers, complex prefix-based verb morphology with classifier stems. Severely endangered; Alaska Native Language Center programs work toward revitalization.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Koyukon
Water
too
/toː/
Fire
konh
/konh/
Sun
so
/so/
Moon
oolts'enh
/ooltsʼenh/
Star
so
/sɔ/
Mother
enaa
/enaː/
Father
etaa
/etaː/
I
see
/siː/
You
nee
/niː/
Name
-zaakkʼeʼ
/zàːkʼeʔ/
Eye
nełtonh
/neɬtonh/
Hand
ela
/ela/
Heart
-dzaaya'
/tsæːjəʔ/
Love
k'oonejee
/kʼooneʒeː/
Tree
k'eyh
/kʼejh/
House
kkun
/kːun/
Dog
łeek
/ɬeːk/
Cat
dotonh
/dotonh/
Eat
ghen
/ɣen/
Drink
don
/don/
One
łeek'eyh
/ɬeːkʼejh/
Two
netaakkʼa
/netàːkʼʌ/
Hello
enaa basee'
/enaː baseːʔ/
Thank you
baasee'
/baːseːʔ/
Good
nezoonh
/nezoːnh/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Na-Dené (Athabaskan, Northern, Central Alaska) languages
| Meaning | Koyukon | Chipewyan | Carrier | Welsh | Irula | Western Apache | Slovenian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | too /toː/ | tu /tu/ | tu /tu/ | dŵr /duːr/ | nīr /niːɾ/ | tu /tu/ | voda /ˈʋɔːda/ |
| Fire | konh /konh/ | kʼón /kʼón/ | kwen /kʷen/ | tân /tɑːn/ | tī /tiː/ | kǫʼ /kṍʔ/ | ogenj /oːɡənj/ |
| Sun | so /so/ | sa /sa/ | sa /sa/ | haul /haɨl/ | čūriyen /tʃuːɾijen/ | shándaʼá /ʃándaːʔá/ | sonce /soːntsɛ/ |
| Moon | oolts'enh /ooltsʼenh/ | hadelyi /haðeli/ | sa-tlhaeh /sa tɬaeh/ | lleuad /ɬɛɨ̯ad/ | niLā /niɭaː/ | tłʼéʼsanaaʼái /tɬʔeʔsanaːʔai/ | luna /luːna/ |
| Star | so /sɔ/ | thën /θən/ | sun /sən/ | seren /ˈsɛrɛn/ | naTčattiram /naʈtʃatːiɾam/ | sǫʼs /sṍːs/ | zvezda /ˈzʋeːzda/ |
| Mother | enaa /enaː/ | ená /ena/ | oo /oː/ | mam /mam/ | ammā /amːaː/ | shimá /ʃima/ | mati /maːti/ |
| Father | etaa /etaː/ | etá /eta/ | abe /abe/ | tad /tɑːd/ | ayyā /ajːaː/ | shitaa /ʃitaː/ | oče /oːtʃɛ/ |
| I | see /siː/ | si /si/ | si /si/ | fi /viː/ | nānu /naːnu/ | shí /ʃí/ | jaz /jaːs/ |
| You | nee /niː/ | nen /nɛn/ | nen /nen/ | ti /tiː/ | nī /niː/ | ni /ní/ | ti /tiː/ |
| Name | -zaakkʼeʼ /zàːkʼeʔ/ | -zí /zí/ | uzi /uzi/ | enw /ˈɛnu/ | pēru /peːɾu/ | -zhiʼ /ʒìʔ/ | ime /iˈmeː/ |
| Eye | nełtonh /neɬtonh/ | índa /inda/ | ʼunaq /ʔunaq/ | llygad /ɬəɡad/ | kaNN /kaɳː/ | nadáá /nadaː/ | oko /ɔˈkoː/ |
| Hand | ela /ela/ | ela /ela/ | la /la/ | llaw /ɬaʊ/ | kayyu /kajːu/ | shílaʼ /ʃilaʔ/ | roka /ɾɔːka/ |
| Heart | -dzaaya' /tsæːjəʔ/ | eθey /eθej/ | ʼunjid /ʔundʒid/ | calon /kalɔn/ | idayam /idajam/ | bíjéí /bidʒeː/ | srce /sərtsɛ/ |
| Love | k'oonejee /kʼooneʒeː/ | hı́́la /hila/ | sjut /sdʒut/ | cariad /karjad/ | kāhal /kaːhal/ | ayóigóʼíí /ʔajoiɣoʔiː/ | ljubezen /ljubeːzɛn/ |
| Tree | k'eyh /kʼejh/ | tθʼen /tθʼen/ | dechen /detʃen/ | coeden /kɔɨdɛn/ | maram /maɾam/ | tsin /tsin/ | drevo /dɾeːʋo/ |
| House | kkun /kːun/ | kǫ́é /kɔ̃e/ | yoh /joh/ | tŷ /tiː/ | vīDu /viːɖu/ | kį /kĩ/ | hiša /xiːʃa/ |
| Dog | łeek /ɬeːk/ | łı́ /ɬi/ | łi /ɬi/ | ci /kiː/ | nāyi /naːji/ | łį́į́ʼ /ɬĩːʔ/ | pes /pɛːs/ |
| Cat | dotonh /dotonh/ | nábaye /nabaje/ | gus /ɡus/ | cath /kɑːθ/ | pūne /puːne/ | mósí /mosi/ | mačka /maːtʃka/ |
| Eat | ghen /ɣen/ | ɂıłtsu /ʔiɬtsu/ | ʼoonjuh /ʔoːndʒuh/ | bwyta /bʊɨta/ | činnu /tʃinːu/ | yiyąʼ /jijãʔ/ | jesti /jɛːsti/ |
| Drink | don /don/ | ɂıdla /ʔidla/ | dunjuh /dundʒuh/ | yfed /əvɛd/ | kuDi /kuɖi/ | yidlą /jidlãˀ/ | piti /piːti/ |
| One | łeek'eyh /ɬeːkʼejh/ | ɂıłąɣe /ʔiɬɔ̃ɣe/ | ʼulhah /ʔuɬah/ | un /ɨːn/ | onnu /onːu/ | dááłeʼ /daːɬeʔ/ | eden /ɛːdən/ |
| Two | netaakkʼa /netàːkʼʌ/ | nàke /naɡe/ | nanki /nanki/ | dau /daɨ/ | reNDu /reɳɖu/ | naaki /naːki/ | dva /dʋaː/ |
| Hello | enaa basee' /enaː baseːʔ/ | edlanetʼè /eðlanetʼe/ | ʼahdoozaee /ʔahdoːzaː/ | helô /hɛˈloː/ | vannakkam /vanːakːam/ | dahgotʼe /dahɡotʔe/ | živjo /ʒiːʋjo/ |
| Thank you | baasee' /baːseːʔ/ | mahsi cho /mahsi tʃo/ | snachailya /snatʃailja/ | diolch /diːɔlx/ | nanri /nanɾi/ | ahéheʼe /ʔaheːheʔe/ | hvala /xʋaːla/ |
| Good | nezoonh /nezoːnh/ | nezų /nezũ/ | nezuʼ /nezuʔ/ | da /dɑː/ | nalla /nalːa/ | nzhǫǫ /nʒõː/ | dober /doːbər/ |
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