Sekani language
Sekani or Tse’khene is a Northern Athabaskan language spoken by 135 of the Sekani people of north-central British Columbia, Canada. Most of them are only semispeakers, and it is considered critically endangered.
Phonology
Consonants
Sekani has 33 consonants:Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
| High | |||
| Mid | |||
| Low |
Tone
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, while tsùn means.Nasalization
Nasalization of vowels is phonemic. The root *ghèl means, while the root *ghę̀l means. Nasal vowels also contrast with vowels followed by.Orthography
The orthography of the Kwadcha Tsek'ene dictionary uses the following letters.In addition, represents, represents, represents, and represents.
Vocabulary
These words are from the FirstVoices dictionary for Kwadacha Tsek'ene dialect.| Kwadacha Tsek'ene | English |
| 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 |
| ’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 |
Articles
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- * References:
- * Journal article: