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

FrontCentralBack
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'eneEnglish
duneman, person
tlįįdog
wudzįįhcaribou
yussnow
chǫrain
k’wuscloud
kwùnfire
’įįbèhsummer
toowater
munlake
nunland
tselhaxe
ʼukèʼfoot
’àtsemy grandfather
’àtsǫǫmy grandmother
lhìghè’one
lhèkwudut’etwo
tadut’ethree
dįįdut’efour
ǫyes
Tlįį duchę̀’ ’ehdasdeJanuary
Dahyusè’ nùkehde wìlęFebruary
’Iihts’ii nùtsudawit’į̀į̀hMarch
Nùts’iideMarch
Dasè’April
’Ut’ǫ̀’ kùlhaghnukehde wìlęMay
’Ut’ǫ̀’ kùnuyehdeMay
Jìje dinììdulhJuly
Yhììh nunutsunde wìlęAugust
Yhììh ukudeh’àsdeSeptember
’Udììtl’ǫh ’uwit’į̀į̀hOctober
Yus ’ut’į̀į̀hNovember
Khuye ’uwììjàhDecember

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