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Complete Sound Chart
|
a lat (float) lot |
au gau (swan) ouch |
ay duu-day (none) bite |
b ch'aa-bay-yu (flower) bow |
ch chvn (stick) chair |
|
ch' ch'ee-yash (bird) church |
d dii (this) dip |
e naa-xe (two) hen |
g gee-lish (willow) goat |
gh ghit-ts'ay (blue jay) ghost |
|
h hvm'-chi' (goodbye) hat |
i lhin' (dog) he |
k lhuk (fish) kiss |
k' k'wvt (upon) quick |
kr' kr'ii-k'i (gravy) concrete |
|
l lat (float) low |
lh lha' (one) lh |
m mvn' (house) music |
n nvn (you) no |
oy moyn-xu (edge of) boy |
|
p nii-pash (cheeks) pipe |
s si~s-xa (ocean) see |
sh shu' (good) shy |
sr k'aa~-sra (crow) shrew |
t tee-ne (road) table |
|
tr' tr'aa-ne' (wife) trip |
ts' ts'vn (awl) gets |
u duu (no) due |
v svlh (hot) up |
w k'wee (over) we |
|
x xvsh (us) |
y yan' (south) |
|
Postpositions
In Athabaskan the postposition is almost always placed between the noun and the verb. For example:
| ‘Ee | k’wvt | daa-svs-da. |
| Ground | upon | I am sitting. |
| (noun) | (pp) | (verb) |
| English | Athabaskan |
| About it | ghee |
| Above | k’wee |
| Against/toward | tr’vn’ |
| Along | xaa-wan’ |
| Amongst | taa-ghe |
| Around | naa-t’e |
| Away | gee |
| Behind | mii~-chin’ |
| Beside | waa-dvn |
| Between | k’wee-shvt |
| Beyond | yun’ |
| Close | nii-srvt, nii-srvn’ |
| Deep | tee-hvn’ |
| Far | ts’an’ |
| From | ‘vn’-t’i |
| From within | mee-‘vn’-t’i or min’-‘vn’-t’i |
| High | srii-na |
| In/at | me’ |
| In front | nin’-‘vn’ |
| Inside | min’ |
| Inside of | min’-ne |
| Near | xin’-dvn |
| Outside | nii-shan’ |
| Over it | wvn-tvs |
| Over it | k’wan’ |
| Subsurface of | tee-‘vn’ |
| There (moving) | xuu |
| There (stationary) | hat |
| There (unknown) | tvxvm’ |
| Through | mee-k’e |
| To | ‘vn’ |
| Underneath of | yee-‘vn’ |
| Upon | k’wvt |
| Up stream | naa-k’vt or gee-nii~-li~ |
| Upward | gee |
| With me | shee-la |
| With him/her/it (familiar) | mee-la |
| With him/her/it (unfamiliar) | yee-la |
| With someone | dee-la |
| With them | xaa-mee-la |
| With it/that | mvlh |
| With something | yvlh |
| With you | nee-la |
| With you all | nu’-nee-la |
| With us | nuu-xwee-la |
Pronouns
| English | Athabaskan |
| someone, who | dayn |
| someone, whom specifically | dayn-du’ |
| that person | ghii-du’ |
| those (unfamiliar) | ghii-ne |
| him, her, it | hii |
| him, her ,it (specifically) | hii-du’ |
| them, those (familiar) | hii-ne |
| those things | hii-t’i |
| us, we | nee-yu |
| you | nvn, nn |
| you (specifically) | nvn-du’ |
|
me, I |
shii |
| me (specifically) | shii-du’ |
| everybody, one | xwii-t’i |
| them (distal) | xuu-ne |
Verbs
| English | Athabaskan |
| eat / eating / eats | ch’aa~ or yaa~ |
| I am | ch’ee-sha~ |
| you are | ch’aa~-ya~ |
| he, she or it is | ch’aa~ or yaa~ |
| sit / sitting / sits | daa-sda |
| I am | daa-svs-da |
| you are | daa-sin-da |
| he, she or it is | daa-sda |
| feel / feeling / feels | dee-dvt-nish |
| I am | dee-dvsht-nish |
| you are | dee-dint-nish |
| he, she, or it is | dee-dvt-nish |
| talk / talking / talks | na’-‘a |
| I am | na’sh-‘a |
| you are | naa-ch’ii~-‘a |
| he, she, or it is | na’-‘a |
| walk / walking / walks | naa-gha |
| I am | naa-sha |
| you are | naa~-gha |
| he, she, or it is | naa-gha |
| run / running / runs | nalh-da |
| I am | nashlh-da |
| you are | nanlh-da |
| he, she, or it is | nalh-da |
| like / liking / likes | nay-talh |
| I | nash-talh |
| you | nan-talh |
| he, she, it | nay-talh |
| go / going / goes | tes-ya |
| I am | tee-see-ya |
| you are | tee-saa~-ya |
| he, she, or it is | tes-ya |
| want / wanting / wants | yulh-te |
| I | ‘ushlh-te |
| you | ‘vmlh-te |
| he, she, or it is | yulh-te |
| know / knowing / knows | yulh-ts’it |
| I | ‘ushlh-ts’it |
| you | ‘vmlh-ts’it |
| he, she, or it | yulh-ts’it |
| work / working / works | naa-dvtlh-nvsh |
| I am | naa-dvshtlh-nvsh |
| you are | naa-dintlh-nvsh |
| he, she, or it is | naa-dvtlh-nvsh |
| make / making / makes | yvlh-sri |
| I am | ‘vshlh-sri |
| you are | ‘inlh-sri |
| he, she, or it is | yvtlh-sri |
Verb Prefixes & Suffixes
Verb Tenses and Aspects
Examples:
| he talks: | na’-‘a |
| he talked: | na’s-‘an’ |
Prefixes in the Present Tense
| he almost talks | stin’-na’-‘a |
| he is already talking | dan’-na’-‘a |
| he is about to talk | hvm’-na’-‘a |
| oh how!, he talks | ‘aa-na’-‘a |
| he talks a lot | ‘a’lh-t’ii-na’-‘a |
| he is still talking | ‘a’-na’-‘a |
Prefixes in the Past Tense
| he already talked | dan’ na’s-‘an’ |
| he almost talked | stin’ na’s-‘an’ |
| he almost didn’t talk | stin’-duu na’s-‘an’ |
Suffixes in the Present Tense
| if he talks | na’-‘aa-de’ |
| he might talk | na’-‘aa-daa-wa |
| while/when he talks | na’-‘aa-dvn |
| let him talk | na’-‘aa-le’ |
| he used to talk | na’-‘aa-nvm |
| he talks a lot | na’-‘aa-sri~ |
| he is going to talk | na’-‘aa-te |
Suffixes in the Past Tense
| if he talked | na’s-‘an’-te |
| he might have talked | na’s-‘an’-daa-wa |
| while he talked | na’s-‘an’-dvn |
| he had talked | na’s-‘an’-lan’ |
| he talked a lot | na’s-‘an’-sri~ |
Verb Suffix Personifier, “er”
| he is a talker | na’-‘aa-ne |
Articles
| A | Lha’-t’i |
| And then | Hat-chu |
| Finally | Xwvtlh-dan’ |
| In the early days | Tr’vm-dan’-dvn |
| Long Ago | Dan’-t’ii-ghii~-li~ |
| Once upon a time | Lhaa-‘ii-dee-ne’ or Lhaa-‘ii-dvn |
| Sure enough | Lh’vn-chu |
| The / That | Ghii |
| Then | Hat-dvn or Hat-sri~ |
| This or These | Ch’ii or Dii |
Adjectives
Adjectives are words used to modify nouns. In Athabaskan the adjective is placed after the noun. For example:
| Ghii | lhin’-chu | lhshvn. |
| The | horse | black. |
| (article) | (noun) | (adj) |
| English | Athabaskan |
| angry | day-mee-svlh |
|
bad |
duu-wa |
| beautiful, she/it is | shaa~-k’vt |
| big | nn-chwa or -chu (a suffix) |
| black | lhshvn |
| blue | lhvt-lhshvn |
| broken | k’wintlh-srvt |
| broken apart | k’we’-nvt-ch’vlh |
| brown | ‘ee-k’ay-‘vn-te or dvlh-‘ee-ye’ |
| chipped | ch’a~lh-chvlh |
| chubby | ch’aa~-lhk’a |
| clean | na’-ghvtlh-t’e |
| crooked | stee |
| crunchy | dvtlh-k’vms |
| dirty | srvn |
| dry | lhts’ay |
| dull | duu-dee-mi~ |
| fat | lhk’aa |
| good | shu’ or shvm |
| good looking | shu’ ‘utlh-‘i~ |
| gray | dvtlh-k’ee-ye’ or dvl-ki |
| green | lhvt-lhts’u |
| happy | sri’-lhxvn |
| heavy | nn-das |
| hot | svlh |
| light (weight) | duu-nn-das |
| long/tall | nes |
| loud | chu’-‘vtlh-‘a~ |
| mean | duu-wan-t’e |
| narrow | daa-dii-stvm |
| orange (color) | dvtlh-xwee-ne’ |
| pink | lhsrik-lhki |
| plugged | da’-ghvt-si’ |
| purple | lhvt-lhsrik |
| polished | k’wee-natlh-su |
| poorly | duu-shu’ or duu-shvm |
| poor one/thing | day-sri |
| pretty/cute | ts’in-t’e |
| raw | duu-sti |
| red | lhsrik |
| ripe | stii |
| rough surface | ch’vt-k’a’ |
| rough water/ocean | mii-ne’ |
| round | t’vsr-wvlh |
| sharp | dii-mi~ |
| shattered | sha’-k’wee-sli~ |
| short | t’a’-k’i |
| skinny | xaa~-lhts’ay |
| small | ‘ii~-sdvm or yaa~-sdvm |
| small(class of) | mii~-sdvm |
| smooth surface | mii~-sdvm |
| squeaky | ch’aa-k’we’sr |
| strong | na’lh-ni |
| tangled | taa-ghvt-ts’a’ |
| tepid | dii-stit-yee-svlh or chaa~-svlh |
| thick | bvtlh-dan’ |
| thin | nn-dee-ta~ |
| true | lh’vn |
| ugly | ch’ii~-srvn |
| unplugged | tr’e’-nvt-si’ |
| weak | duu-na’lh-ni |
| wet | srvlh |
| wide | nn-telh |
| white | lhkii |
| yellow | lhts’uu |
Adverbs
These are words that modify a verb. In Athabaskan adverbs are always placed in front of the verb. For example:
| Ghii | lhin’-chu | xuu | xan’ | nalh-da. |
| The | horse | there | fast | running. |
| (article) | (noun) | (pp) | (adverb) | (verb) |
| English | Athabaskan |
| About to | hvm’ |
| A lot | lhan |
| Already | dan’ |
| Badly | duu-wa |
| Barely | dii-stit |
| Better | shu’-t’i |
| Carefully | shu’-‘aa-dvn-t’i |
| Contiually/always | wa~s-‘aa-t’i or dii-hii-chu |
| Correctly/good | shu’ |
| Eventually | ‘alh-duu-sri |
| Exactly | shvm-wa |
| Extremely | lhtin’ |
| Gracefully | shu’-‘aa-xu |
| Haphazardly/poorly | duu-shu’ |
| Later | ch’aa~-da’ |
| Meanly | day-mee-svlh-xu |
| Nearly | stin’ |
| Never | duu-dee-dvn |
| Oh how | ‘aa |
| Separately | shdvn |
| Seldom | dee-‘aa~-du |
| Slowly | duu-xan’ or duu-xan’-xu |
| Slyly | xuu-natlh-ts’vs-xu |
| Steadily | shu’-xu |
| Still | ‘a’ |
| That’s good | shvm-t’i |
| Quickly/fast | xan’ |
Interrogatives
These words are used to ask questions. In Athabaskan they are placed at the beginning of a sentence. For example:
| Daa-‘ee-la | haa~ | dee-dint-nish? |
| How is it | huh | you are feeling? |
| (inter) | (verb) |
| English | Athabaskan |
| How | daa-‘e |
| How big | day ‘a~lh-chu |
| How far | day ‘a~lh-ts’a |
| How is it | daa-‘ee-la |
| How many/much | daa-wii-la |
| What | day |
| What for | day-mvn or day-wvn |
| What is it | day-la |
| What is the matter | day-‘ee-srdu’ or day-srdu’ |
| When | dee-dvn |
| When is it | dee-dvn-la |
| Where | dvt |
| Where is it | dvt-la |
| Which | day-yii |
| Which is it | day-yii-la |
| Who | dayn |
| Whom | dayn-la |
| Why | day-‘ee-wvn or day-wee-ni |
Simple Sentence Structure
Syntax means the order in which words appear in a sentence. Every Language has its own syntax. The basic sentence structure in Athabaskan is: Noun Verb or Noun Predicate. A Predicate is an adjective that serves as the verb in a sentence. Using the Articles “the” or “that” is optional.
The horse runs/is running.
| Ghii | lhin’-chu | nalh-da. |
| The | horse | runs. |
| (article) | (noun) | (verb) |
A predicate functions as a verb. This happens when an adjective is the verb.
The man is tall.
| Ghii | dis-ne | nes. |
| The | man | tall. |
| (article) | (noun) | (adj/pred) |
Sentence Composition
The following is a list of basic sentence components. In the following Lessons they will appear below the words they identify in bold type and parenthesis.
Noun (noun)– a noun is a word that is used to name a person, place or thing. They are words like man, bird, valley, mountain, water or foods.
Verb (verb)– Verbs are words that express action. They are words like run, walk, talk and eat.
Postpositions (pp)– postpositions are words like along, against, between, in, near or with.
Interrogatives (inter)– these words are used to ask questions. They are words like how, what, where or why.
Adverbs (adv)– these are words that modify a verb. They are words like already, barely, exactly, never and seldom.
Adjectives (adj)– these are words used to modify nouns. They are words like big, little, tall, short, black and white.
Pronouns (pnoun)– these are words like him, her, us or everyone.
Negation (neg)– the negative word in Athabaskan is “duu”.
It means no or not. Example:
| nothing or none | Duu-de |
| no good | Duu-shu’ |
| garbage | Duu-wat-ch’a |
The other word for negation is “lhaa”, it means don’t or stop.
Simple Sentences
Day-la ch’aa~-ya~?
What are you eating?
(inter) (verb)
Saa-bee-li ch’ee-sha~.
Bread I am eating.
(noun) (verb)
Dee-lhat ch’ee-sha~.
Mussels I am eating.
(noun) (verb)
Ghii see k’wvt daa-svs-da.
The rock upon I am sitting.
(article) (noun) (pp) (verb)
‘Ee k’wvt daa-svs-da.
Ground on I am sitting.
(noun) (pp) (verb)
Daa-‘ee-la haa~ dee-dint-nish?
How huh you feeling?
(inter) (verb)
Shu’ dee-dvsht-nish.
Good I am feeling.
(adv) (verb)
Duu-wa dee-dvt-nish.
Bad he is feeling.
(adv) (verb)
Hii-du’ ghee na’sh-‘a.
Him/Her about I am talking.
(Pnoun) (pp) (verb)
Duu-wa na’-‘a.
Bad he is talking.
(adv) (verb)
Duu-wa lhaa naa-ch’ii~-‘a.
Bad don’t you talk.
(adv) (neg) (verb)
Xaa-wan’ naa-gha.
Along there it is walking.
(pp) (verb)
K’let naa-gha.
Night he walks.
(noun) (verb)
Huu-chan xuu naa~-gha.
Blessings there as you go. (walk)
(noun) (pp) (verb)
Nan-ts’vn ‘vn’ nashlh-da.
Mountain to I am running.
(noun) (pp) (verb)
K’let naa-gha.
Night he walks.
(noun) (verb)
Huu-chan xuu naa~-gha.
Blessings there as you go. (walk)
(noun) (pp) (verb)
San-chvn-tuu-‘i’ nash-talh.
Acorn soup I like.
(noun) (verb)
Dee-lhat nan-talh?
Mussels you like?
(noun) (verb)
Huu-chan sh-‘aa-me’ nay-talh.
Good weather my grandfather he likes.
(noun) (noun) (verb)
Ch’ii svs Sv-let-si ‘vn’ tee-see-ya.
This day Siletz to I am going.
(art) (noun) (noun) (pp) (verb)
Dee-dvn-la Yuu-ch’in ‘vn’ tee-saa~-ya?
When is it Eugene to you are going?
(inter) (noun) (pp) (verb)
Ghii mvn’ ‘vn’ tes-ya.
The house to she is going.
(art) (noun) (pp) (verb)
Gaa-be lhtaa ‘ushlh-te.
Coffee some I want.
(noun) (adj) (verb)
Lhuk ‘vmlh-te?
Salmon you want?
(noun) (verb)
Ts’vt dii-hii-chu yulh-te.
Money always she wants.
(noun) (adv) (verb)
Nuu-wee-ya’ yulh-ts’it.
Our words she knows.
(noun) (verb)
Nn-shee-ne’ ‘ushlh-ts’it.
Your songs I know.
(noun) (verb)
Dii-hii-chu shu’ naa-dvtlh-nvsh.
Always good she is working.
(adv) (adv) (verb)
Ch’ii svs staa ghee naa-dintlh-nvsh.
This day food about you are working.
(art) (noun) (noun) (pp) (verb)
Ch’aa-mv shu’ ‘inlh-sri.
Medicine good you are making.
(noun) (adv) (verb)
Saa-bee-li ‘vshlh-sri.
Bread I am making.
(noun) (verb)
Song Lessons
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