Doyon Foundation’s blog was launched in May 2009 with the purpose to provide newas and informatio
Also Known As:
Dinjii Zhuh K'yaa, Kutchin, Kuchin, Tukudh, Takudh, Dagoo, Loucheux
Dialects & Varieties
- Western (Alaskan)
- Eastern (Canadian)
North America
Golla, Victor. 2007. "North America." In Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by C. Moseley. 1-96. London & New York: Routledge.
Severely Endangered
40 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~800
Native Speakers Worldwide
Speaker Number Trends
Speaker Number Trend 4
Less than half of the community speaks the language, and speaker numbers are decreasing at an accelerated pace.
4
Speakers
Native or fluent speakers:
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Second-language speakers and learners
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Semi-speakers or rememberers
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Children:
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Young adults
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Older adults
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Elders
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Ethnic or community population
~3,000
Year information was gathered
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Comments on speakers
Gwich’in has been taught in the school at Old Crow since the early 1970s, and in 1996 Old Crow students launched a web site, “Old Crow: Land of the Vuntut Gwich’in.”
Location and Context
Countries
USA; Canada
Location Description
Spoken in northeastern Alaska in the villages of Arctic Village, Venetie, Fort Yukon, Chalkyitsik, Circle, and Birch Creek, as well as in Aklavik, Inuvik, Tsiigehtchic (formerly Arctic Red River) and Fort McPherson in the Northwest Territories, and in Old Crow in the Yukon Territory.
Government Support
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Institutional Support
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Speakers' Attitude
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Other Languages Used By The Community
None
Number of Other Language Speakers:
None
Domains of Other Languages:
None
Writing Systems
Standard orthography:
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Writing system:
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Other writing systems used:
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Comments on writing systems:
Gwich’in has had a written literature since the 1870s, when Archdeacon Robert McDonald translated the entire Bible (1886), the Book of Common Prayer, and a hymnal into a variety of Eastern Gwich’in he called Tukudh. Middle-aged and older speakers still use McDonald’s Bible, but younger speakers find its orthography and style difficult. Modern writing systems have been developed both in in Alaska (in the 1960s by Richard Mueller) and in Canada (in the mid 1970s by the Yukon Native Language Centre), and there are many publications in both, including story collections and linguistic material.
Recent Resources
Language Revitalization, Education, and Learning
Language in the Community
Un article sur la revitalisation des langues grâce à des programmes de mentorat dans les Territoi
Language Revitalization, Education, and Learning
Language in the Community
An article about language revitalization through mentor-apprentice programs in the Northwest Terr