Chipewyan or Dënesųłinë́ (ethnonym: ), often simply called Dëne, is the language spoken by the

Chipewyan The Chipewyan ( , also called ''Denésoliné'' or ''Dënesųłı̨né'' or ''Dënë Sųłınë́'', meaning "the original/real people") are a Dene group of Indigenous Canadian people belonging to the Athabaskan language family, whose ancest ...

people of northwestern

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It is categorized as part of the Northern Athabaskan language family. It has nearly 12,000 speakers in Canada, mostly in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

and the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

.Statistics Canada: 2006 Census
Sum of 'Chipewyan' and 'Dene'. It has official status only in the Northwest Territories, alongside eight other aboriginal languages:

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

, Tlicho, Gwich'in,

Inuktitut Inuktitut ( ; , Inuktitut syllabics, syllabics ), also known as Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the North American tree line, including parts of the provinces of ...

, Inuinnaqtun,

Inuvialuktun Inuvialuktun (part of ''Western Canadian Inuit'' / ''Inuktitut'' / '' Inuktut'' / '' Inuktun'') comprises several Inuit language varieties spoken in the northern Northwest Territories by Canadian Inuit who call themselves ''Inuvialuit''. Some d ...

, North Slavey and South Slavey.Northwest Territories Official Languages Act, 1988
(as amended 1988, 1991–1992, 2003) Most Chipewyan people now use Dëne and Dënesųłinë́ to refer to themselves as a people and to their language, respectively. The Saskatchewan communities of Fond-du-Lac, Black Lake, Wollaston Lake and La Loche are among these.

Geographic distribution and speakers

In the 2011 Canada Census 11,860 people chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue. 70.6% were located in Saskatchewan and 15.2% were located in Alberta. *7,955 were in

*1,680 were in

(the Dene Tha' First Nation a Dëne/ South Slavey group (approximately 1000 people) are included in this total) *1,005 were in

*450 were in the

*70 were in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

*45 were in the

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

*20 were in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Not all were from the historical

regions south and east of

Great Slave Lake Great Slave Lake is the second-largest lake in the Northwest Territories, Canada (after Great Bear Lake), List of lakes by depth, the deepest lake in North America at , and the List of lakes by area, tenth-largest lake in the world by area. It ...

. Approximately 11,000 of those who chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011 are Dëne/Chipewyan with 7,955 (72%) in Saskatchewan, 1,005 (9%) in Manitoba, 510 plus urban dwellers in Alberta and 260 plus urban dwellers in the Northwest Territories. The communities within the Dëne traditional areas are shown below:

Saskatchewan

The Dënesųłinë́-speaking communities of Saskatchewan are located in the northern half of the province. The area from the upper Churchill River west of

Pinehouse Lake Pinehouse Lake () is a lake in northern Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Mani ...

all the way north to

Lake Athabasca Lake Athabasca ( ; French: ''lac Athabasca''; from Woods Cree: , " herethere are plants one after another") is in the north-west corner of Saskatchewan and the north-east corner of Alberta between 58° and 60° N in Canada. The lake is ...

and from Lake Athabasca east to the north end of Reindeer Lake is home to 7410 people who chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. Prince Albert had 265 residents who chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011,

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

had 165, the

La Ronge La Ronge is a List of municipalities in Saskatchewan, northern town in the boreal forest of Canada, boreal forest of Saskatchewan, Canada. The town is also the namesake of the larger #Population centre, La Ronge population centre, the largest ...

Population Centre had 55 and Meadow Lake had 30. 3,050 were in the

- Fond du Lac River area including Black Lake and Wollaston Lake in the communities of: * Fond-du-Lac 705 out of 874 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. * Stony Rapids 140 out of 243 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. * Black Lake (Chicken 224) 1040 out of 1070 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. * Uranium City (hamlet) * Camsell Portage (hamlet) * Wollaston Lake * Wollaston Post (Lac La Hache 220) 1165 out of 1251 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. 3,920 were in the upper Churchill River area including

Peter Pond Lake Peter Pond Lake is a glacial lake in the north-western part of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is located in the Boreal forest of Canada, boreal forest and Canadian Shield within the Churchill Riv ...

, Churchill Lake,

Lac La Loche Lac La Loche is a lake in north west Saskatchewan near the Alberta border. The lake is part of the Churchill River system that flows into the Hudson Bay. The La Loche River at the southern end flows into Peter Pond Lake which is connected ...

, Descharme Lake, Garson Lake and Turnor Lake in the communities of: * La Loche 2,300 out 2,611 chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. * Clearwater River 720 out of 778 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. * Black Point (hamlet) * Bear Creek (hamlet) * Garson Lake (hamlet) * Descharme Lake (hamlet) * Turnor Lake * Turnor Lake ( Birch Narrows First Nation) 70 out of 419 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. * Dillon ( Buffalo River Dene Nation) 330 out of 764 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. * St. George's Hill, Saskatchewan 85 out of 100 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. *

Michel Village Michel Village is a northern hamlet in Saskatchewan. It is located on the western shore of Peter Pond Lake at the end of Highway 925 north of Dillon. There were 66 residents in Michel Village in 2011. The mayor is Cliff Coombs. Demographics ...

55 out of 66 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. * Buffalo Narrows 35 out of 1153 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. *

Patuanak Patuanak ()is a community in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the administrative headquarters of the Dene First Nations reserve near Churchill River and the north end of Lac Île-à-la-Crosse. In Dene, it sounds similar to ''Boni Cheri'' (B� ...

35 out of 64 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. * Patuanak (Wapachewunak 1920) 265 out of 482 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. * Beauval (La Plonge 192) 25 out of 115 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011.

Manitoba

Two isolated communities are in northern Manitoba. The two Manitoban communities use Dënesųłinë́ syllabics to write their language. * Lac Brochet (197 A) 720 out of 816 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. * Tadoule Lake (Churchill 1) 170 out of 321 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011.

Alberta

The Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake Economic Region in the north eastern portion of Alberta from Fort Chipewyan to the Cold Lake area has the following communities. 510 residents of this region chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. * Fort Chipewyan 45 out of 847 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. * Fort McKay 30 out of 562 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. * Janvier (Janvier 194) 145 out of 295 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. * Janvier South 35 out of 104 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. * Cold Lake 149 105 out of 594 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. *Cold Lake 149 B, Alberta 25 out of 149 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011.

Northwest Territories

Three communities are located south of

in Region 5. 260 residents of Region 5 chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. * Fort Smith 30 out of 2093 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. * Fort Resolution 95 out of 474 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011. * Lutselk'e 120 out of 295 residents chose Dënesųłinë́ as their mother tongue in 2011.

Phonology

Consonants

The 39 consonants of Dënesųłinë́: The inter-dental series of , , , , and corresponds to s-like sibilants in other Na-Dené languages.

Vowels

Dënesųłinë́ has vowels of six differing qualities. Most vowels can be either * ''oral'' or ''nasal''. Nasals are marked with an

ogonek The tail or ( ; Polish: , "little tail", diminutive of ) is a diacritic hook placed under the lower right corner of a vowel in the Latin alphabet used in several European languages, and directly under a vowel in several Native American langu ...

in the orthography: ⟨ą ę ę̈ į ǫ ų⟩. * ''short'' or ''long'' As a result, Dënesųłinë́ has 24

phonemic A phoneme () is any set of similar speech sounds that are perceptually regarded by the speakers of a language as a single basic sound—a smallest possible phonetic unit—that helps distinguish one word from another. All languages con ...

vowels: Dënesųłinë́ also has 9 oral and nasal

diphthong A diphthong ( ), also known as a gliding vowel or a vowel glide, is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: that is, the tongue (and/or other parts of ...

s of the form ''vowel'' + .

Tone

Dënesųłinë́ has two tones: * high (marked with acute accents in the orthography: ⟨á é ë́ ı́ ó ú⟩) * low

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * (Reprinted 1963, 1965, 1967, & 1971, New York: Johnson Reprint Corp.).

External links

First Voices Dene Community Portal

(Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre)
OLAC resources in and about the Chipewyan language
* Kirkby, William West: The New Testament, translated into the Chipewyan language = ᑎᑎ ᗂᒋ ᕞᐢᕞᒣᐣᕠ (Didi gothi testementi). London, 1881

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chipewyan Language Northern Athabaskan languages Indigenous languages of the North American eastern woodlands Indigenous languages of the North American Subarctic First Nations languages in Canada American Book Award winners