Tsuutʼina language

Athabaskan language of Alberta Tsuutʼina (endonym: Tsúùtʼínà Gūnáhà), formerly known as Sarcee or Sarsi, is an Athabaskan language spoken by the people of the Tsuutʼina Nation, whose reserve and community is near Calgary, Alberta. It is related to other Athabaskan languages, such as Navajo and Chiricahua to the south, and Dene Suline and Tłı̨chǫ to the north. Nomenclature The name Tsuutʼina comes from the Tsuutʼina self designation Tsúùtʼínà, meaning "many people", "nation tribe", or "people among the beavers". Sarcee is a deprecated exonym from Siksiká. Language revitalization Tsuutʼina is a critically endangered language, with only 150 speakers, 80 of whom speak it as their mother tongue, according to the 2016 Canadian census. The Tsuutʼina Nation has created the Tsuutʼina Gunaha Institute with the intention of creating new fluent speakers. This includes full K–4 immersion education at schools on the Nation and placing stop signs in the Tsuutʼina language at intersections in the Tsuutʼina Nation. Phonology Consonants The consonants of Tsuutʼina are listed below, with symbols from the standard orthography in brackets: ^ /p/ is only found in mimetic bu