Click on any of the 53 letters along the top of this page to learn more about that letter and hear it pronounced by first language speakers.
Each letter’s entry features the Alaskan Gwich’in letter, an English equivalent or an explanation of how to produce the sound, and a series of words that contain the letter in context. Click on the speaker icon [ICON] next to each word in order to hear it spoken aloud.
A Note about Tone
Alaskan Gwich’in, like most Na-Dene languages, is a tonal language. This means that sometimes the intonation of how a word is said can completely change the meaning of the word (e.g., shih “brown bear” vs. shìh “food”). Tone in Gwich’in dynamic, which means that the tone may sound a little different depending on the tone of the syllable before it and depending on what is being communicated.
In this dictionary, three types of tone are marked on words where it’s most important to be aware of. These marks are:
| ` low tone | This mark tells us to pronounce this syllable with a slightly lower intonation than the syllable before it. |
| ̂ rising-falling tone | This mark only occurs on long-vowels and tells us to raise the intonation of this syllable and then drop it again. |
| ̌ falling-rising tone | This mark also only occurs on long-vowels and tells us to lower the intonation of this syllable and then rise it again. |
The ANLC Writing System
This dictionary employs a writing system that was developed by the Alaska Native Language Center (ANLC) in the 1970s based on Richard Mueller’s system (c. 1960, SIL). It was designed to be a phonetic writing system, meaning each letter is meant to correspond to approximately one sound and there are no “silent” letters like the ‘e’ in the English word “bite”. However, some letters may sound a little different in certain words or contexts than others. If there is more than one way to pronounce a letter and each are widely used, the most common pronunciation is always presented first.
Pronunciation and Alaskan Gwich’in Dialects
The elders who contributed their knowledge and voices to create this dictionary are primarily speakers of the Gwichyaa Gwich’in and Neets'ąįį Gwich'in dialects. Any pronunciations that are considered specific to a particular dialect are labeled as such throughout the dictionary.
It is important to remember that language and identity are very closely tied for all people. Each person carries their own unique set of life experiences with them and this can affect the way a person speaks. Pronunciation and word choice will always vary from person to person, family to family, and community to community. This dictionary was designed to help make Alaskan Gwich’in language easily accessible to learners and therefore does not aim to document every possible pronunciation that exists. That said, inclusivity, accuracy, and an appropriate representation of Dinjii Zhuh K’yàa worldviews are some of the guiding principles behind its design and our hope is that speakers of all Alaskan Gwich’in dialects will feel represented by the content here.