Tłıchǫ Yatıì
Endangered Languages Challenge 5/7
What’s the language called?
Dogrib or Tłıchǫ Yatıì
What linguistic family does it belong to?
It’s a Northern Athabaskan language, related to languages such as Dene Suline, Gwich'in, and Slavey.
Where is it spoken?
In the Northwest Territories in Canada, east of the Mackenzie River between Great Slave Lake and Great Bear Lake, in four primary communities: Gamètì, Behchokǫ̀,, Wekweètì, and Whatì, as well as in Yellowknife and Dettah.
What’s the current situation? As of 2011, StatsCan reported 2,080 speakers, a decrease from earlier years. It’s believed that only 53% of Tlicho aged 15-24 speak the language, compared to 94% of those over 60.
Although the language is much less threatened than many others, there are still significant community efforts to ensure that it will be maintained and passed on to future generations.
For instance, they’ve established the Dedats'eetsaa, or Tłı̨chǫ Research and Training Institute to “advance the study of Tłı̨chǫ lands, language, culture and way of life through research, training, education and monitoring.”
The Tlicho government is also committed to preserving and promoting their traditional way of life, including the use of the language. One way of doing this is through the Tłı̨chǫ Įmbè program, which matches young community members with elders in order to learn cultural practices alongside Tłıchǫ Yatıì.
There’s also a multimedia dictionary available online, which includes audio samples, as well as the Tłı̨chǫ Digital Archives, which include audio, video, and text samples of the language, as well as information about the history and the culture of the speakers.
Does it have any official or legal status?
Indigenous languages, such as Tlicho, are supposed to be legally protected in the Northwest Territories, but in actual fact, not all services are available to speakers.
Sources and resources: Dogrib - Wikipedia Tlicho Government - Cultural Practices Tlicho multimedia dictionary Omniglot - Tlicho Glottolog - Tlicho Dedats’eetsaa Tlicho Research and Training Institute Tlicho region looks to bridge language gap between youth, elders Diga Speaks Tlicho - First Words
