Sekani language
Athabaskan language of British Columbia, Canada
title: "Sekani language" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["northern-athabaskan-languages", "indigenous-languages-of-the-north-american-subarctic", "first-nations-languages-in-canada", "languages-of-the-united-states", "northern-interior-of-british-columbia", "endangered-athabaskan-languages", "sekani"] description: "Athabaskan language of British Columbia, Canada" topic_path: "linguistics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sekani_language" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Athabaskan language of British Columbia, Canada ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox language"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Sekani |
| nativename | Tse'khene |
| states | Canada |
| region | British Columbia |
| ethnicity | 1,410 Sekani people (2014, FPCC) |
| speakers | 35 |
| date | 2021 census |
| ref | |
| familycolor | Dené-Yeniseian |
| fam2 | Na-Dené |
| fam3 | Athabaskan |
| fam4 | Northern Athabaskan |
| iso3 | sek |
| glotto | seka1250 |
| glottorefname | Sekani |
| notice | IPA |
| script | Latin script |
| Canadian Aboriginal syllabics | |
| map2 | Lang Status 20-CR.svg |
| mapcaption2 | |
| speakers2 | 135 with knowledge (2021) |
| :: |
| name = Sekani | nativename = Tse'khene | states = Canada | region = British Columbia | ethnicity = 1,410 Sekani people (2014, FPCC) | speakers = 35 | date = 2021 census | ref = | familycolor = Dené-Yeniseian | fam2 = Na-Dené | fam3 = Athabaskan | fam4 = Northern Athabaskan | iso3 = sek | glotto = seka1250 | glottorefname = Sekani | notice = IPA | script = Latin script Canadian Aboriginal syllabics | map2 = Lang Status 20-CR.svg | mapcaption2 = | speakers2 = 135 with knowledge (2021)
Sekani or Tse’khene is a Northern Athabaskan language spoken by 135 of the Sekani people of north-central British Columbia, Canada. Most of them are only semispeakers, and it is considered critically endangered.
Phonology
Consonants
Sekani has 33 consonants:
::data[format=table] | Bilabial | Alveolar | Post- Alveolar | Velar | Glottal | plain || sibilant || lateral | plain || labial | Stop | voiceless | aspirated | ejective | Nasal | Fricative- Approximant | voiceless | voiced | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | () | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ::
Vowels
::data[format=table]
| Front | Central | Back | High | Mid | Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| :: |
Tone
Sekani has two tones: low and high. High tone is the more common tone. Syllables phonologically marked for tone are low. For example, tsun means , while tsùn means .
Nasalization
Nasalization of vowels is phonemic. The root *ghèl means , while the root *ghę̀l means . Nasal vowels also contrast with vowels followed by .
Orthography
The orthography of the Kwadcha Tsek'ene dictionary uses the following letters.
::data[format=table title="Kwadacha Tsek'ene alphabet"]
| Letter | IPA | Syll. init. | Syll. final |
|---|---|---|---|
| ’ | |||
| a | |||
| à | |||
| ą | |||
| ą̀ | |||
| b | - | ||
| ch | - | ||
| ch’ | - | ||
| d | - | ||
| dl | - | ||
| dz | - | ||
| e | |||
| ę | |||
| è | |||
| ę̀ | |||
| g | - | ||
| gw | - | ||
| h | |||
| i | - | ||
| į | - | ||
| ì | - | ||
| į̀ | - | ||
| j | - | ||
| ii | |||
| įį | |||
| ìì | |||
| į̀į̀ | |||
| k | |||
| k’ | - | ||
| kh | |||
| gh | |||
| kw | - | ||
| kw’ | - | ||
| l | |||
| lh | |||
| m | |||
| n | |||
| o | |||
| ǫ | |||
| ò | |||
| ǫ̀ | |||
| oo | |||
| ǫǫ | |||
| òò | |||
| ǫ̀ǫ̀ | |||
| p | |||
| s | |||
| z | |||
| sh | |||
| t | |||
| t’ | - | ||
| tl | |||
| tl’ | - | ||
| ts | |||
| ts’ | - | ||
| u | - | ||
| ų | - | ||
| ù | - | ||
| ų̀ | - | ||
| w | |||
| yh | - | ||
| y | |||
| zh | - | ||
| :: |
In addition, represents , represents , represents , and represents .
Vocabulary
These words are from the FirstVoices dictionary for Kwadacha Tsek'ene dialect.
::data[format=table]
| Kwadacha Tsek'ene | English |
|---|---|
| dune | man, person |
| tlįį | dog |
| wudzįįh | caribou |
| yus | snow |
| chǫ | rain |
| k’wus | cloud |
| kwùn | fire (n) |
| ’įįbèh | summer |
| too | water |
| mun | lake |
| nun | land |
| tselh | axe |
| ʼukèʼ | foot |
| ’àtse | my grandfather |
| ’àtsǫǫ | my grandmother |
| lhìghè’ | one |
| lhèkwudut’e | two |
| tadut’e | three |
| dįįdut’e | four |
| ǫ | yes |
| Tlįį duchę̀’ ’ehdasde | January |
| Dahyusè’ nùkehde wìlę | February |
| ’Iihts’ii nùtsudawit’į̀į̀h | March |
| Nùts’iide | March |
| Dasè’ | April |
| ’Ut’ǫ̀’ kùlhaghnukehde wìlę | May |
| ’Ut’ǫ̀’ kùnuyehde | May |
| Jìje dinììdulh | July |
| Yhììh nunutsunde wìlę | August |
| Yhììh ukudeh’àsde | September |
| ’Udììtl’ǫh ’uwit’į̀į̀h | October |
| Yus ’ut’į̀į̀h | November |
| Khuye ’uwììjàh | December |
| :: |
Notes
Bibliography
-
- Original dissertation:
Articles
-
-
- References:
- Journal article:
References
- {{Ethnologue18. sek
- Canada, Government of Canada, Statistics. (2 August 2017). "Language Highlight Tables, 2016 Census - Aboriginal mother tongue, Aboriginal language spoken most often at home and Other Aboriginal language(s) spoken regularly at home for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census – 100% Data".
- Government of Canada, Statistics Canada. (2023-03-29). "Indigenous languages in Canada, 2021".
- "Did you know Tse'khene (Sekani) is critically endangered?".
- Hargus, Sharon. (2000-04-21). "Ft. Ware (Kwadacha) Sekani Dictionary". University of Alaska Fairbanks.
- "Kwadacha Tsek'ene alphabet".
- Hargus, Sharon. (2016-09-26). "Sounds and writing systems of Deg Xinag, Tsek'ene and Witsuwit'en".
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