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Sekani language
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Sekani language
Sekani or Tse’khene is the indigenous language of the Sekani of the British Columbia Interior. It is spoken primarily in communities located along the upper Peace, Parsnip, and Finlay river systems, including areas around Kwadacha, Tsay Keh Dene First Nation, and McLeod Lake. The language historically reflects the people's mobility across a vast boreal and mountainous landscape, with different bands occupying distinct territories while maintaining close linguistic ties.
Most are only semispeakers, and the language is considered critically endangered. English predominates in education, government, wage labor, and interactions with outsiders, while Sekani is spoken more frequently by older generations and in family or ceremonial contexts. Many younger Sekani understand some of the language but have limited fluency, reflecting the effects of residential schools, language shift, and changing economic and social structure. As a result, English often serves economic functions, whereas Sekani remains closely associated with cultural knowledge and traditional ways of life.
Sekani has 33 consonants:
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 'dirt', while tsùn means 'meat'.
Nasalization of vowels is phonemic. The root *ghèl means 'scrape', while the root *ghę̀l means 'roll'. Nasal vowels also contrast with vowels followed by /n/.
The orthography of the Kwadcha Tsek'ene dictionary uses the following letters.
In addition, ⟨wu⟩ represents /ʊ/, ⟨iii⟩ represents /iː/, ⟨ee⟩ represents /eː/, and ⟨aa⟩ represents /ɑː/.
These words are from the FirstVoices dictionary for Kwadacha Tsek'ene dialect.
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Sekani language
Sekani or Tse’khene is the indigenous language of the Sekani of the British Columbia Interior. It is spoken primarily in communities located along the upper Peace, Parsnip, and Finlay river systems, including areas around Kwadacha, Tsay Keh Dene First Nation, and McLeod Lake. The language historically reflects the people's mobility across a vast boreal and mountainous landscape, with different bands occupying distinct territories while maintaining close linguistic ties.
Most are only semispeakers, and the language is considered critically endangered. English predominates in education, government, wage labor, and interactions with outsiders, while Sekani is spoken more frequently by older generations and in family or ceremonial contexts. Many younger Sekani understand some of the language but have limited fluency, reflecting the effects of residential schools, language shift, and changing economic and social structure. As a result, English often serves economic functions, whereas Sekani remains closely associated with cultural knowledge and traditional ways of life.
Sekani has 33 consonants:
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 'dirt', while tsùn means 'meat'.
Nasalization of vowels is phonemic. The root *ghèl means 'scrape', while the root *ghę̀l means 'roll'. Nasal vowels also contrast with vowels followed by /n/.
The orthography of the Kwadcha Tsek'ene dictionary uses the following letters.
In addition, ⟨wu⟩ represents /ʊ/, ⟨iii⟩ represents /iː/, ⟨ee⟩ represents /eː/, and ⟨aa⟩ represents /ɑː/.
These words are from the FirstVoices dictionary for Kwadacha Tsek'ene dialect.