Babine-Witsuwit'en

language
name=Babine-Witsuwit'en
nativename=Witsuwit'en
familycolor=Dené-Yeniseian
states=Canada
region=British Columbia
speakers=500 (1997 S. Hargus)
fam2=Na-Dené
fam3=Athabaskan-Eyak
fam4=Athabaskan
fam5=Northern Athabaskan
iso2=bcr

Babine-Witsuwit'en is an Athabaskan language spoken in the central interior of British Columbia. Its closest relative is Carrier. Because of this linguistic relationship together with political and cultural ties, Babine-Witsuwit'en is often referred to as "Northern Carrier" or "Western Carrier". Specialist opinion is, however, that it should be considered a separate, though related, language (Kari 1975, Story 1984, Kari and Hargus 1989).

As its name suggests, Babine-Witsuwit'en consists of two main dialects, Babine and Witsuwit'en. Babine is spoken around Babine Lake, Trembleur Lake, and Takla Lake. Witsuwit'en is spoken in the Bulkley Valley, around Broman Lake, and in the vicinity of Skins Lake. The two dialects are very similar and are distinguished primarily by the fact that in Babine but not in Witsuwit'en the Athbascan front velar series have become palatal affricates.

Like most other native languages of British Columbia, Babine-Witsuwit'en is an endangered language. With an estimated 500 speakers, it is spoken by a minority of the population, primarily elders. At most a handful of children speak the language. [http://www.ydli.org/bcother/bclstat.htm]

The language is sometimes conflated with "Carrier" or treated as a dialect of Carrier and referred to as "Northern Carrier" or less commonly "Western Carrier". A term used briefly in the 1990s is "Bulkley Valley - Lakes District Language', abbreviated BVLD.The Ethnologue uses the bare name "Babine" for the language as a whole, not just for the Babine dialect.(See also the articles on the two dialects.)

Phonology

The aspirated and ejective labials are rarer than other consonants.

References

Bibliography

* Hargus, Sharon (2007) Witsuwit'en Grammar: Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology. Vancouver: UBC Press.
* Kari, James (1975) "Babine, a New Athabaskan Linguistic Grouping," ms. Alaska Native LanguagezCenter, Fairbanks, Alaska.
* Kari, James and Sharon Hargus (1989)"Dialectology, Ethnonymy and Prehistory in the Northwest Portion of the 'Carrier' Language Area," ms. Alaska Native Language Center, Fairbanks, Alaska, and University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
* Story, Gillian L. (1984) Babine and Carrier Phonology: A Historically Oriented Study. Arlington, Texas: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
*citation
last=Wright
first=Richard
last2=Hargus
first2=Sharon
last3=Davis
first3=Katharine
year=2002
title=On the categorizaiton of ejectives: data from Witsuwit'en
journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Alphabet
volume=32
issue=1
pages=43-77

ee also

*Babine
*Wet'suwet'en
*Witsuwit'en
*Dakelh
*Carrier language

External links

* [http://www.ydli.org/langs/bw.htm Entry on First Nations Languages of British Columbia site]
* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=bcr Ethnologue Entry]
* [http://www.ydli.org/bcother/bclist.htm#aet Family Tree of Athabaskan Languages]
* [http://www.ydli.org/bcother/bclstat.htm Status of the Native Languages of British Columbia]
* [http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/abed/images/map2.jpgMap of Northwest Coast First Nations] Note, however, that the Carrier-speaking region is marked incorrectly on this map and that Babine-Witsuwit'en is not indicated.. The area around Babine Lake and Takla Lake, included in the Dakelh region on the map, is actually Babine speaking. A correct map would attach the Babine Lake and Takla Lake areas to what is show on this map as "Wet'suwet'en" and label the combination "Babine-Witsuwit'en".