Native Language

A new alphabet book for Gwich’in has been published and is available as a free download to language learners. It is part of a long-term community-led project of language revitalization. A worksession last weekend with first-language speakers recorded new pieces for a permanent database.

The Alaska Native Language Center is celebrating its 50th anniversary. It was established by the Alaska Legislature on July 6,1972, as center for research and documentation of twenty Native languages of Alaska. It has a permanent home at University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Of the 20 or so official Native languages in Alaska, nine Athabascan languages in the Doyon region are working on developing fluent speakers. The Doyon…