Holikachuk language
Extinct Athabaskan language of US
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Holikachuk (own name: Doogh Qinag[4]) is a recently extinct Athabaskan language formerly spoken at the village of Holikachuk (Hiyeghelinhdi) on the Innoko River in central Alaska. In 1962, residents of Holikachuk relocated to Grayling on the lower Yukon River. Holikachuk is intermediate between the Deg Xinag and Koyukon languages, linguistically closer to Koyukon but socially much closer to Deg Xinag, which has influenced it. Though it was recognized by scholars as a distinct language as early as the 1840s, it was only definitively identified in the 1970s.[5] Of about 180 Holikachuk people, only about 5 spoke the language in 2007.[6] In March 2012, the last living fluent speaker of Holikachuk died in Alaska.[1]
| Holikachuk | |
|---|---|
| Doogh Qinag | |
| Native to | United States |
| Region | Alaska (lower Yukon River, Innoko River) |
| Ethnicity | Holikachuk |
| Extinct | 2012, with the death of Wilson Deacon[1][2] |
Na-Dené
| |
| Latin (Northern Athabaskan alphabet) | |
| Official status | |
Official language in |  Alaska[3] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | hoi |
| Glottolog | holi1241 |
| ELP | Holikachuk |
James Kari compiled a short dictionary of Holikachuk in 1978, but Holikachuk remains one of the least documented Alaska Native languages.[7]
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | sibilant | lateral | ||||||||
| Plosive/ Affricate |
plain | tθ ⟨ddh⟩ | t ⟨d⟩ | ts ⟨dz⟩ | tɬ ⟨dl⟩ | k ⟨g⟩ | q ⟨G⟩ | ʔ ⟨ʼ⟩ | ||
| aspirated | tθʰ ⟨tth⟩ | tʰ ⟨t⟩ | tsʰ ⟨ts⟩ | tɬʰ ⟨tł⟩ | kʰ ⟨k⟩ | qʰ ⟨q⟩ | ||||
| ejective | tθʼ ⟨tthʼ⟩ | tʼ ⟨tʼ⟩ | tsʼ ⟨tsʼ⟩ | tɬʼ ⟨tłʼ⟩ | kʼ ⟨kʼ⟩ | qʼ ⟨qʼ⟩ | ||||
| Fricative | voiceless | θ ⟨th⟩ | s ⟨s⟩ | ɬ ⟨ł⟩ | χ ⟨x⟩ | h ⟨h⟩ | ||||
| voiced | ð ⟨dh⟩ | z ⟨z⟩ | ɮ ⟨l⟩ | ʁ ⟨gh⟩ | ||||||
| Sonorant | voiced | m ⟨m⟩ | n ⟨n⟩ | j ⟨y⟩ | ŋ ⟨ng⟩ | |||||
| voiceless | n̥ ⟨nh⟩ | j̊ ⟨yh⟩ | ŋ̊ ⟨ngh⟩ | |||||||
Vowels
Orthography
| A a | D d | Ddh ddh | Dh dh | Dl dl | Dz dz | E e | G g |
| Gg gg | Gh gh | H h | I i | K k | K' k' | L l | Ł ł |
| M m | N n | ng | nh | O o | Oo oo | Q q | Q' q' |
| S s | T t | T' t' | Th th | Tl tl | Tl' tl' | Ts ts | Ts' ts' |
| Tth tth | Tth' tth' | U u | X x | Y y | yh | Z z | ' |
Lexicon
Some Holikachuk words:[10]
- łoogg fish
- łoogg dood mininh iligh November (literally: 'month when the eels come [swim]')
- giggootth scales
- q’oon’ fish eggs
- nathdlod Indian ice cream