The Dene Speech Atlas (DSA) provides information about the languages of the First Nations Dene in communities of the Mackenzie River Basin and surrounding areas. There are at least five Dene language groups in this area:
The Dene communities represented in the DSA are spread across the Northwest Territories, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The information on this site includes phoneme inventories of the consonant and vowel sounds of each language, both in orthographies used for the specific community and the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet). The website also functions as a database of searchable words in various Dene languages.
The IPA is a worldwide alphabet developed by the International Phonetic Association; it is used by linguists to represent sounds used in human languages. By documenting speech in individual communities, the DSA links the Dene languages to their communities of speakers, and documents the variation and change across these languages.
For the atlas, we collected speech examples of the sound contrasts and, when possible, natural conversation. This was done in several Dene communities throughout the area, using word lists and conversation games constructed for the project.
Methods for collection of speech data have been developed and are available to communities who would like to participate in documenting their own languages. Information on how to do this is available by contacting us. Participation in the DSA by other Dene-speaking communities is welcomed.
Visitors are encouraged to explore the site for information and resources on the Dene languages. We hope that this site will give visitors a greater appreciation of these languages, and that the materials on it will assist those working to teach, learn, and preserve the languages. For a more detailed orientation to the site, review the information provided at About the Dene Speech Atlas.
2018-07-25