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Babine-Wet'suwet'en (Takla, Wetsuweten)

Language: Babine-Wet'suwet'en is an Athabascan language spoken by around 200 people in British Columbia, Canada. Babine is related to Carrier and is commonly referred to as a dialect of Carrier, but monolingual speakers of the two languages cannot understand each other well, and most linguists regard them as distinct languages. Like most Athabaskan languages, Babine-Wet'suwet'en is an agglutinative language with SOV word order. Babine is also a tone language, but tonality is not as important a part of the Babine language as it is in some Athabaskan languages.

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Names: Babine was the French name for the tribe; it means "lip," referring to the labrets (lip piercings) traditionally worn by Babine women. The Babine people are also known as Ned'u'ten, their name in the language of the neighboring Carrier tribe. In their own language, Babine people usually call themselves simply Dene, meaning "people." The Wet'suwet'en are close relatives of the Babine and speakers of the same language, but the two tribes were originally politically independent of one another. Today the Babine-Wet'suwet'en communities are known as the Lake Babine First Nation, the Takla Lake First Nation, and the Wet'suwet'en First Nation. Their shared language has also been called North Carrier, Northern Carrier, or Babine Carrier, because of its linguistic similarity to the Carrier language. Alternate spellings of these names have included Babeen, Ned'uten, Neduten, Nadot'en, Nadoten, Nat'ooten, Natooten, Wetsuweten, Wetsuwet'en, Wets'uwet'en, Witsuwit'en, Witsuwiten, Wits'uwit'en, and Wit'suwit'en.



Babine Language
Babine language learning materials and resources.

Babine Culture and History
Information and links about the Babine tribe past and present.

Wetsuweten Culture and History
Information and links about the Wetsuwit'en tribe past and present.

Babine Indians Fact Sheet
Our answers to common questions about the lifestyle of Babine Indian people.

Carrier and Babine Legends
Introduction to the mythology of the Carriers, Babines and Wet'suwet'en.



Babine-Wet'suwet'en Language Resources

Our Online Babine-Wet'suwet'en Materials

Babine-Wet'suwet'en Vocabulary:
    List of vocabulary words in the Nadot'en language, with comparison to words in other Athabaskan languages.
Babine-Wet'suwet'en Pronunciation Guide:
    Learn to pronounce Babine words.
Babine-Wet'suwet'en Animal Words:
    Illustrated glossary of animal words in the Babine-Witsuwit'en language.
Babine-Wet'suwet'en Colors:
    Worksheet showing color words in the Babine-Wet'suwet'en language.
Babine-Wet'suwet'en Numbers:
    Worksheet showing how to count in the Babine-Wetsuweten language.

Babine Dictionaries and Language Books for Sale
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Witsuwit'en Grammar: Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology:
    Detailed book about the Babine-Witsuwit'en language for sale online.
Babine and Carrier Phonology: A Historically Oriented Study:
    Linguistics text comparing the Carrier and Babine languages.
Native American Language Dictionaries:
    Babine and other American Indian dictionaries and language materials for sale.

Babine Language Lessons and Linguistic Descriptions

First Nations Languages of British Columbia:
    Language map of British Columbia showing the areas where Wet'suwet'en and Nat'ooten (Babine) are spoken.
Wet'suwet'en First Voices:
    Audio glossary of spoken Wet'suwet'en phrases, with English translations.
Witsuwit’en Words for the Land:
    Vocabulary lists of terrain-related words in the Babine-Witsuwiten language.
Babine-Witsuwit'en:
    Profile of the Babine language including a phonological inventory, orthography and a text.
House of Languages: Babine-Witsuwit'en
     Information about Babine language usage.
Babine-Wetsuwet'en:
    Brief profile of the Babine language, with a thorough linguistic bibliography.
Nat'ooten-Witsuwit'en Keyboard:
    Software for typing in the Babine-Witsuwit'en language, for Windows and Mac.
Babine Language Tree:
    Theories about Babine's language relationships compiled by Linguist List.
Babine Words of Life:
    Translations of Bible passages into the Babine language.
Babine Papers:
    Archive of linguistics papers on Babine/Nedut'een.

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Links, References, and Additional Information

Wikipedia: Babine-Witsuwit'en:
Encyclopedia articles on the Babine Wits'uwit'en language.
  OLAC: Babine:
  Reference list of Babine language materials.
La Lengua Babines:
Information about Babine-Witsuwit'en in Spanish.
The Carriers:
Carrier and Babine-Witsuwiten links.



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