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Dene Tha Indian Language

Dené Tha is an Athabaskan language of Northern Canada. Historically the Dene Tha have been known as "Slavey" or "Slave" Indians, but due to negative associations with the English word "slave" this name is not preferred by most Dene Tha people. The northern Dene Tha dialect, also known as Hare, Sahtu Dene, Bearlake, or "North Slavey," is considered to be a separate language by some linguists.

Together, northern and southern Dene Tha are spoken by around 2500 people in the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, northern British Columbia and Alberta.

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Dene Tha Language

Dene Tha language samples and resources.

Dene Tha Culture and History

Information and links about the Dene Tha tribe past and present.

Dene Tha Indians Fact Sheet

Our answers to common questions about the lifestyle of Dene Tha Indian people.

Dene Tha Legends

Introduction to Dene Tha mythology.

Dene Tha Language Resources

Dene Tha Language Lessons and Linguistic Descriptions

Dene Language
Two language articles and a North Dene Tha audio recording from the Deline First Nation.

North Slavey (K'áshogot'ine – Sahtúgot'ine – Shihgot'ine)

South Slavey (Dené Dháh)
Pronunciation and orthography information, place names, and two Dene Tha language texts.

Bibliography of Materials on the Slave Language
Bibliography of Dene Tha linguistic works.

Slavey Prayers

Language Museum: Slavey:
Translations of the Lord's Prayer and other Christian prayers into Dene Tha.

Athapaskan Languages of Canada
Place names in Tutchone, Dene Tha, and Beaver.

Aboriginal Place Names of Alberta
List of Blackfoot, Stoney, Cree, Dene Tha, and Sarcee placenames in southern Alberta, with their English translations.

Dene Place Names of the Northwest Territories
Map of the Great Slave Lake region labeled with traditional Athabaskan names with their meanings.

North Slavey Language

South Slavey Language

North Slavey Orthography

South Slavey Orthography
South Slavey Alphabet

Slavey Numbers

Slavey Phonology

Slavey Text:
Scanned-in Dene Tha Indian language materials from the Rosetta Project.

Slavey Language Plaque

Hare Language Plaque
Canadian human rights tributes written in Dene Tha and Hare Athapascan.

South Slavey

North Slavey
Demographic information about Dene Tha from the Ethnologue of Languages.

Slavey Language Tree

Hare Language Tree

Mountain Slavey Language Tree

Bearlake Language Tree:
Theories about Dene Tha's language relationships compiled by Linguist List.

Slave Language Structures:
Dene Tha linguistic profile and academic bibliography.

Links, References, and Additional Information

Lengua Slave:
Information on the Dene Tha language in Spanish.
Slavey:
Dene Tha links.

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