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Glite Dictionary
🧑‍🦱 An Indigenous group 🗣️ A language group
Athabaskan

Athabaskan

9.9
A group of related Native American languages spoken in western North America, for example in Alaska and the southwest
  • noun
  • /ˌæθəˈbæskən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : lenguas atabascas
  • The Athabaskan languages are primarily spoken in Alaska and parts of Canada.

Examples

  • The Navajo and Apache people of the Southwest speak a language that is part of the Athabaskan linguistic group.

  • And we then walked through the Cultural Center and we crawled through this portal in the Athabaskan house and we sang for my parents.

  • The Navajo language is part of the Athabaskan language; however, dialects differ between regions within the Navajo Reservation.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Many Indigenous groups in North America identify as Athabaskan, sharing languages and cultural ties.

Synonyms

Athapaskan
vsAthabaskan
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of related native languages spoken in northwest Canada, Alaska, and the southwestern United States

has identical meaning but differs only in spelling
Athapascan
vsAthabaskan
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of related Native American languages that people speak in Alaska, western Canada, and the US southwest

has identical meaning but differs only in spelling
Athabascan
vsAthabaskan
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of related native languages spoken in Alaska, northwestern Canada, and the southwestern United States

has identical meaning but differs only in spelling

Surface Forms

Athabaskan singular
Athabaskans plural

Morphology

Athabaskan = Athabasca (opaque) = Athabasca + an

Formed from the place-name 'Athabasca' with the demonymal suffix '-an'; the resulting ethnolinguistic meaning is specialized and not readily inferable by learners from the components.

Etymology

Athabaskan comes from the place name Athabasca, which comes from a native word meaning 'where there are reeds'. That's why the name Athabaskan is used for a family of related languages spoken by people from that region and by groups like Navajo.