Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Chippewyan language

Chippewyan language

9.9
A language spoken by the Chipewyan people in northern Canada and part of the Athabaskan family
  • noun
: idioma chippewa
  • The Chippewyan language is rich in cultural history.

Examples

  • Many elders still speak the Chippewyan language fluently.

  • The dictionary documents many words found in the Chippewyan language.

  • He is learning the Chippewyan language to connect with his heritage.

  • Several elders still speak Chippewyan language fluently in the community.

  • He is learning the Chippewyan language to connect with his heritage.

  • Several elders still speak the Chippewyan language fluently in the community.

  • The dictionary documents many words found in the Chippewyan language.

Synonyms

Chipewyan
vsChippewyan language
9.9

A language spoken by Indigenous people who live around Great Slave Lake and Hudson Bay

is the same meaning but adds explicit family membership wording
Chippewyan
vsChippewyan language
9.9

A language that the Chippewyan people speak in northern Canada

has identical sense but uses a fuller definition mentioning family relation
Chipewyan language
vsChippewyan language
9.9

A language the Chipewyan people speak in northern Canada

is the tighter definition noting both region and family membership
Chippewaian language
vsChippewyan language
9.9

A language spoken by the Chipewyan people in northern Canada

frames it as the current language and also notes its family
Chippewaian
vsChippewyan language
9.9

A language spoken by the Chipewyan people of Canada

is more specific by noting northern region and Athabaskan family membership

Surface Forms

Chippewyan language singular
Chippewyan languages plural

Morphology

Chippewyan + language

The meaning is directly compositional: 'Chippewyan' names the people/ethnonym and 'language' denotes their speech system, so together they mean the language spoken by the Chippewyan people. This ethnonym + language pattern is a common, cross-linguistic and predictable combination, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will understand it.

Etymology

Chippewyan language comes from a name given by nearby Cree speakers; one popular story says Chippewyan meant 'people of the pointed skins', a picture of the group's pointed fur clothing or travel gear. So, Chippewyan language means the 'language' spoken by those people.