Dena’ina (also Tanaina) is the Athabaskan language of the Cook Inlet area of Alaska, with four dialects located: Athabaskan or Athabascan (also Athapascan or Athapaskan) is the name of a large group of distantly related Native American peoples, also known as the Athabasca Indians or Athapaskes, located in two main Southern and Northern groups in western North America, and of their language family. ... Cook Inlet, showing Knik and Turnagain Arms The Cook Inlet or Nuti Inlet is a large inlet of the Gulf of Alaska in south-central Alaska. ... State nickname: The Last Frontier, The Land of the Midnight Sun Other U.S. States Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Governor Frank Murkowski Official languages English Area 1,717,854 km² (1st)  - Land 1,481,347 km²  - Water 236,507 km² (13. ...

1. Kenai Peninsula southcentral Alaska
2. Upper Cook Inlet north of Anchorage, Alaska
3. Coastal west side of the Cook Inlet
4. Inland areas of the west side of the Cook Inlet

Dena’ina can also refer to the tribe, the people of which spoke the language. The Kenai Peninsula in Alaska The Kenai Peninsula is a large peninsula jutting from the southern coast of Alaska in the United States. ... State nickname: The Last Frontier, The Land of the Midnight Sun Other U.S. States Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Governor Frank Murkowski Official languages English Area 1,717,854 km² (1st)  - Land 1,481,347 km²  - Water 236,507 km² (13. ... Anchorage, Alaska is a consolidated city-borough (officially called the Municipality of Anchorage) in the U.S. state of Alaska. ... Cook Inlet, showing Knik and Turnagain Arms The Cook Inlet or Nuti Inlet is a large inlet of the Gulf of Alaska in south-central Alaska. ... Cook Inlet, showing Knik and Turnagain Arms The Cook Inlet or Nuti Inlet is a large inlet of the Gulf of Alaska in south-central Alaska. ...

Of the total Tanaina population of about 900 people, only 75-95 members still speak Dena’ina. James Kari has done extensive work on the language since 1972, including his edition with Alan Boraas of the collected writings of Peter Kalifornsky in 1991. Peter Kalifornsky a self-taught writer and scholar of Kenai, Alaska, who wrote and compiled traditional stories, poems and language lessons in the Denaina Athabaskan language of Lower Cook Inlet for nearly 20 years. ...

merge from Tanaina Athabascan

Tanaina Athabascan is a language spoken by a group of Athabaskan people located in Eklutna, Cook Inlet and the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska. The ancestral territory of the Tanaina surrounds Cook Inlet, including the present-day location of Anchorage, Alaska. Nondalton on Lake Clark and Lime Village on the Stony River are also current and ancestral regions of Dena'ina Athabaskan or Athabascan (also Athapascan or Athapaskan) is the name of a large group of distantly related Native American peoples, also known as the Athabasca Indians or Athapaskes, located in two main Southern and Northern groups in western North America, and of their language family. ... Eklutna is located at the head of the Knik Arm of Cook Inlet, at the mouth of the Eklutna River, 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Anchorage, Alaska. ... Cook Inlet, showing Knik and Turnagain Arms The Cook Inlet or Nuti Inlet is a large inlet of the Gulf of Alaska in south-central Alaska. ... The Kenai Peninsula in Alaska The Kenai Peninsula is a large peninsula jutting from the southern coast of Alaska in the United States. ... State nickname: The Last Frontier, The Land of the Midnight Sun Other U.S. States Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Governor Frank Murkowski Official languages English Area 1,717,854 km² (1st)  - Land 1,481,347 km²  - Water 236,507 km² (13. ... Tanaina, also known as Denaina, is the Athabaskan language of the Cook Inlet area of Alaska, with four dialects located: Kenai Peninsula southcentral Alaska Upper Cook Inlet north of Anchorage, Alaska Coastal west side of the Cook Inlet Inland areas of the west side of the Cook Inlet Tanaina... Cook Inlet, showing Knik and Turnagain Arms The Cook Inlet or Nuti Inlet is a large inlet of the Gulf of Alaska in south-central Alaska. ... Anchorage, Alaska is a consolidated city-borough (officially called the Municipality of Anchorage) in the U.S. state of Alaska. ...

Sounds

Unlike many Athabaskan languages, Dena’ina is not a tonal language.

Consonants

The 35 consonants of Dena’ina:

In phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a consonant articulated with both lips. ... In phonetics, labiodentals are consonants articulated with the lower lips and the upper teeth, or viceversa. ... Alveolars are consonants articulated with the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge, the internal side of the upper gums (known as the alveoles of the upper teeth). ... Postalveolar (or palato-alveolar) consonants are consonants articulated with the tip of the tongue between the alveolar ridge (the place of articulation for alveolar consonants) and the palate (the place of articulation for palatal consonants). ... Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate (the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum). ... Uvulars are consonants articulated with the back of the tongue against or near the uvula, that is, further back in the mouth than velar consonants. ... Glottal consonants are consonants articulated with the glottis. ...

Vowels

The 4 vowels of Dena’ina:

Bibliography

• Mithun, Marianne. (1999). The languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23228-7 (hbk); ISBN 0-521-29875-X.
• Tenenbaum, Joan. (1978). Morphology and semantics of the Tanaina verb. (Doctoral dissertation, Columbia University).