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Tanacross Learners' Dictionary
Tanacross Learners' Dictionary
PRELIMINARY VERSION
compiled by Irene Solomon Arnold, Gary Holton, and Rick Thoman
Copyright © 2006 Alaska Native Language Center. The materials on this site, including Tanacross language transcriptions and audio recordings are intended for educational and reference purposes only. Commmercial use is strictly prohibited. Reproduction for non-profit educational purposes is permitted, provided appropriate citation is included. See complete terms of use. Please direct questions and comments to gary.holton@uaf.edu.


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G

:
ts'éxeh gaay audio young girl
t'êd audio  adolescent girl (teenager)
:
wu'éł natihdaag audio my girlfriend, boyfriend, companion LITERALLY 'the one I usually go around with' ALSO boyfriend
:
ntl'á'ih'aayh audio I am giving it to you
Different words are used depending on the type of object or if more than one object is being handled. The same basic set of Tanacross words are used in slightly different forms for English action words "give", "there is", "carry", "pick up", "put down"
More than one of any object
eek shtl'á'indlah audio you give me the coats
eek ntl'á'ghíhdlah audio I gave you the coats
One compact object
tthee gaay shtl'ánín'aayh audio give me the small rock
tthee gaay ntl'á'ghíh'ąą audio I gave you the little rock
One long and skinny object (like a pencil)
k'á' shtl'á'íntiiyh audio give me the gun
k'á' n1tl'ághíhtąą audio I gave you the gun
One pourable object (in a container)
tuu shtl'á'ínkaayh audio give me the water (in a cup)
tuu ntl'ághíhkąą audio I gave you the water
One flat, flexible object
eek shtl'á'į́hchuuth audio give me the shirt
eek ntl'ághékchuuth audio I gave you the shirt
One (ready to eat) chunk of food
má' shtl'á'į́hchuut audio give me the dry fish
má' n1tl'ághekchúut audio I gave you the dry fish
One living object (like a puppy or baby)
ts'enîin gaay shtl'á'į́hteeyh audio give me the baby
ts'enîin gaay ntl'ághéktęę audio I gave you the baby
Since 'giving' includes a 'giver' and a 'receiver', the number of possible combinations is large. Below are examples using the 'gave one compact object' word.
tthee gaay wutl'á'níhdlah audio I gave him/her the small rocks
tthee gaay yitl'áníndlah audio she or he gave him or her the small rocks
tthee gaay wutl'áts'enindlah audio we gave him/her the small rocks
tthee gaay shtl'áxníndlah audio they gave me the small rocks
tthee gaay xuutl'áníhdlah audio I gave them the small rocks
tthee gaay neetl'áníndlah audio you gave us the small rock
A different word can be used to emphasize handing something quickly
shtl'adintsiit audio hand it (something long, like a pencil) to me fast
:
Implies the desire for someone to physically hand something to the speaker.
nde' audio  give it to me
seey nde' audio give me the knife
tth'áak n1de' audio  give me the plate
:
łuut ddheł audio
:
shaa sųų́' delsháak audio I glad she or he did that, I'm proud of what she or he did
:
Dlaa Měnn' audio LITERALLY 'algae lake'
:
łdatédhék-'ęę audio  I glanced at him or her
:
SEE stare
:
SEE soar
:
tdédhék-'ęę audio I got a glimpse of him, her or it
yitdéh-'ęę audio he got a glimpse of him, her or it
aatthúug dáshee tashaay yitdeh'ęę audio I just got a glimpse of it down there
:
laajeyh audio modern gloves with fingers
jeyh audio  mittens
deshoz jeyh audio old time mittens with fur inside
:
xetnelt'etth audio  it is stuck, glued on
:
wumét maa dint'eh audio she or he is a glutton, eats too much
:
xołgodz audio
:
yidehk'on audio he, she or it is gnawing on it
tth'enh dehk'on audio he, she or it is gnawing a bone
dexú' déhchiits audio it is gnawing its teeth
:
There are many words used for talking about "coming and going" Words listed here do not specifically refer to the manner or form of transportation.
Dihthâad ts'į́' ghíhhaał audio I'm going (right now) to Mansfield
imperfective paradigm audio
ghihhaał ts'aadéł
ghinhaał ghahdéł
aahaał xaadéł

ch'utkeet shax ts'į́' ts'aadéł audio we are going to the store

perfective paradigm audio
tedhihshah ts'eedeetl
tedhinshah tedhahdeetl
teeshah xteedeetl

Fairbanks ts'į́' téeshah audio she or he went to Fairbanks
tâatétshah audio he went home

fut audio
tihhaał ts'aadeł
tinhaał tahdeł
taahaał xtaadeł

dzeen Fairbanks ts'į́' tíhhaał, tl'âan teddh dé' natihdaał audio today I'm going to go to Fairbanks, then I'll return tonight
tâatihdaał audio I'm going home
natihdaał I'll be leaving here
in forms where 'returning' is implied, the 'h' in the final syllable of this verb changes to 'd'

:
tâaghindaał audio  you go home!
:
natnétdek audio it went out (on its own)
kón' natnétdek audio the fire went out (by itself)
:
yeltthúux  she or he gobbled it, stuffed it in

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