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.Browse the glossary using this index
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H |
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habit: he habituated to it coffee exnílts'et ts'į́' k'á ldîil étdí́igh coffee became a habit and he doesn't drink tea |
hack: I am hacking it (forcefully so that small pieces fly away) Refers to using a sharp instrument to rapidly cut something dekkeyh I am hacking, chopping it |
hail: ALSO blueberry (unripe berry) ch'inłuut e'ehchąą it is hailing |
hair: it's hair, fur shtthixá' my hair (of my head) tthiixá' ts'eeg xúnłęę long hair shtl'exxá' my pubic hair |
half: naa shí' ts'enh ch'exą́ą' wutl'ághų́hchuut de' give him or her half of the food |
halo (around sun or moon): solar halo gheldzeey nakech'etneet'eyh there is a lunar halo SYN ring |
hammer: |
hand: my hand shinlat'aag back of my hand |
handicapped: handicapped person, animal sháath handicapped, hobbled by old injury shaath nłęę he is handicapped SYN crippled |
handkerchief: SYN bandana |
handle: its handle xetl tį̌į' sled handlebars |
handsome:ninsųų he is handsome ALSO pretty |
hang: it is hanging eek dádzełdíhłeeyh I am hanging up coats |
happen: what happened? nts'é t'ítshaak? what happened to you? |
happy: I am happy about it |
hard (surface): jah wuk'et detgek this surface is hard |
hard time: I am having a hard time |
hardship: hardship shaa medaxdíitsáath it's difficult for me to pronounce that |
hare: SYN rabbit (Lepus americanus) |
harlequin (duck): |
harm: I was harmed, I got injured |
harness: a dog is harnessed łii keey iin daxdíndlah they harnessed up the dogs |
harrier: northern harrier (Circus cyaneus) |
hat: hat (general term) tthíishúus ét-tl'uun knitted hat tthíishúus mintaak'ey xunłęę hat with a visor |
hatch: it hatched |
haul:shí' ka'inhá' go get food! imperfective paradigm
tuu ká'ahá' | ||||||
have: I have (own, possess) them
tthíshúus dhíhdlah | ||||||
hawk:ch'etthaayh red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) gah daxeeł marsh hawk nah daax marsh hawk |
he:nâan that one (person or thing) nâan nt'sé miisí'? what is his (that person's) name? |
head: my head ch'etthí' animal's head |
headache: tthí' ts'iik shdhéhxęę headache is killing me shtthí' éhts'iik I have a headache |
headwaters: ALSO valley, canyon |
heal: I healed up, got better |
Healy Lake: LITERALLY 'shallows mouth lake' |
heap: tsets xatnaldók wood is heaped up, piled up in a heap (disorganized) |
hear: I hear you shde'intth'ek? do you hear me? de'ihtth'ek I hear him/her/it xuude'ihtth'ek I hear them je'ihtth'ek I listening, I hear something díi lé'e de'ihtth'eg? what is it that I hear? |
hearing: my hearing sdzíi k'éxdélneyh k'eh shaa xúltsįį it seems like I'm losing my hearing |
heart: my heart |
heartburn: tuutthox shdatnénínts'iik I have heartburn |
heat: heat it up! nshax naxnį́hthiił heat up your house |
heaven: |
heavy: it is heavy tsets dehtsel dindaath green wood is heavy |
heel: heel of my foot |
help: she or he is helping me (with a task) shxaan ts'į́' yint'áath she or he helped me cut it up xe'édáldek they rushed to help him or her (for example after an accident) |
her: |
herd (of animals): naltl'éy ná'al'és a herd (of caribou) is moving |
here (in space or time): nts'é éł jah nínáhdeetl? how did you all get here? |
hers: this belongs to her, him |
hiccup: I have the hiccups |
hide (conceal): (you) hide it! shax nandîidz ch'etnél'įį he, she or it is hiding behind the house |
hide (of an animal): a hide SYN skin, pelt |
high up: yatthiidóg tah kón' dí'ihdláx I keep matches way up there |
hill: teyh kedl hill with very few trees xeekeeyh hillside teyh k'iig slope of a hill |
him: |
hip: my hip |
his: this is his or hers |
hit (punch): I hit him shídhįhgót you hit me shetédhįhgót you hit me for no reason at all yíhgót he or she hit him or her yinelshos he or she hit him, her or it really hard metnedhegshos I hit him (in the head, face) SEE slap dhektl'eth I hit him, her or it (with a stick) |
hoarse: I am hoarse |
hoist: she or he hoisted it up daałų́ų' hoist down |
hold: I'm holding it
shěg' údin'éetth | ||||||
hole: hole in the ground xosk'ée shallow hole in the ground ALSO ditch, gully SYN pit xdú' a hole in something |
holler: |
hoof: hoof of moose, caribou or sheep |
hook: fishhook sáx gaff hook ehsáx she or he is hooking, gaffing |
hop: a frog is hopping natjehchéek it is hopping around (on two legs) |
hope: |
horizon: |
horn: ALSO antlers |
horrible:łą́'ą éł ts'áxuntleeg it is really horrible, very bad naxalxeen éł tęy łą́'ą éł ts'áxuntleeg it is melting so the trail is horrible |
horsefly: |
hospital: |
hot: it (object) is hot tuu néetheł the water is hot tuu néethel hot water xnéetheł it (weather) is hot nah'ôg xnéetheł it is hot outside elok! I'm hot! |
house: house, modern house shshax my house nshax your house Note that the form for 'someone's house' does not follow the usual pattern because [ -x ] at the end does not change to [ -gh' ] and the word does not have a rising pitch SYN dwelling Traditional houses ch'elaats'eyh shax spruce bark house dlaat shax moss covered house niimaal shax traditional skin house |
housepit: |
how: nts'é' tâatindaał? how are you going home? nts'é' k'eh naxúltsįį? how does it look to you? |
how are you?: |
how much:ndóxk'ee jâan ts'enh ndóxk'ee ch'eyninthenh how much do you want of this? ndóxk'ee n'éł xátheł? how old are you? Traditionally, it was impolite to ask 'how old are you?' of someone. ndók'ee jah dhindah how long have you lived here? |
however: |
howl:shaxeh'ąą howling, making a commotion tiikâan iin shaxeh'ąą the wolves are howling tsaxdelxos howl, cry tiikâan iin tsaxdelxos wolves are crying, howling |
huff: he or she left in a huff |
hug: she or he gave me a hug meghíshdek I hugged him or her |
humorous: |
hungry: I'm hungry
| ||||||
hunt: he's hunting
nûun ká'ehá' he is hunting literally 'he is fetching animals' | ||||||
hunter: |
hunting blind: |
hurry: hurry up xen fast, quickly xen eg'ęh I'm in a hurry |
hurt:shexdéghindíik I got hurt SYN injured xenitet-tthet his or her feelings were hurt xenitédhíshthet I got my feelings hurt |
husband: my husband, mate wu'éł dhíhdaay my spouse, the one I stay with |
hush: hush, be quiet! |
