Tutchone is an Athabaskan language spoken by the Northern and Southern Tutchone First Nations in central and southern regions of Yukon Territory, Canada. Tutchone belongs to the Northern Athabaskan linguistic subfamily and has two primary varieties, Southern and Northern. Although they are sometimes considered separate languages, Northern and Southern Tutchone speakers are generally able to understand each other in conversation, albeit with moderate difficulty.

Dialects

Southern ()

  • Aishihik dialect
  • Tàaʼan dialect
  • Klukshu dialect
  • Kluane dialect

Northern ()

  • Big Salmon dialect
  • Pelly Crossing dialect
  • Mayo dialect
  • White River dialect

Vocabulary comparison

The comparison of some words in the two languages:

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!Northern

!Southern

!meaning

|-

| ~

|

|fish

|-

|

|

|one

|-

|

|

|two

|-

|

|

|three

|-

|

|

|four

|-

|

|

|five

|-

|

|

|my house

|-

|

|

|your (sg.) house

|-

|

|

|his/her house

|-

|

|

|our house

|-

|

|

|your (pl.) house

|-

|

|

|their house

|}

¹ Big Salmon dialect <br />

² Pelly Crossing dialect

References

  • Yukon Native Language Center: Northern Tutchone
  • Native Language Center: Southern Tutchone
  • First Voices: Southern Tutchone
  • Freelang Tutchone (Southern)-English dictionary
  • OLAC resources in and about the Northern Tutchone language
  • OLAC resources in and about the Southern Tutchone language