Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Nee'aanegn, Nabesna,
CLASSIFICATION		Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit, Dene( Athabaskan),
ORTHOGRAPHY		Paul Milanowski developed a writing system for Upper Tanana in the 1960s.
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		tau
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		Northway Tetlin Scottie Creek Nabesna Beaver Creek
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

Compare Sources (8)

Information from: “Alaska Native Languages: Population and Speaker Statistics” . Alaska Native Language Center (2014)

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
55
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
300

DATE OF INFO: 2007

DOMAINS OF USE
SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
TRANSMISSION
SPEAKER ATTITUDE: Language classes are sometimes offered through the Tok Campus Center of the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT: No governmental support
INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT: No institutional support
OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

PLACES: Alaska, USA; Yukon Territory, Canada

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Northway, Tetlin, Scottie Creek (Alaska); Beaver Creek (Canada)

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
24
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
14 in United States (2000 census). Ethnic population: 300 in the USA (1995). 10 in Canada (Krauss 1995). Ethnic population: 40 (M. Krauss 1995).

DATE OF INFO: 2000, 1995

PLACES: USA; Canada;

LOCATION DESCRIPTION

USA: East central Alaska, upper Tanana River area. Canada: Southwest Yukon Territory, Beaver Creek.

East central Alaska, upper Tanana River area, Northway, Tetlin, and Tot villages.

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
55
Native speakers worldwide

PLACES: USA; Canada;

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
115
Native speakers worldwide

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
<100
Native speakers worldwide

Scripts (Writing system): Paul Milanowski developed a writing system for Upper Tanana in the 1960s.
Competing Orthographies: Yukon Native Language Centre
More on Orthography: The Milanowski orthography does not represent town. The YNLC orthography marks tone.

PLACES: USA; Canada;

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Alaskan villages: Northway, Tetlin, and Tok
Yukon: Beaver Creek

Critically endangered

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~100
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
~300
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
The Alaskan population is about 300, of whom at most 100 speak the language.

TRANSMISSION

PLACES: USA; Canada;

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Spoken mainly in the Alaska villages of Northway, Tetlin, and Tok, but also in the Beaver Creek area of the Yukon.

PLACES: USA; Canada;

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Alaska, Yukon

Endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available
110
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
300
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
US: 100 in United States (Golla 2007). Ethnic population: 300 (Golla 2007). Total users in all countries: 110.
Canada: 10 in Canada (Krauss 1997). Ethnic population: 40 (Krauss 1997).

DATE OF INFO: 2007 (US), 1997 (Canada)

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

Mainly adults.

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

English

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

Used as L2 by Tanacross.

PLACES: USA, Canada

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: US: Alaska: upper Tanana river area, Northway, Tetlin, and Tot villages.
Canada: Yukon territory: Beaver Creek.

	2007	North America	Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages	1-96	C. Moseley		London & New York: Routledge				Victor Golla	Golla, Victor. 2007. "North America." In Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by C. Moseley. 1-96. London & New York: Routledge.	HHOLD		<100		10-99							Severely Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)						USA; Canada;	Alaskan villages: Northway, Tetlin, and Tok Yukon: Beaver Creek
16	2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)			M. Paul Lewis		SIL International	Dallas, TX		http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub		24	2000, 1995	10-99	14 in United States (2000 census). Ethnic population: 300 in the USA (1995). 10 in Canada (Krauss 1995). Ethnic population: 40 (M. Krauss 1995).						Severely Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)						USA; Canada;	USA: East central Alaska, upper Tanana River area. Canada: Southwest Yukon Territory, Beaver Creek. East central Alaska, upper Tanana River area, Northway, Tetlin, and Tot villages.
	2016	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 19th Edition (2016)			Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig	online	SIL International	Dallas, Texas		http://www.ethnologue.com		Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2016. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Nineteenth edition (2016). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com.		300	110	2007 (US), 1997 (Canada)	100-999	US: 100 in United States (Golla 2007). Ethnic population: 300 (Golla 2007). Total users in all countries: 110. Canada: 10 in Canada (Krauss 1997). Ethnic population: 40 (Krauss 1997).	English			Used as L2 by Tanacross.		Endangered (80 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	12	Mainly adults.		14	US: Alaska: upper Tanana river area, Northway, Tetlin, and Tot villages. Canada: Yukon territory: Beaver Creek.	USA, Canada
3rd	2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger					UNESCO Publishing	Paris		http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub		55		10-99							Severely Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)						USA; Canada;		62.6867,-141.2182
	2008	North America	Atlas of the World's Languages	7-41	Chris Moseley and Ron Asher		Routledge	London			Victor Golla and Ives Goddard and Lyle Campbell and Marianne Mithun and Mauricio Mixco	Victor Golla, Ives Goddard, Lyle Campbell, Marianne Mithun and Mauricio Mixco. 2008. "North America." In Atlas of the World's Languages, edited by Chris Moseley and Ron Asher. 7-41. Routledge.		~300	~100			The Alaskan population is about 300, of whom at most 100 speak the language.						Critically Endangered (40 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	15					USA; Canada;	Spoken mainly in the Alaska villages of Northway, Tetlin, and Tok, but also in the Beaver Creek area of the Yukon.
	2014	Alaska Native Languages: Population and Speaker Statistics							Alaska Native Language Center	http://www.uaf.edu/anlc/languages/stats/	Alaska Native Language Center	Alaska Native Languages Population and Speaker Statistics. http://www.uaf.edu/anlc/languages/stat (accessed 1-8-2015).		300	55	2007	10-99		English	No governmental support	Language classes are sometimes offered through the Tok Campus Center of the University of Alaska Fairbanks.		No institutional support	Critically Endangered (100 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	15		14	15		Alaska, USA; Yukon Territory, Canada	Northway, Tetlin, Scottie Creek (Alaska); Beaver Creek (Canada)	62.969167, -141.905; 63.137778, -142.524444; 62.385278, -140.893056; 62.6836111, -141.2547222
2nd edition	2010	Endangered Languages of the United States	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger of Disappearing	108-130	Christopher Moseley		UNESCO	Paris			Christopher Rogers, Naomi Palosaari and Lyle Campbell	Christopher Rogers, Naomi Palosaari and Lyle Campbell. 2010. "Endangered Languages of the United States." In Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger of Disappearing, edited by Christopher Moseley. 108-130. UNESCO.																		USA; Canada;	Alaska, Yukon	62.6867,-141.2182; 62.3824,-140.8984
		World Oral Literature Project								http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.			115		100-999							Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)

Upper Tanana

Language metadata

Language information by source

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

55

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

24

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

55

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

115

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

<100

Critically endangered

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~100

Endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

110

Discussion

Upper Tanana

Language metadata

Language information by source

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

55

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

24

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

55

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

115

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

<100

Critically endangered

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~100

Endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

110

Discussion

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