Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Dinjii Zhuh K'yaa, Kutchin, Kuchin, Tukudh, Takudh, Dagoo, Loucheux
CLASSIFICATION		Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit, Dene (Athabaskan),
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		gwi
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		Western (Alaskan) Eastern (Canadian)
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

Compare Sources (9)

Information from: “Native languages of Alaska” . Michael E. Krauss (2007) , Osahito Miyaoko and Osamu Sakiyama and Michel E. Krauss · Oxford University Press

Severely endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
550
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
2,900
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
150 Alaska, 400 Canada. Population: 1,000 Alaska, 1,900 Canada

DATE OF INFO: 2007

DOMAINS OF USE
SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
TRANSMISSION

PLACES: USA, Alaska; Canada;

Endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available
800
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
500 in Canada. Population total all countries: 800.

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

Mainly adults.

PLACES: USA; Canada;

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Alaska; Northwest Territories: Aklavik, Inuvik, Tsiigehtchic, Fort McPherson; Yukon Territory, Old Crow.

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
400
Native speakers worldwide

PLACES: Alaska; Canada;

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
730
Native speakers worldwide

Severely endangered

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~800
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
~3,000

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: Gwich’in has been taught in the school at Old Crow since the early 1970s, and in 1996 Old Crow students launched a web site, “Old Crow: Land of the Vuntut Gwich’in.”
More on Orthography: Gwich’in has had a written literature since the 1870s, when Archdeacon Robert McDonald translated the entire Bible (1886), the Book of Common Prayer, and a hymnal into a variety of Eastern Gwich’in he called Tukudh. Middle-aged and older speakers still use McDonald’s Bible, but younger speakers find its orthography and style difficult. Modern writing systems have been developed both in in Alaska (in the 1960s by Richard Mueller) and in Canada (in the mid 1970s by the Yukon Native Language Centre), and there are many publications in both, including story collections and linguistic material.

PLACES: USA; Canada

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Spoken in northeastern Alaska in the villages of Arctic Village, Venetie, Fort Yukon, Chalkyitsik, Circle, and Birch Creek, as well as in Aklavik, Inuvik, Tsiigehtchic (formerly Arctic Red River) and Fort McPherson in the Northwest Territories, and in Old Crow in the Yukon Territory.

Severely endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
800
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
3,000: 1,100 Alaska, 1,900 Canada
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Dialects: Western (Alaskan) and Eastern (Canadian) (called Loucheux). Gwich’in population of Alaska is about 1,100, and of that number about 300 are speakers of the language; the Canadian population is about 1,900, with perhaps as many as 500 speakers.

DOMAINS OF USE
SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
TRANSMISSION
OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

PLACES: USA; Canada;

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Spoken in northeastern Alaska in the villages of Arctic Village, Venetie, Fort Yukon, Chalkyitsik, Circle, and Birch Creek, as well as in Aklavik, Inuvik, Tsiigehtchic (formerly Arctic Red River) and Fort McPherson in the Northwest Territories, and in Old Crow in the Yukon Territory.

PLACES: Alaska; Canada;

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Spoken in northeastern Alaska in the villages of Arctic Village, Venetie, Fort Yukon, Chalkyitsik, Circle, and Birch Creek, as well as in Aklavik, Inuvik, Tsiigehtchic (formerly Arctic Red River) and Fort McPherson in the Northwest Territories, and in Old Crow in the Yukon Territory.

PLACES: Alaska; Canada

Severely endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available
670
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
2900
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Canada: 370 in Canada (2011 census). Ethnic population: 1900 (Krauss 2007).
US: 300 (Golla 2007). Ethnic population: 1000 (Krauss 2007).

DATE OF INFO: 2011 (Canada), 2007 (USA)

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
TRANSMISSION
OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

PLACES: Canada, USA

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Canada: Northwest Territories: Aklavik, Inuvik, Tsiigehtchic, Fort McPherson; Yukon Territory, Old Crow.
US: Alaska: Arctic village, Birch Creek, Chalkyitsik, Circle, Fort Yukon, and Venetie; on Yukon River and tributaries.

9780199266623		2007	Native languages of Alaska	The Vanishing Voices of the Pacific Rim		Osahito Miyaoko and Osamu Sakiyama and Michel E. Krauss		Oxford University Press			Michael E. Krauss			2,900	550	2007	100-999	150 Alaska, 400 Canada. Population: 1,000 Alaska, 1,900 Canada			Severely Endangered (100 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	13		14	15		USA, Alaska; Canada;
		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	~3,000	~800		100-999			Gwich’in has been taught in the school at Old Crow since the early 1970s, and in 1996 Old Crow students launched a web site, “Old Crow: Land of the Vuntut Gwich’in.”	Severely Endangered (40 percent certain, based on the evidence available)				14		USA; Canada	Spoken in northeastern Alaska in the villages of Arctic Village, Venetie, Fort Yukon, Chalkyitsik, Circle, and Birch Creek, as well as in Aklavik, Inuvik, Tsiigehtchic (formerly Arctic Red River) and Fort McPherson in the Northwest Territories, and in Old Crow in the Yukon Territory.
0199255911		2005	The World Atlas of Language Structures			Bernard Comrie and David Gil and Martin Haspelmath and Matthew S. Dryer		Oxford University Press	New York			2005. "The World Atlas of Language Structures." edited by Bernard Comrie et al. Oxford University Press.															Alaska; Canada		67.0,-146.0
	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		800		100-999	500 in Canada. Population total all countries: 800.			Endangered (60 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	13	Mainly adults.				USA; Canada;	Alaska; Northwest Territories: Aklavik, Inuvik, Tsiigehtchic, Fort McPherson; Yukon Territory, Old Crow.
		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.		2900	670	2011 (Canada), 2007 (USA)	100-999	Canada: 370 in Canada (2011 census). Ethnic population: 1900 (Krauss 2007). US: 300 (Golla 2007). Ethnic population: 1000 (Krauss 2007).	English		Severely Endangered (80 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	13			14	Canada: Northwest Territories: Aklavik, Inuvik, Tsiigehtchic, Fort McPherson; Yukon Territory, Old Crow. US: Alaska: Arctic village, Birch Creek, Chalkyitsik, Circle, Fort Yukon, and Venetie; on Yukon River and tributaries.	Canada, USA
	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		400		100-999				Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)						Alaska; Canada;		68.1171,-145.5173
		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.		3,000: 1,100 Alaska, 1,900 Canada	800		100-999	Dialects: Western (Alaskan) and Eastern (Canadian) (called Loucheux). Gwich’in population of Alaska is about 1,100, and of that number about 300 are speakers of the language; the Canadian population is about 1,900, with perhaps as many as 500 speakers.	English		Severely Endangered (100 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	13		14	14		USA; Canada;	Spoken in northeastern Alaska in the villages of Arctic Village, Venetie, Fort Yukon, Chalkyitsik, Circle, and Birch Creek, as well as in Aklavik, Inuvik, Tsiigehtchic (formerly Arctic Red River) and Fort McPherson in the Northwest Territories, and in Old Crow in the Yukon Territory.
	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.															Alaska; Canada;	Spoken in northeastern Alaska in the villages of Arctic Village, Venetie, Fort Yukon, Chalkyitsik, Circle, and Birch Creek, as well as in Aklavik, Inuvik, Tsiigehtchic (formerly Arctic Red River) and Fort McPherson in the Northwest Territories, and in Old Crow in the Yukon Territory.	67.4407,-134.8272; 68.1171,-145.5173
			World Oral Literature Project							http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.			730		100-999				Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)

Gwich'in

Language metadata

Language information by source

Severely endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

550

Endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

800

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

400

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

730

Severely endangered

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~800

Severely endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

800

Severely endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

670

Discussion

Gwich'in

Language metadata

Language information by source

Severely endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

550

Endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

800

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

400

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

730

Severely endangered

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~800

Severely endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

800

Severely endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

670

Discussion

Suggest information or improvement

Download language data

Sources of information

Compare Sources