summary of 2012 language names

[Bill Poser]

Dakelh makes no sense as the English name for Carrier for the simple reason
that the voiceless lateral fricative is not an English speech sound and
that <lh> is uninterpretable as an English spelling. Furthermore, it causes
confusion because speakers of Carrier and of Babine call themselves and
their languages Dakelh but speakers of Witsuwit'en do not. This is why the
First People's map of BC languages erroneously shows  W as one language and
Dakelh as another, with the latter occupying the territory of Carrier
proper plus Babine. Similarly, I see no reason to add still further to the
confusion by changing Babine-Witwuwit'en to Nadot'en-Witsuwit'en. Indeed,
the Lake Babine Band has not only kept the name "Babine" but has expressed
a liking for it on the grounds that non-natives know their lake as Babine
Lake with the result that calling the people "Babine" serves to associate
the people with their territory.  The other major group of Babine speakers,
at Takla Lake, refer to their language in English as "Carrier". Although
they are aware that their language is the same as the Lake Babine language,
they do not call it Nadot'en.

On Thu, Dec 20, 2012 at 11:22 AM, James Kari <jmkari at alaska.edu> wrote:

> Thanks to everyone for the quick & lively response. I made four suggested
> changes.
> Also attached is the current Na-Dene languages t-shirt, printed here in
> Fairbanks.
> the language names on that too can be modified, some time next year.
> Jim
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Dec 19, 2012 at 1:12 PM, Dagmar Jung <djung at uni-koeln.de> wrote:
>
>>  Hi Jim,
>>
>> thanks a lot for an update on language names, that's indeed very useful!
>>
>> A comment about renaming Beaver: the name you have right now on the map
>> commonly refers to the Dene Tha' First nation in NW Alberta that speaks
>> South Slavey.
>>
>> For the majority of Beaver-speaking First Nations the name Dane-*z*aa
>> seems to be the preferred one (cf. also the Dane-*z*aa language
>> authority in Fort St. John that represents most BC communities that speak
>> dialects of this language).
>>
>> The underline of the fricative marks a range of possible pronounciations
>> according to the variety/speaker: postdental, interdental, or alveolar. The
>> first vowel of Dane is sometimes seen by speakers as a clear demarcation to
>> Dene/Slavey.
>>
>> Hope this is useful & best wishes,
>>
>> Dagmar
>>
>>
>>
>> On 19.12.12 20:32, James Kari wrote:
>>
>> Hi
>> I have been meaning to update my map "Distribution of Na-Dene  Languages"
>> to show the language name changes that were discussed and suggested during
>> the August (now renamed) Dene Languages Conference.
>>
>> The box lists the changes
>> comments  are appreciated of course
>> Happy Holidays!
>> Jim kari
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
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