Tetsǫ́t'iné Dictionary

By: Alessandro Jaker, Emerence Cardinal & Dora Cardinal

ISBN: None

Date: 2021

Details: 402 pages

This book is a dictionary of the Tetsǫ́t’ıné dialect of Dëne Sųłıné (Chipewyan), spoken in Canada’s Northwest Territories. With nearly 7,300 entries, it is the largest dictionary of any Dëne Sųłıné dialect. The dictionary reflects Dene cultural values and worldviews. The dictionary is also unique on account of the dialect represented in it, and the way in which it is represented. The Tetsǫ́t’ıné dialect is spoken today primarily in the communities of Yellowknife and Łútsëlk’é—a dialect that anthropologists had previously declared extinct.

The dictionary includes a quick-reference section by topic, where readers can look up numbers, colors, days of the week, months of the year, parts of the body, fruits and plants, and animals.

Emerence Cardinal is a member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. She has experience as an interpreter-translator, language teacher, and was formerly employed as a Chipewyan Program Specialist for the Government of the Northwest Territories. Alessandro Jaker is a linguist specializing in Dene languages. He has worked with the Yellowknives Dene First Nation since 2005, studying both of the Dene languages spoken in the community. The late Dora Cardinal was a member of the Northwest Territories Métis Nation. She worked for many years as a Dene language teacher.