This is Lingít Word of the Week. Each week, we feature a Lingít word voiced by master speakers. Lingít has been spoken throughout present-day Southeast Alaska and parts of Canada for over 10,000 years.
Gunalchéesh to X̱’unei Lance Twitchell, Goldbelt Heritage Foundation and the University of Alaska Southeast for sharing the recorded audio for this series.
This week’s word is t’á, or king salmon. Listen to the audio below to learn how to say t’á.
The following transcript is meant to help illustrate the words and sentences.
Keiyishí Bessie Coolie: T’á.
That means king salmon.
And here are some sentences.
Keiyishí Bessie Coolie: Tʼá Deisleent uxʼaakch, August yaa ḵuna.éini.
The king salmon swim to Teslin when August is first arriving.
Kooshdáakʼu Bill Fawcett: Ḵúnáx̱ áwé ya’kéi wé t’á.
King salmon is very good.
Ḵaakal.áat Florence Marks Sheakley: Ḵúnáx̱ dusteix̱ yá t’á.
People are really steaming king salmon.
Kaxwaan Éesh George Davis: T’áaw ax̱á.
He ate king salmon.
You can hear each installment of Lingít Word of the Week on the radio throughout the week.
Find biographies for the master speakers included in this lesson here.
Learn more about why we use Lingít instead of Tlingit here.
