The following is the entry for this language as it appeared in the 14th edition (2000).
It was superseded by the corresponding entry in the 15th edition (2005). See also the corresponding entry in the current edition of Ethnologue.
SIL code: DGB
ISO 639-2: dgr
| Population | 2,085 mother tongue speakers (1998 Statistics Canada) out of 2,965 population (1994 J. Feenstra SIL). |
| Region | Between Great Slave Lake and Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories, 5 communities (Rae, Detah, Rae Lakes, Lac la Martre, Snare Lake) and a subdivision of Yellowknife. Rae is the center. |
| Dialects | DETAH-NDILO. |
| Classification | Na-Dene, Nuclear Na-Dene, Athapaskan-Eyak, Athapaskan, Canadian, Hare-Chipewyan, Hare-Slavey. |
| Comments | The Detah-Ndilo dialect developed from intermarriage between the Yellowknife subdivision of the Chipewyan and the Dogrib. 84% lexical similarity with Southern Slavey, 82% with Northern Slavey. 16% speak a little English; 37% speak both Dogrib and English, but speak Dogrib better; 14% speak both languages equally; 9% speak both, but speak English better; 7% speak English and a little Dogrib; 3% are monolingual in English (children), 12% are monolingual in Dogrib. All ages. Monolinguals include children and the elderly. Adults prefer to use Dogrib in most contexts. One Dogrib band has frequent contact and close relationships with the Bear Lake (North Slavey) people of Fort Franklin. Relations with the Inuit and the Chipewyan have traditionally been strained. Dictionary. Grammar. SOV. Literacy rate in first language: 1% to 5%. Literacy rate in second language: 25% to 50%. There is bilingual education. Canadian shield, rocks, lakes. Hunters, trappers. 300 feet. |
