Babine

Print

A language of Canada

ISO 639-3
bcr
Alternate Names
Babine Carrier, Northern Carrier, Witsuwit’en
Population

300 (Golla 2007). 100 fluent speakers and 100 passive speakers of Wetsuwet’en. 200 speakers of all degrees of fluency of Babine Proper (Golla 2007). Ethnic population: 250 (Babine Proper).

Location

Wetsuset’en dialect: Bulkley River communities and bands at Burns lake. Babine Proper dialect: Lake Babine and Takla Lake communities. Some at Burns lake.

Language Maps
Language Status

7 (Shifting).

Classification
Eyak-Athabaskan, Athabaskan, Northern Athabaskan
Dialects

Babine Proper, Wetsuset’en.

Language Use

Wetsuwet’en dialect: no children are fluent speakers, some children are passive speakers. Babine Proper: few speakers under 25. No children are active speakers. Most also use English [eng].

Language Development
Literacy rate in L1: 1%–5%. Literacy rate in L2: 50%–75%. Bible portions: 1978.
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Babine
Writing
Latin script.