Slavey, South
A language of Canada
| Population | 2,890. Ethnic population: 3,600 (Krauss 1995). |
| Region | Northwest Alberta, Great Slave Lake, upper Mackenzie River and drainage in Mackenzie District; northeast British Columbia in Fort Liard, Fort Providence, Fort Simpson, Fort Smith, Hay River, Hay River Dene (reserve), Jean Marie River, Nahanni Butte, Trout Lake, Wrigley and Yellowknife. |
| Language map |
Canada |
| Alternate names | Dene, Dené, Denetha, Mackenzian, “Slave” , “Slavi” |
| Dialects | North [scs] and South Slavey part of dialect continuum which includes Hare, Bear Lake, Mountain, South Slavey, northern Alberta Slavey and Fort Nelson Slavey. |
| Classification | Na-Dene, Nuclear Na-Dene, Athapaskan-Eyak, Athapaskan, Canadian, Hare-Chipewyan, Hare-Slavey A member of macrolanguage Slave [den] (Canada). |
| Language use | Official in Northwest Territories. Older people still use South Slavey in smaller, isolated communities; serious attrition among children and young people. |
| Language development | Literacy rate in L1: Below 1%. Literacy rate in L2: 25%–50%. Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 1891. |
| Writing system | Latin script. Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics script, no longer in use. |
Entries from the SIL Bibliography about this language:
Academic Publications
BARBER, Stephen J., author. 1990. Adapting to a culture in transition.
HARRISON, Carl H.; MONUS, Victor P., authors. 1978. The particle tʼah in Slavey discourse.
Vernacular Publications
Dahsiah dek'eh dehtl'eh. 1975.
Ezhah nat'á (Raven fools himself). 1973.
Golǫah gondié (Animal stories - in Slavey). 1974.
Sah dendaa góh nadah (The bear goes to sleep for winter). 1974.

