Documentation:RelLex/Gwich'in Topical Dictionary

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Gwich'in Topical Dictionary

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Language Name

Gwich'in.

Alternate Language Names

Gwitch'in, Kutchin, Kootchin, Loucheux, Loucheaux, Takudh, Tukudh.

Region

Northwest Territories, Yukon, Canada; Alaska, United States.

Who

William G. Firth (Author).

Others Involved

Gwich'in Teaching and Learning Centre, Gwich'in Social and Cultural Institute (Unnamed work); John T. Ritter, Robert McDonald, William G. Firth (Authors of earlier works); Gwich'in Tribal Council, Mackenzie Gas Project, Tl'oondih Healing Centre (Unnamed contributions); Eleanor Mitchell-Firth (Set-up dictionary); William G. Firth (Manager of Language Programs at the Gwich'in Social and Cultural Institute).

There are various unnamed contributors thanked in the Introduction.

Publishing Information

Published March 2009 by Gwich'in Social and Cultural Institute, Teetl'it Zheh, Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories.

This is the sixth edition of the Gwich'in Language Dictionary first published in 1997.

How People are Cited

People are cited in the Introduction.

How Information is Cited

The source of information for this dictionary is cited in the Introduction.

Where is Information Coming from

The information in this dictionary comes from speakers as well as previous editions and publications.

This dictionary succeeds five previous Gwich'in Language Dictionaries, dating back to 1997. The information coming from speakers is from within the communities of Aklavik, Inuvik, Tsiigehtchic and Fort McPherson. Furthermore, this dictionary is also a continuation of previously published works by John T. Ritter, Robert McDonald and William G. Firth.

Tools and Framework used

This dictionary is available as a physical and digital book.

Access

This dictionary is open access.

Included Languages and Directionality

Gwich'in to English, English to Gwich'in.

Dialects Included

This dictionary includes the Teetł'it Gwìch'in (Peel River dialect) and the Gwichyàh Gwìch'in (Tsiigehtchic dialect) of Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchic.

These two dialects are included because they are the two more prominent dialects with the Mackenzie Delta and are spoken within the communities the dictionary represents.

Type of Dictionary

This is a bilingual, bidirectional, topical word list.

Some of themes in the dictionary include Aliments & Injuries, Animals, Education & Learning, Finance, Food & Beverages and Kinship Terms.

How are Entries Organised

The dictionary is organized topically, and each theme is organized alphabetically. The dictionary has two main sections: Gwich'in to English (Section one) and English to Gwich'in (Section two). Both sections highlight the Gwich'in headword in bold in the entry and specify whether the word is a noun (n), adjective (adj) or verb (v) in italics, and consequently include the translation.

The first section specifies the Usage of the word in each entry with the following letters: B, T and G. However, it is unclear what these letters stand for or represent.

Preceding both sections containing entries is a Gwich'in Sound Chart including Consonants, VOWELS, Vowel Combinations, and Low Tone Marks.

Other Features

Feature Included More Information
Guide to use and understand There is no specific guide to understand the dictionary, but the Introduction does provide insight into why certain decisions were made and the Gwich'in Sound Chart provides the reader a sound understanding of the Gwich'in alphabet
Audio
Images
Example phrases
Speakers marked
Dialects marked

Other Notes

The usage tags B, T or G, included after each entry in the Gwich'in to English section are not explained anywhere in the dictionary.

External Links

Reference Gwich'in Topical Dictionary on WorldCat: https://www.worldcat.org/title/1017023831

Open access digital copy of Gwich'in Topical Dictionary through the GTC Department of Cultural Heritage website: https://gwichin.ca/publications/gwichin-topical-dictionary-6th-edition