Na-Dene

Also known as Na-Dene languages, Na-Dené, Nadene, Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit, Tlina–Dene

Native American language family

AI overview

Na-Dene is a proposed family of Native American languages that includes Athabaskan languages (spoken across Alaska and western Canada), Tlingit and Haida (spoken in the Pacific Northwest), and possibly other language groups. Linguists study Na-Dene to understand the historical connections and migration patterns of Native American peoples, though there is ongoing scholarly debate about which languages should be included in this grouping.

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Na-Dene (/ˌnɑːdɪˈneɪ/ NAH-dih-NAY; also Nadene, Na-Dené, Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit, Tlina–Dene) is a family of Native American languages that includes at least the Athabaskan languages, Eyak, and Tlingit languages. Haida was formerly included but is now generally considered a language isolate. By far the most widely spoken Na-Dene language today is Navajo, also the most spoken indigenous language north of Mexico.

Some linguists have proposed that the Na-Dene family is related to the Yeniseian languages of central Siberia, creating a Dene–Yeniseian family. However, this proposal has not been accepted by other linguists.