Holikachuk (own name: Beth R. Leonard (2007), Deg Xinag oral traditions: reconnecting indigenous language and education through traditional narratives, a thesis presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, May 2007) is a recently extinct Athabaskan language formerly spoken at the village of Holikachuk () on the Innoko River in central Alaska. In 1962, residents of Holikachuk relocated to Grayling on the lower Yukon River. Holikachuk is intermediate between the Deg Xinag and Koyukon languages, linguistically closer to Koyukon but socially much closer to Deg Xinag, which has influenced it. Though it was recognized by scholars as a distinct language as early as the 1840s, it was only definitively identified in the 1970s.Krauss, Michael E. 1973. Na-Dene. Linguistics in North America, ed. by T.A. Sebeok, 903-78. (Current Trends in Linguistics 10). The Hague: Mouton. Of about 180 Holikachuk people, only about 5 spoke the language in 2007.Krauss, Michael E. 2007. Native languages of Alaska. In: The Vanishing Voices of the Pacific Rim, ed. by Osahito Miyaoko, Osamu Sakiyama, and Michael E. Krauss. Oxford: Oxford University Press In March 2012, the last living fluent speaker of Holikachuk died in Alaska.ICTMN Staff. "Alaska Native Language Loses Last Fluent Speaker." Indian Country Today Media Network. 18 Apr. 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.
James Kari compiled a short dictionary of Holikachuk in 1978, but Holikachuk remains one of the least documented Alaska Native languages.Kari, James. 1978. Holikachuk Noun Dictionary (Preliminary). Fairbanks: Alaska Native Language Center. ERIC ED172528
Phonology
Consonants +Holikachuk consonantsLabialDentalAlveolarPalatalVelarUvularGlottal plain sibilant lateral Plosive/Affricate plain aspirated ejective Fricative voiceless voiced Sonorant voiced voiceless
Vowels +Holikachuk vowels Front Central Back Near-close Close-mid Open-mid Open
Orthography +Holikachuk alphabetA aD dDh dhDl dlDz dzE eG gGg ggGh ghH hI iK kK' k'L lŁ łM mN nngnhO oOo ooQ qQ' q'S sT tT' t'Th thTl tlTl' tl'Ts tsTs' ts'Tth tthU uX xY yyhZ z'
Lexicon Some Holikachuk words: fish November (literally: 'month when the eels come [swim]') scales fish eggs Indian ice cream
References
External links Holikachuk Athabascan. Alaska Native Language Center. Retrieved on 2007-03-14.