Cry of the Wind (58 page)

BABICHE
(English—probably anglicized from the Cree word
assababish
, a diminutive of
assabab
, “thread”) Lacing made from rawhide.

CEN
(Ahtna Athabascan) Tundra. (The
c
sounds like an English
k.
The
e
carries a short sound like the
e
in the English word
set.
The Ahtna
n
sounds like the English
n
.)

CET’AENI
(Ahtna Athabascan) Creatures of ancient Ahtna legend. They are tailed and live in trees and caves. (The
c
sounds like an English
k.
The
e
carries a short sound like the
e
in the English word
set.
The
t’
is much like an English
t
followed by a glottal release. The diphthong
ae
is pronounced like the
a
in the English word
cat.
The
n
is much like the English
n
, and the final
i
has a short
i
sound as in the English word
sit.
The
t’aen
is accented.)

CHAKLIUX
(Ahtna Athabascan, as recorded by Pinart in 1872) Sea otter. (The word is pronounced as it would be in English, with the final
x
a voiceless velar fricative.)

CHIGDAX
(Aleut) A waterproof, watertight parka made of sea lion or bear intestines, esophagus of seal or sea lion, or the tongue skin of a whale. The hood had a drawstring, and the sleeves were tied at the wrists for sea travel. These knee-length garments were often decorated with feathers and bits of colored esophagus. (The Aleut
ch
is much like the English
ch
, the
g
like a guttural English
g
, and the
d
carries almost a
th
sound. The vowels are short. The
x
should be properly written as
x
, and is a voiceless uvular fricative.)

CILT’OGHO
(Ahtna Athabascan) A container hollowed out of birch and used to carry water. (The c sounds like an English
k.
The
i
has a short
i
sound as in the English word
sit.
The
l
is properly written
Ł
and has no corresponding sound in English. The tip of the tongue is held on the palate just behind the front teeth and breath released so as to push air off both sides of the tongue. The
t’
is much like an English
t
followed by a glottal release. The Ahtna
o
is like the
o
in the English word
for.
The Ahtna
gh
has no English equivalent. It closely resembles the French
r.
The
t’ogh
carries the accent.)

DAES
(Ahtna Athabascan) Shallow, a shallow portion of a lake or stream. (The
d
is pronounced with the tongue tip touching the backs of the top front teeth. It carries almost a
t
sound. The diphthong
ae
has an
a
sound similar to that in the English word
hat.
The final s has almost an
sh
sound.)

DII
(Ahtna Athabascan) One alone, on one’s own. (The
d
is pronounced with the tongue tip touching the backs of the top front teeth. It carries almost a
t
sound. The double
i
carries a long
e
sound as in the English word
free
.)

DILK’AHOO
(Koyukon Athabascan) Raven. (The
d
is pronounced with the tongue tip touching the backs of the top front teeth. It carries almost a
t
sound. The
i
has a short
i
sound as in the English word sir. The
l
is pronounced like the
l’
s in the English word
call.
The
k’
has no English equivalent. It is similar to the Aleut
x
and is pronounced in the back of the throat with a very harsh, guttural sound. The apostrophe denotes a glottal stop. The Athabascan vowel
a
is pronounced like the
u
in the English word
but.
The
h
is similar to the
h
in the English word
help
, and the
oo
takes on the long
o
sound as in the English word
rove
.)

DZUUGGI
(Ahtna Athabascan) A favored child who receives special training, especially in oral traditions, from infancy. (The
dz
takes the sound of the final
ds
in the English word
leads.
The
uu
sounds like the
ui
in the English word
fruit.
The Ahtna double
gg
has no English equivalent. It is very guttural and pronounced with the back of the tongue held against the soft palate. The
i
has a short
i
sound as in the English word sir. The accent is on the first syllable.)

GGUZAAKK
(Koyukon Athabascan) A thrush,
Hylocichla minima, H. ustulata
and
H. guttata.
These birds sing an intricately beautiful song that the Koyukon people traditionally believe to indicate the presence of an unknown person or spirit. (The double
gg
has no English equivalent. It is very guttural and pronounced with the back of the tongue held against the soft palate. The
u
sounds similar to the oo in the English word
book.
The z is similar in sound to
zh
, or like the s in
treasure.
The
aa
carries an
aw
sound. The
kk
is a very hard
c
sound.)

GHADEN
(Ahtna Athabascan) Another person. (The Ahtna
gh
has no English equivalent. It closely resembles the French
r.
The
a
sounds like the English vowel
u
in the word
but.
The Ahtna
d
is pronounced with the tongue tip touching the backs of the top front teeth. It carries almost a
t
sound. The
e
carries a short sound like the
e
in the English word
set.
The Ahtna
n
sounds like the English
n
.)

GHELI
(Ahtna Athabascan) True, good. (The Ahtna
gh
has no English equivalent. It closely resembles the French
r.
The
e
carries a short sound like the
e
in the English word
set.
The Ahtna
l
sounds like the
l
’s in the English word
call.
The
i
is like the
i
in the English word
sit
.)

’IH
(Ahtna Athabascan) Exclamation of amazement made by a listener. (The apostrophe denotes an initial glottal stop. When a word begins with a vowel preceded by a glottal stop, it takes on a quick, crisp beginning with a burst of air forced quickly through the vocal cords to produce the vowel sound. The
i
takes on a short
i
sound as in the English word
sit.
The
h
is a voiceless glottal fricative.

IITIKAALUX
(Atkan Aleut) Cow parsnip, wild celery. See the pharmacognosia. (The
ii
is pronounced like a long
e.
The
t
and
l
are much like their corresponding English letters. The single
i
and
u
are short, and the
aa
carries a long
a
sound. The
k
is a guttural English
k.
The
x
is properly written as
x
, and is a voiceless uvular fricative. Accent on the penult.)

IQYAX
(Aleut) A skin-covered, wooden-framed boat. A kayak. (The two vowels are short. The
q
is like a harsh English
k
, the
y
much like an English
y
, and the final
x
a voiceless velar fricative. Accent the first syllable.)

KOLDZE’ NIHWDELNEN
(Ahtna Athabascan) Nothing remained. (The
k
has no English equivalent. It is similar to the Aleut
x
and is pronounced in the back of the throat with a very harsh, guttural sound. The
o
carries a short sound similar to the
o
in the English word
for.
The
l
’s are pronounced like the
l
’s in the English word
call.
The Ahtna
dz
is pronounced like the
ds
in the English word
lads.
The
e
’s in both words carry a short sound like the
e
in the English word
set
, and the apostrophe denotes a glottal stop. The Athabascan
n
is similar to the English
n.
The
i
carries a short sound like the
i
in the English word
sit
. The
hw
is a voiceless labialized glottal fricative like the Athabascan
h
, but the lips should be rounded as in pronouncing the English word
hoe.
The
d
is pronounced with the tongue tip touching the backs of the top front teeth. It carries almost a
t
sound.)

K’OS
(Ahtna Athabascan) Cloud. (The Ahtna
k
has no English equivalent. It is similar to the Aleut
x
and is pronounced in the back of the throat with a very harsh, guttural sound. The apostrophe denotes a glottal stop. The
o
carries a short sound similar to the
o
in the English word
for.
The Ahtna
s
is pronounced almost like an English
sh
.)

LIGIGE’
(Ahtna Athabascan) The soapberry or dog berry,
Shepherdia canadensis.
(See Pharmacognosia.) (The
L
is properly written
Ł
, is voiceless, and has no corresponding sound in English. The tip of the tongue is held on the palate just behind the front teeth and breath released so as to push air off both sides of the tongue. The
i
has a short
i
sound like in the English word
sit.
The single
g
corresponds most closely to the English
k
and is pronounced in the back of the throat, with the final
e
pronounced like the
e
in
set.
The final apostrophe denotes a glottal stop. Accent on the final syllable.)

NAAX
(Ahtna Athabascan) Command given to a dog—“Go!” or “Proceed!” (The Ahtna
n
sounds like the English
n.
The
aa
carries an
aw
sound. The Athabascan
x
is a voiceless velular fricative.)

NAE’
(Ahtna Athabascan) Yes. (The Ahtna
n
sounds like an English
n.
The
ae
acts as a diphthong and takes on the
a
sound in the English word
fad.
The apostrophe represents a glottal stop.)

NUHU’ANH
(Koyukon Athabascan) (The
n
’s sound like the English
n.
The
u
’s carry the sound of the
o
’s in the English word
cook.
The
h
’s are similar to the
h
in the English word
help.
The apostrophe denotes a glottal stop. The
a
sounds like the English vowel
u
in the word
but
.)

QUNG
(Aleut) Hump, humpback. (The initial
q
is like a harsh English
k.
The
u
is short, and the digraph
ng
is nasal, pronounced much like the
ng
in the English word
gong
.)

SAEL
(Ahtna Athabascan) Container made of bark. (The Ahtna s is pronounced almost like an English
sh.
The diphthong
ae
carries a sound similar to the
a
in
bat
or
at
.) The
L
is properly written
Ł
, is voiceless, and has no corresponding sound in English. The tip of the tongue is held on the palate just behind the front teeth and breath released so as to push air off both sides of the tongue.)

SAX
(Aleut) A long, hoodless parka made of feathered birdskins. (The
s
is pronounced like a slightly lisped English
s
;
a
carries a short vowel sound. The
x
is a voiceless velar fricative.)

SOK
(Ahtna Athabascan) Raven call. (The Ahtna s is almost like the English
sh.
The Ahtna
o
is like the
o
in the English word
for.
The
k
is a guttural English
k
.)

TIKAANI
(Ahtna Athabascan) Wolf. (The Ahtna
t
is much like the English
t
, and
i
has a short
i
sound as in the English word
sit
. The Ahtna
k
has no English equivalent. It is similar to the Aleut
x
and is pronounced in the back of the throat with a very harsh, guttural sound. The
aa
carries an
aw
sound, and the
n
is similar to the English
n.
The
kaan
receives the accent.)