Family Division
In its non-controversial core, Na-Dene consists of two branches, Tlingit and Athabaskan–Eyak:
- Tlingit: 700 speakers (Michael Krauss, 1995)
- Athabaskan–Eyak
- Eyak: extinct in 2008
- Athabaskan
- Northern
- Pacific Coast
- Southern
For linguists who follow Edward Sapir in connecting Haida to the above languages, the Haida isolate represents an additional branch, with Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit together forming the other. Dene or Dine (the Athabaskan languages) is a widely distributed group of Native languages spoken by associated peoples in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Alaska, parts of Oregon, northern California, and the American Southwest as far as northern Mexico.
The southwestern division of Athabaskan is also called Southern Athabaskan or Apachean, and includes Navajo and all the Apache dialects. Eyak was spoken in south-central Alaska; the last speaker died in 2008. Navajo is by far the most widely spoken language of the Na-Dene family, spoken in Arizona, New Mexico, and other regions of the American Southwest.
Read more about this topic: Na-Dene Languages
Famous quotes containing the words family and/or division:
“They would probably help, in some trying time to come, to keep the jewel of liberty within the family of freedom.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“Affection, indulgence, and humor alike are powerless against the instinct of children to rebel. It is essential to their minds and their wills as exercise is to their bodies. If they have no reasons, they will invent them, like nations bound on war. It is hard to imagine families limp enough always to be at peace. Wherever there is character there will be conflict. The best that children and parents can hope for is that the wounds of their conflict may not be too deep or too lasting.”
—New York State Division of Youth Newsletter (20th century)