Ahtna numbers

How to count in Ahtna (Atnakenaege’), a Northern Athabaskan language spoken in the Copper River area of Alaska in the USA.

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Numeral	Cardinal
1	ts’ełk’ey (C, M) ts’ałk’ey (L)
2	nadaeggi
3	taa’i (C, L) taaggi (W)
4	denc’ih (C, L) denc’ii (M, W)
5	‘ałts’eni
6	gistaani (C, L)
7	konts’aghi
8	łk’edenc’ih (C, L) łk’edenc’ii (M, W)
9	ts’ełk’ey kole (C, L) ketnesi (M)
10	hwlazaan
11	ts’ełk’ey uk’edi
12	nadaeggi uk’edi
13	taa’i uk’edi
14	denc’ih uk’edi
15	ałts’eni uk’edi
16	gistaani uk’edi
17	konts’aghi uk’edi
18	łk’edenc’ih uk’edi
19	ts’ełk’ey kole uk’edi
20	naa xundelaayi (C, L, W) naa deztaann (M) ts’iłghatne (C)
21	naa deztaann ts’ełk’ey (M) ts’iłghatne ts’ełk’ey uk’edi (C, L)*
30	taa xundelaayi taa deztaann (M)
36	taa deztaan gistaani (M)
40	denc’ih xundelaayi denc’ii deztaann (M)
44	denc’ii xundelaayi denc’ii uk’edi (C, L)*
50	ałts’eni xundelaayi ałts’eni deztaann (M)
60	gistaan xundelaayi gistaann deztaan (M)
70	konts’aghi xundelaayi konts’agha deztaann (M)
80	łk’edenc’ih xundelaayi łk’edenc’ii deztaann (M)
90	ts’ełk’ey kole xundelaayi k’etnes deztaan (M)
100	dghesdlaani (C,W) ggesdlaani (L)
101	dghesdlaani ts’elk’ey uk’edi
200	naa ggessdlaani (L) naa dghesdlaani (C, W) naa desdlaan (M)
once	ts’iłden
twice	naade
thrice	taade
first	tsoxe
last	xandeni

C = Central dialect
L = Lower dialect
M = Mentasta (also called Upper Ahtna)
W = Western dialect

Notes

The root word for four,denc’ih, appears in the word for eight. In Ahtna, the word for eight,łk’edenc’ih, literally means “double-four”.

The root word for one,ts’ełk’ey, appears in the word for nine. In Ahtna, the word for nine,ts’ełk’ey kole, literally means “take away one”, ostensibly from the number ten.

Numbers 11-19 (the teens) are expressed by stating the second digit’s singular pronunciation and addinguk’edi, which means “a one goes before it.” Ex. eleven [11] =ts’ełk’ey (one) [1] +uk’edi (“a one goes before it”).

*) In this case, the worduk’edi means “plus” or “added”.

The numbers 20, 30, 40...90 are expressed similarly to the Hindu-Arabic in so much that it too uses the name for the base digit to express the new concept. This is done in the Central and Lower villages by adding the wordxundelaayi to the first digit. For example 30 = 3 (taa) +xundelaayi, which means, “to become bigger”. Thus, the 3 (three) has become bigger (30). Mentasta Village (M) Indians use the worddeztaann to do the same thing.

The Ahtna counting system can only express numbers up to 999. There exists no known term for one thousand or greater.

Sources

John Smelcer, Ph.D.Ahtna Noun Dictionary and Pronunciation Guide. Ahtna Heritage Foundation, 2011.
James Kari.Ahtna Athabaskan Dictionary. Alaska Native Language Center. Fairbanks, Alaska, 1990.

Information provided by Wolfgang Kuhl

If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, pleasecontact me.

Information about Ahtna |Numbers

Numbers in Athabaskan languages

Ahtna,Babine-Witsuwit'en,Carrier (Dakelh),Chipewyan,Dane-zaa,Deg Xinag,Gwichʼin,Hän,Hupa,Jicarilla,Kaska,Mescalero-Chiricahua,Navajo,Sekani,South Slavey,Tłı̨chǫ (Dogrib),Tolowa,Tsuut'ina,Western Apache

Numbers in other languages

Alphabetical index |Language family index

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