This is Lingít Word of the Week. Each week, we feature a Lingít word voiced by master speakers. Lingít has been spoken throughout present-day Southeast Alaska and parts of Canada for over 10,000 years.
Gunalchéesh to X̱’unei Lance Twitchell, Goldbelt Heritage Foundation and the University of Alaska Southeast for sharing the recorded audio for this series.
This week’s word is ayawditee, which means ‘it’s stormy.’ Listen to the audio below to learn how to say ayawditee.
The following transcript is meant to help illustrate the words and sentences.
Ḵaakal.áat Florence Marks Sheakley: Ayawditee.
That means “it’s stormy.”
Here are some sentences:
Ḵaakal.áat Florence Marks Sheakley: Ḵúnáx̱ ayawditee yáa yagiyee.
It is very stormy today.
Keihéenák’w John Martin: Táakwxʼ tlákw haa káa ayawditee táakwt ḵuwuhaayí.
In the winter, it is always stormy on us when winter comes.
Keiyishí Bessie Cooley: Aatlein ayamditee, déix̱ sándi x̱ʼáak shuwaxeex.
It was really windy for two weeks.
You can hear each installment of Lingít Word of the Week on the radio throughout the week.
Additional language resources:
Find biographies for the master speakers included in this lesson here.
Learn more about why we use Lingít instead of Tlingit here.
