Ahtna or Ahtena is the Na-Dené language of the Ahtna

Ahtna

The Ahtna are one of the tribes of Athabaskan people in Alaska. The tribe's homeland is located in the Copper River area of southern Alaska, and the name Ahtna derives from the local name for the Copper River...

 ethnic group of the Copper River

Copper River (Alaska)

The Copper River or Ahtna River is a 300-mile river in south-central Alaska in the United States. It drains a large region of the Wrangell Mountains and Chugach Mountains into the Gulf of Alaska...

 area of Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

. The language is also known as Copper River or Mednovskiy. There are 80 speakers out of a population of 500, and the language is facing extinction but many younger people are learning it to try to keep it from extinction.

The Ahtna language consists of four different dialects, three of the four are still spoken today. Ahtna closely related to Dena'ina.

The similar name "Atnah" occurs in the journals of Simon Fraser

Simon Fraser (explorer)

Simon Fraser was a fur trader and an explorer who charted much of what is now the Canadian province of British Columbia. Fraser was employed by the Montreal-based North West Company. By 1805, he had been put in charge of all the company's operations west of the Rocky Mountains...

 and other early European diarists in what is now British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 as a reference to the Tsilhqot'in

Tsilhqot'in

The Tsilhqot'in are a Northern Athabaskan First Nations people that live in British Columbia, Canada...

 people, another Northern Athapaskan group.

Dialects and Bands

There are four main dialect divisions and eight bands (tribal unions):

• Lower Ahtna (own name Atnahwt’aene)
  • Chitina/Taral Band
  • Tonsina/Klutina Band
• Central Ahtna or Middle Ahtna (own name Atnahwt’aene)
  • Gulkona/Gakona Band
• Western Ahtna (own name Tsaay Hwt’aene)
  • Tyone/Mendeltna Band
  • Cantwell/Denali Band
• Upper Ahtna (own name Tatl’ahwt’aene)
  • Sanford River/Chistochina Band
  • Slana/Batzulnetas Band
  • Mentasta Band

Vocabulary comparison

The comparison of some animal names in the three Athabaskan languages:

Ahtna	Tanacross Tanacross language Tanacross is an endangered Athabaskan language spoken by fewer than 60 persons in eastern Interior Alaska.- Overview :The word Tanacross Tanacross (also Transitional Tanana) is an endangered Athabaskan language spoken by fewer than 60 persons in eastern Interior Alaska.- Overview :The word...	Upper Tanana	meaning
udzih	wudzih	bedzeyh	caribou
ggax	gah	gwx	rabbit Rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
tsa’	tsá’	tso’	beaver Beaver The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
dzen	dzenh	dzenh	muskrat Muskrat The muskrat , the only species in genus Ondatra, is a medium-sized semi-aquatic rodent native to North America, and introduced in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands and is a very successful animal over a wide range of climates and habitats...
niduuyi	niidûuy	niduuy	lynx Lynx A lynx is any of the four Lynx genus species of medium-sized wildcats. The name "lynx" originated in Middle English via Latin from Greek word "λύγξ", derived from the Indo-European root "*leuk-", meaning "light, brightness", in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes...
debae	demee	deba	Dall sheep Dall Sheep The Dall sheep , Ovis dalli, is a species of sheep native to northwestern North America, ranging from white to slate brown in color and having curved yellowish brown horns...
sos	shos	sresr	bear Bear Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
dliigi	dlêg	dlega	squirrel Squirrel Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
łuk’ae	łuk’a	łuk’a	salmon Salmon Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...