Alternate Names: “Chipewyan” (pej.), Dëne Súline
Dialects: Yellowknife.
Status Notes: Recognized language (1988, NWT Official Languages Act, Chapter 56 (Supplemented), Section 4), restricted official use.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 11,900 (2011 census).
Language Use: Very few readers of Dëne. In La Loche some children still learn Dëne. Proportion of speakers much higher in some remote areas where some children are more fluent in Dëne than English [eng]. Also use English [eng].
Language Development: Literacy rate in L1: 1%–5%. Literacy rate in L2: 25%–50%. Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 1881.
Writing System: Latin
Nation of Origin: Canada
Other Comments: Ethnonym: Chipewyan was an enemy’s term for them; Dëne, the people, in several Athapaskan languages.