Tanacross Learners' Dictionary
The headwords, or main entries, in the dictionary are in English, listed alphabetically. In this online version English headwords are grouped alphabetically by the first letter of the headword. Use the alphabet navigation banner to navigate to different headwords. At this time there are no search facilities available.
English headwords are given in bold face type
Tanacross subentries are given in plain type, followed by an English definition in italics. Where the headword already serves as a definition, the English definition is omitted.
Tanacross examples are given in green type, followed by an English translation in green italics
Where an audio recording is available, a small CD icon (
)
occurs immediately following the Tanacross form and preceding the English.
Clicking the speaker will open an mp3 sound file in your browser. Use your browsers' BACK button to return to the dictionary.
Comments are in italic orange text
Cross-references are in bold red type. Clicking on the cross-reference navigates to the page corresponding to the first letter of the cross-reference word.
Verb paradigms are given in a table with six cells (2 columns, 3 rows) displaying verb forms in a standard pattern corresponding to the six major person categories, as follows:
| I | we |
| you | you all |
| he, she, it | they |
Paradigms are labeled as imperfective or perfective, according to whether they refer to the ongoing or completed form of the verb, respectively. (See grammar section for more information.)
The Tanacross forms in this dictionary are encoded in a Unicode font. In order to see the forms correctly displayed, be sure your browswer is set to display unicode characters. Note that even when properly configured some browsers may incorrectly display some unicode characters, such as the nasal hook ( ̨ ). If you see sqare boxes where you expect to see Tanacross words, your browswer is not correctly configured to display unicode text.
Usually only one form of the English headword is listed in the dictionary. For example, run is headword but not running or ran. The English used for headwords is somewhat informal, reflecting everyday speech, and some idioms and phrases are headwords. For example, used to, day after tomorrow and right away are headwords. English words that have very different meanings but are spelled the same (known as homonyms) have been split into different headwords with clarification added in parentheses to make the sense clear. For example, like (enjoy) and like (similar) are separate headwords. English words that can be used as both nouns and verbs are combined under one headword. For example, the headword BOAT has words for both boats and the activity of boating. Place names commonly used in the Tanacross area are headwords, even if these names differ from official versions. So Sam Lake is a headword even though the official name is Sand Lake, and this fact is noted within the entry. Headwords for birds and animals are also the commonly used forms. Hence crow and raven are headwords, both referring to the same species.
Tanacross does not distinguish gender in pronouns. Thus, in many cases a Tanacross word can be translated into English with he, she, it or his, her, its. In the dictionary translations of such Tanacross words or sentences include all the English pronouns except when restricted by limitations of usage of the Tanacross word (for example, some words are only used for people) or real-world limitations. Note that for some nouns, where the English and Tanacross correspond exactly, the headword itself serves as the translation if there is no other information in the entry.
Tanacross words are written as pronounced in moderately slow, deliberate speech. As with all languages, speakers may pronounce words a bit differently during normal conversation.
Tone is an integral part of the Tanacross language. Tone is written in the Tanacross Learner's Dictionary as it occurs in the words and sentences in the dictionary. Users are cautioned that many Tanacross verbs will have a different sequence of tones depending on what word precedes the verb in a sentence. If in doubt consult the accompanying recordings.
Individual entries often have multiple parts. For instance, more than one Tanacross word may be used for a single English concept, or one English entry may have multiple meanings or uses. Concepts closely related to the headword are sometimes included. Many entries include one or more example sentences showing the Tanacross word used in a larger context. Entries may also include information about alternate pronunciation, literal translations and the association of Tanacross words to other headwords in the dictionary.
An important part of the Tanacross Learner's Dictionary are the comments included in some entries. Comments, written as full sentences, are designed to help users with correct word use. Comments steer users to the appropriate Tanacross word in cases where one English concept has multiple Tanacross words or where one Tanacross word has a range of possible uses that differs from English. Comments also provide information about differences between English and Tanacross usage and the cultural appropriateness or restrictions on using words or phrases.
It is important to remember that there is more to speaking a language than knowing words, the correct shape of words or how the words link together to form meaningful speech. There are also social considerations. After all, the major use of language is to communicate with other people, and a language cannot be separated from the people who speak it.
A very important concept when learning Tanacross language is the cultural idea of injih. This word is usually translated as ‘taboo’, but injih means more that English word (itself borrowed from Austronesian languages) usually implies. Rather, it is associated with a whole range of attitudes and social conventions about what is appropriate to do or say because of the consequences that may result. injih is more than impolite or bad manners; it is serious. For instance, traditionally it was bad manners to ask an adult their age (much as in modern culture, especially of women). However, this was not felt to be injih.
There are many subjects that have some aspects of injih associated with them. It is injih to tell certain stories except at certain times of the year or by certain people. In general it is injih to talk boastfully about yourself. For example, nihsųų ‘I am pretty, handsome’ is perfectly understandable Tanacross language but it is injih to say so. It is ‘inviting’, so to speak, something to happen to you so that you will then not be pretty or handsome.
Tanacross Elders working on the dictionary have requested that some words that are associated with injih subjects be noted as such within the entry for the word. Note that this does not mean such words should never be used. Rather, the appropriate use of such words must be learned from Tanacross culture and cannot be learned from the dictionary.
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