Upper Kuskokwim language
| Upper Kuskokwim | |
|---|---|
| Dinakʼi | |
| Native to | United States |
| Region | Alaska (middle Yukon River, Koyukuk River) |
| Ethnicity | 160 Upper Kuskokwim (2007) |
Native speakers | <5 (2020) |
Dené–Yeniseian?
| |
| Latin (Northern Athabaskan alphabet) | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Alaska |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | kuu |
| Glottolog | uppe1438 |
| ELP | Upper Kuskokwim |
Upper Kuskokwim is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
The Upper Kuskokwim language (also called Kolchan or Goltsan or Dinak'i) is an Athabaskan language of the Na-Dené language family. It is spoken by the Upper Kuskokwim people in the Upper Kuskokwim River villages of Nikolai, Telida, and McGrath, Alaska. About 40 of a total of 160 Upper Kuskokwim people (Dichinanek’ Hwt’ana) still speak the language.
A practical orthography of the language was established by Raymond Collins, who in 1964 began linguistic work at Nikolai.
Since 1990s, the language has also been documented by a Russian linguist Andrej Kibrik.