Lingít Word of the Week: Neech — Beach
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 neech, which means beach or shoreline. Listen to the audio below to learn how to say neech.https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/neechweb_mixdown.mp3
The following transcript is meant to help illustrate the words and sentences.
Here are some sentences:
Ḵaakal.áat Florence Marks Sheakley: Neechdéi nagú!
Go to the beach!
Keiyishí Bessie Coolie: Neech káx̱ yaa nagút wé sʼeek tlein.
That big black bear is walking on the beach.
Keihéenák’w John Martin: Yakʼéi haa atx̱aayí yá neech dáx̱.
We get our good food from the beach.
You can hear each installment of Lingít Word of the Week on the radio throughout the week.
Find biographies for the master speakers included in this lesson here.
Learn more about why we use Lingít instead of Tlingit here.
Juneau is built on hidden and assumed layers of power and access, influencing how we interact with identity, with the law and with each other. I bring you stories of the gaps in access to power, and those who are working to close those gaps.
Top Alaska stories delivered to your inbox every week
