-ɬ

From Proto-Athabaskan *-ɬ. Congate with Ahtna -ł, and related to the ɬ-classifier and the postposition eɬ.

• IPA^(key): /ɬ/

-ɬ

1. Forms instrumental nouns.

   ‎dhu- (“branch, tube”) + ‎-ɬ → ‎-dhuɬ (“windpipe”)

   ‎gha (“to carry on the back”) + ‎-ɬ → ‎xaɬ (“backpack, burden”)

   ‎ghwt (“haul by sled”) + ‎-ɬ → ‎xwtl (“sled”)

   ‎ta (“to recline”) + ‎-ɬ → ‎taɬ (“mat”)

   ‎tl'u (“to tie”) + ‎-ɬ → ‎tl'uɬ (“rope”)

2. (rare) Derives verb roots from other roots

   ‎-dho (“mouth”) + ‎-ɬ → ‎dhoɬ (“to yawn”)

   ‎gha (“to carry on the back”) + ‎-ɬ → ‎ghaɬ (“to bundle up”)

   ‎tl'u (“to tie”) + ‎-ɬ → ‎tl'uɬ (“to braid”)

• This suffix + a root ending in -t results in -tl (/tɬʰ/).
• Some nouns contain this suffix but do not correspond to a clear root, such as sudziɬ (“ice chisel”), duɬ (“firewood”), and goɬ (“small game snare”).
• Cognates of the words srex (“gaff hook”) and tthek (“caribou fence”) contain this suffix in related languages, but have apparently been lost in Lower Tanana.

• Kari, James et al. (2024), Kari, James, editor, Lower Tanana Dene Dictionary, Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center, →ISBN, pages 35-36