-a'

• IPA^(key): /æʔ/

From Proto-Athabaskan *-eʔ, *-eˑʔ, *-əʔ

• -e' (Toklat-Bearpaw)
• -' (appears after vowels)

-a'

1. Marks a noun as being possessed.

   ‎ak (“shirt”) + ‎-a' → ‎aga' (“one's shirt”)

   seto' ― my father

2. Forms adjectives from verb stems

   ‎botth (“to be round”) + ‎-a' → ‎boddha (“round”)

   ‎tl'ets (“to be dark blue, black”) + ‎-a' → ‎tl'edza' (“black, blue”)

• Some nouns, such as kinship terms, only appear when possessed, and therefore always contain this suffix.
• This suffix is realized as -' in terms ending in vowels.
• Typically triggers voicing of word-final consonants.
• The form -a appears in some adjectives.

-a'

1. to, towards

• Used with some directional words and demonstratives.

• Kari, James et al. (2024), Kari, James, editor, Lower Tanana Dene Dictionary, Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center, →ISBN, page 21