Reconstruction:Proto-Athabaskan/-ɬ

This Proto-Athabaskan entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Athabaskan

Alternative reconstructions

Some sources (e.g. Leer 2010) record it as *-ł, an orthographic variant of *-ɬ

Etymology 1

From Proto-Na-Dene *-ɬ. Related to the *ɬə-classifier (causative prefix) and the postposition *əɬ (“with”).^[1]

Suffix

*-ɬ

Forms instrumental nouns from verbs

Derived terms

Proto-Athabaskan terms suffixed with *-ɬ

Reconstruction:Proto-Athabaskan/te̓ˑɬ

Reconstruction:Proto-Athabaskan/tɬʼuˑɬ

Reconstruction:Proto-Athabaskan/x̣ɑλ

Reconstruction:Proto-Athabaskan/ɢaˑɬ

Reconstruction:Proto-Athabaskan/χeˑɬ

References

Leer, Jeff (1996), Comparative Athabaskan Lexicon‎^[1], Alaska Native Language Archive
Jeff Leer (2010), “The palatal series in Athabascan-Eyak-Tlingit, with an overview of the basic sound correspondences”, in Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska: The Dene-Yeniseian, Fairbanks, Alaska: University of Alaska Press

^ Kari, James et al. (2024), Kari, James, editor, Lower Tanana Dene Dictionary, Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center, →ISBN, page 35

Etymology 2

From Proto-Na-Dene *-ł

Suffix

*-ɬ

A progressive and future suffix

Descendants

Northern Athabaskan:
- Ahtna: ł- (classifier), Ahtna: -ł
- Dena'ina: -ł (in future/progressive mode verb stems)
- Lower Tanana: ɬ- (classifier), -ɬ (in future/progressive mode verb stems)
Pacific Coast Athabaskan:
- Wailaki: -ł (in future mode verb stems)
Souther Athabaskan:
- Navajo: ł- (classifier); -ł (in future/progressive mode verb stems)

References

Sharon Hargus; Keren Rice (2005), Athabaskan Prosody, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 5

[1] Kari, James et al. (2024), Kari, James, editor, Lower Tanana Dene Dictionary, Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center, →ISBN, page 35

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