Dís — Moon or month

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 dís, which means moon or month. Listen to the audio below to learn how to say dís.

The following transcript is meant to help illustrate the words and sentences. 

Keihéenák’w John Martin: dís. 

That means moon, or month.

Here are some sentences:

Keihéenák’w John Martin: Dís haa tuwáa kalitéesʼshan.

We enjoy watching the moon.

Keiyishí Bessie Coolie: Tleidooshú yaawax̱ée wé dís.

Six months have gone by.

Ḵaakal.áat Florence Marks Sheakley: Lig̱éi wé dís.

The moon was bright.

Kaxwaan Éesh George Davis:  Góosʼ tóox̱ akdagáan dís daak wuxeexí. 

The moon is shining through the clouds as it comes out.

You can hear each installment of Lingít Word of the Week on the radio throughout the week. 

Additional resources:

Find biographies for the master speakers included in this lesson here.

Learn more about why we use Lingít instead of Tlingit here.