Alutiiq language

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the Alutiiq people, see Alutiiq.
Not to be confused with Aleut language.
Alutiiq
Pacific Gulf Yupik
Sugt’stun, Alutiit’stun
Native to
Alutiiq people (2010)
Native speakers
80 (2020)[1]
Early forms
Latin
Official status
Official language in
Alaska[2]
Language codes
ISO 639-3ems
Glottologpaci1278
ELPAlutiiq
Pacific Gulf Yupik is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

The Alutiiq language (also called Sugpiak, Sugpiaq,

Central Alaskan Yup'ik language spoken in the western and southwestern Alaska
, but is considered a distinct language. It has two major dialects:

The ethnonyms of the Sugpiaq-Alutiiq are a predicament.[5] Aleut, Alutiiq, Sugpiaq, Russian, Pacific Eskimo, Unegkuhmiut, and Chugach Eskimo are among the terms that have been used to identify this group of Native people living on the Lower Kenai Peninsula of Alaska.

About 400 of the Alutiiq population of 3,000 still speak the Alutiiq language. Alutiiq communities are currently in the process of revitalizing their language. In 2010 the high school in Kodiak responded to requests from students and agreed to teach the Alutiiq language. The Kodiak dialect of the language was spoken by only about 50 persons, all of them elderly, and the dialect was in danger of being lost entirely.[6] As of 2014, Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage is offering classes using the "Where Are Your Keys?" technique.[7]

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular
plain lab. plain lab.
Nasal voiceless m̥ n̥ ŋ̊
voiced m
n
 		ŋ
Affricate
 p
t
 		t͡ʃ k kʷ q
Fricative
 voiceless f s x xʷ χ χʷ[a]
voiced ɣ ɣʷ ʁ ʁʷ
lateral
ɬ
Approximant
l
 		j w[b]
  1. ^ A /χʷ/ sound sometimes occurs, and is either written as ur, or occurs as a sound of a syllable-final rw; /ʁʷ/, and occurs as an allophone of /ʁʷ/ after consonants like /q/.
  2. ^ [w] is an allophone of /ɣʷ/, when at syllable-final and elsewhere.

Consonants may be double and have geminated sounds (e.g. kk; [kː]). More consonants /ɾ~r, lʲ, rʲ/ can only be found in loanwords.

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid ə
Open a

All vowels except for /ə/, are considered as full vowels, distinguished with vowel length. /ə/ does not lengthen, nor occurs into vowel clusters, but may tend to be devoiced as /ə̥/ next to other consonants.[8]

Orthography

  • a - [ä]
  • c - [t͡ʃ]
  • e - [ə]
  • f - [f]
  • g - [x]
  • gw - [xʷ]
  • hm - [m̥]
  • hn - [n̥]
  • hng - [ŋ̊]
  • i - [i]
  • k - [k]
  • kw - [kʷ]
  • l - [
    l
    ]
  • ll - [
    ɬ
    ]
  • m - [m]
  • n - [
    n
    ]
  • ng - [ŋ]
  • p - [p]
  • q - [q]
  • r - [χ]
  • ʀ - [
    r][9]
  • s - [s]
  • t - [
    t
    ]
  • u - [u]
  • w - [w]
  • y - [j]

After voiceless consonants, the voiceless nasals are written without h-.

Other letters

  • aa - [aː]
  • ai - [ai]
  • au - [au]
  • ia - [ia]
  • ii - [iː]
  • iu - [iu]
  • ua - [ua]
  • ui - [ui]
  • uu - [uː][10]

Vocabulary comparison

The comparison of number terms and month names in the two dialects:

English Koniag Alutiiq[11] Chugach Alutiiq[12]
Nanwalek &
Port Graham 		Chenega
1 allringuq / allriluq allringuq all'inguq
2 mal'uk malruk / mall'uk atel'ek
3 pingayun pinga'an
4 staaman
5 talliman
6 arwilgen arwinlen
7 mallrungin mallruungin maquungwin
8 inglulgen inglulen
9 qulnguyan qulnguan
10 qulen
English Koniag Alutiiq[11] Chugach Alutiiq[12]
January Cuqllirpaaq Iraluq
February Nanicqaaq Iraluq Yaʼalungia'aq
March Kaignasqaq Iraluq Ya'alullraaq
April Uqna'isurt'sqaaq Iraluq Saqulegciq
May Nikllit Iraluat Maniit Ya'allua
June Naut'staat Iraluat Iqallugciq
July Amartut Iraluat . .
August Alaganat Iraluat Uksuam Ya'allua
September Qakiiyat Iraluat Alusastuam Ya'allua
October Kakegllum Iralua .
November Quyawim Iralua Kapkaanam Ya'allua
December Qanim Iralua .
English Koniag Alutiiq[11] Chugach Alutiiq[12]

References

  1. ^ The Alaska Native Language Preservation & Advisory Council (2020). 2020 Biennial Report to the Governor and Legislature (PDF).
  2. ^ "Alaska OKs Bill Making Native Languages Official". NPR.org.
  3. ^ a b "List of Alutiiq (Sugpiaq) language resources". uaf.edu. Archived from the original on 2013-02-17.
  4. ^ a b c d Language in the USA, Cambridge University Press, 1981
  5. ^ Medeia Csoba DeHass, What is in a Name?: The Predicament of Ethnonyms in the Sugpiaq-Alutiiq Region of Alaska Archived 2020-05-18 at the Wayback Machine. Arctic Anthropology. January 2012 49:3-17 (= "Aleut," "Alutiiq," "Sugpiaq," "Russian," "Pacific Eskimo," "Unegkuhmiut," and "Chugach Eskimo" are all different names that have been used to identify the group of Native people living on the Lower Kenai Peninsula of Alaska.)
  6. Alaska Public Radio Network
    12-17-2010
  7. ^ Friedman, Sam (2014-02-23). "They're speaking Alutiiq in Anchorage". Washington Times / AP. Retrieved 2014-05-03.
  8. ^ Leer, Jeff (1985). Prosody in Alutiiq. Yupik Eskimo Prosodic Systems: Descriptive and Comparative Studies: Alaska Native Language Center.
  9. ISBN 978-1-929650-09-5. Archived
    (PDF) from the original on 11 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Alutiiq language, alphabet, and pronunciation". Omniglot. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  11. ^ a b c "Alutiiq Museum: Alutiiq Word of the Week Archives". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
  12. ^ a b c "John E. Smelcer, Alutiiq Noun Dictionary and Pronunciation Guide, Common Nouns in Prince William Sound and Kenai Peninsula Region Alutiiq (Excluding Kodiak Island)" (PDF).

Further reading

External links

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