The Yupik languages are the several distinct languages of the several Yupik (Юпик) peoples of western and southcentral Alaska and northeastern Siberia. The Yupik or in the Central Alaskan Yup'ik language, Yup'ik, are a group of indigenous or aboriginal peoples of western southwestern and southcentral Alaska ( Аляска Alyaska) is a state in the United States of America, in the northwest of the North American continent Siberia (Сиби́рь Sibir) is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving The Yupik languages differ enough from one another that speakers of different ones cannot understand each other, although they may understand the general idea of a conversation of speakers of another of the languages.
The Yupik languages are in the family of Eskimo-Aleut languages. Eskimo-Aleut is a Language family native to Greenland, the Canadian Arctic, Alaska, and parts of Siberia. The Aleut and Eskimo languages diverged about 2000 B. Aleut ( Unangam Tunuu) is a language of the Eskimo-Aleut Language family. Eskimos or Esquimaux are Indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia ( Russia) across C. , and the Yupik languages diverged from each other and from the Inuit language about 1000 A. The Inuit language is traditionally spoken across the North American Arctic and to some extent in the Subarctic in Labrador. D.
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Geographic distribution of Yupik languages
The Yupik languages are:
- Naukanski (also Naukan): spoken by perhaps 100 people in and around the villages of Laurence (Лаврентия), Lorino (Лорино), and Whalen (Уэлен) on the Chukotka Peninsula of Eastern Siberia.
- Central Siberian Yupik (also Yupigestun, Akuzipik, Siberian Yupik, Siberian Yupik Eskimo, Central Siberian Yupik Eskimo, St. Siberian Yupik (also known as Central Siberian Yupik, Bering Strait Yupik, Yuit, Yoit, or Yuk) is the language of the Siberian Lawrence Island Yupik, Yuit, Asiatic Eskimo, Jupigyt, Yupihyt, Bering Strait Yupik): spoken by the majority of Yupik in the Russian Far East and by the people on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Russian Far East (Да́льний Восто́к Росси́и ˈdalʲnʲɪj vʌˈstok rʌˈsʲiɪ is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i St Lawrence Island is located west of mainland Alaska in the Bering Sea, just south of the Bering Strait, at about 64° North 170° 1928' West Most of the 1,000 Yupiks on St. Lawrence Island still speak the St. Lawrence dialect of this language. About 300 of the 1,000 Siberian Yupiks in Russia still speak the Chaplino dialect of this language.
- Central Alaskan Yup'ik (also Central Yup’ik, Yup’ik, West Alaska Eskimo): spoken on the Alaska mainland from Norton Sound down to the Alaska Peninsula and on some islands such as Nunivak. Central Alaskan Yup'ik (also called Yupik, Yup'ik, or Central Yup'ik) is a Yupik language of the Eskimo-Aleut language group Norton Sound is an inlet of the Bering Sea on the western coast of the U The Alaska Peninsula is a Peninsula extending about 800 km (500 miles to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. Nunivak Island, the second largest island in the Bering Sea, is a Permafrost -covered Volcanic Island lying about 48 km (30 miles offshore from The name of this language is sometimes spelled Yup’ik because the speakers say the name of the language with an elongated 'p'; all the other languages call their language Yupik. Of the about 21,000 Central Alaskan Yupiks, some 13,000 still speak this language. There are several dialects of Central Alaskan Yupik. The largest dialect, General Central Yupik or Yugtun, is spoken in the Yukon River, Nelson Island, Kuskokwim River, and Bristol Bay areas. The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. Nelson Island ( Qaluyaaq in Central Yup'ik) is an Island in the Bethel Census Area of southwestern Alaska. The Kuskokwim River is the 9th largest river in the United States of America ranked by average discharge volume at its mouth 17th Bristol Bay ( Iilgayaq in Central Yup'ik) is the eastern-most arm of the Bering Sea, at 57° to 59° North 157° to 162° West There are three other Central Alaskan Yupik dialects: Norton Sound, Hooper Bay/Chevak, and Nunivak Island (called Cup’ik or Cup’ig). Norton Sound is an inlet of the Bering Sea on the western coast of the U Hooper Bay or Naparyarmiut is a city in Wade Hampton Census Area, Alaska, United States. Chevak ( Cev'aq in Central Yup'ik) is a city in Wade Hampton Census Area, Alaska, United States. Nunivak Island, the second largest island in the Bering Sea, is a Permafrost -covered Volcanic Island lying about 48 km (30 miles offshore from The dialects differ in pronunciation and in vocabulary. Within the General Central Yupik dialect there are geographic subdialects which differ mostly in word choices.
- Alutiiq (also Pacific Gulf Yupik, Pacific Yupik, Chugach, or Sugpiaq): is spoken from the Alaska Peninsula eastward to Prince William Sound. The Alutiiq language (also called Sugpiak, Sugpiaq, Pacific Gulf Yupik, Chugach, Koniag-Chugach, Suk, Sugcestun The Alaska Peninsula is a Peninsula extending about 800 km (500 miles to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. Prince William Sound is a sound of the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U There are about 3,000 Alutiiqs, but only 500 – 1,000 people still speak this language. The Alutiiq (plural Alutiit) also called Pacific Yupik or Sugpiaq, are a southern coastal people of the Yupik peoples of Alaska. The Koniag dialect is spoken on the south side of the Alaska Peninsula and on Kodiak Island. The Alaska Peninsula is a Peninsula extending about 800 km (500 miles to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. Kodiak Island is a large island on the south coast of the US state of Alaska, separated from the Alaska mainland by the Shelikof Strait. The Chugach dialect is spoken on the Kenai Peninsula and in Prince William Sound. Kenai1jpg|thumb|Kenai Peninsula Outer Coast]]The Kenai Peninsula is a large Peninsula jutting from the southern coast of Alaska in the United States. Prince William Sound is a sound of the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U
Sounds
Consonants
Central Yup’ik Consonants:
c (ts/ch), g (ɣ) (velar fricative), gg (x) (unvoiced velar fricative), k, l (ɮ) (alveolar lateral fricative), ll (ɬ) (unvoiced alveolar lateral fricative), m, ḿ (voiceless m), n (alveolar), ń (voiceless n), ng (ŋ), ńg (voiceless ŋ), p, q (uvular stop), r (ʁ) (uvular fricative), rr (χ) (voiceless uvular fricative), s (z), ss (s), t (alveolar), û (w), v (v/w), vv (f), w (χw), y, ’ (gemination of preceding consonant)
| Labial | Labio-dental | Alveolar | Velar | Uvular | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | p | t | k | q | |
| Affricate | c [ʧ] | ||||
| Fricative | v [v, w] vv [f] | s [z] ss [s] | g [ɣ] gg [x] | r [ʀ] rr [χ] | |
| Nasal | m | n ń [n̥] | ng [ŋ] ńg [ŋ̊] | ||
| Lateral | l [ɮ] ll [ɬ] | ||||
| Semivowel | û [w] | y [j] |
Vowels
Yupik languages have four vowels: 'a', 'i', 'u' and schwa. Phonation has slightly different meanings depending on the subfield of Phonetics. Fricatives are Consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior Alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli (the sockets Laterals are "L"-like Consonants pronounced with an occlusion made somewhere along the axis of the tongue while air from the lungs escapes at one side or both Uvulars are Consonants articulated with the back of the Tongue against or near the uvula, that is further back in the mouth than Velar consonants The voiceless uvular fricative is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet In Phonetics, gemination happens when a spoken Consonant is pronounced for an audibly longer period of time than a short Consonant. Labials are consonants articulated either with both lips ( bilabial articulation or with the lower lip and the upper teeth ( labiodental articulation In Phonetics, labiodentals are Consonants articulated with the lower Lip and the upper Teeth. Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior Alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli (the sockets Uvulars are Consonants articulated with the back of the Tongue against or near the uvula, that is further back in the mouth than Velar consonants Affricate Consonants begin as stops (most often an alveolar, such as or) but release as a fricative (such as or or occasionally into Fricatives are Consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together A nasal consonant (also called nasal stop or nasal continuant) is produced with a lowered velum in the mouth allowing air to escape freely through the Laterals are "L"-like Consonants pronounced with an occlusion made somewhere along the axis of the tongue while air from the lungs escapes at one side or both Semivowels — also known as glides or non-syllabic vowels —are Vowels that form Diphthongs with full syllabic vowels In Phonetics, a vowel is a Sound in spoken Language, such as English ah! or oh!, pronounced with an open Vocal tract In Linguistics, specifically Phonetics and Phonology, schwa can mean the following An unstressed and toneless neutral They have from 13 to 27 consonants. In Articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a Speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the upper Vocal tract, the upper vocal
Central Yup’ik Vowels:
a, aa, e (ə) (schwa), i, ii, u, uu
(In proximity to the uvular consonants 'q', 'r' or 'rr', the vowel 'i' is pronounced as a closed /e/, and 'u' as a closed /o/. Uvulars are Consonants articulated with the back of the Tongue against or near the uvula, that is further back in the mouth than Velar consonants )
Syllable
Grammar
The Yupik languages, like other Eskimo-Aleut languages, represent a particular type of agglutinative language called a polysynthetic language: it "synthesizes" a root and various grammatical affixes to create long words with sentence-like meanings. An agglutinative language is a Language that uses Agglutination extensively most Words are formed by joining Morphemes together Polysynthetic languages are highly Synthetic languages ie languages in which words are composed of many Morphemes Definition The degree of The root is the primary lexical unit of a Word, which carries the most significant aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents An affix is a Morpheme that is attached to a stem to form a word
Writing systems
The Yupik languages were not written until the arrival of Europeans around the beginning of the 19th century. The earliest efforts at writing Yupik were those of missionaries who, with their Yupik-speaking assistants, translated the Bible and other religious texts into Yupik. Such efforts as those of Saint Innocent of Alaska, Reverend John Hinz (see John Henry Kilbuck) and Uyaquk had the limited goals of transmitting religious beliefs in written form. Saint Innocent of Alaska ( August 26, 1797 - March 31, 1879) also known as Saint Innocent of Moscow was a Russian Orthodox John Henry Kilbuck (sometimes spelled Killbuck) and his wife Edith (Romig Kilbuck, were Moravian missionaries in southwestern Alaska in the Uyaquk (sometimes spelled Uyakoq) was a Yupik Moravian missionary and linguistic Genius who went from being an illiterate adult
In addition to the Alaskan Inupiat, the Alaskan and Siberian Yupik adopted the writing system based on roman orthography that was originally developed by Moravian missionaries in Greenland beginning in the 1760s, which the missionaries later transported to Labrador. The Inupiat or Iñupiaq (from inuit- people - and piaq/t real i Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat meaning "Land of the Greenlanders" Grønland is a self-governing Danish Province located between the Modern Labrador Just like its island neighbour Newfoundland early settlement in Labrador was tied to the sea as demonstrated by the Montagnais, Innu and The Alaskans were the only Northern indigenous peoples to develop hieroglyphics. Hieroglyph ( Greek grc-Grek ἱερογλύφος " sacred carving " or hieroglyphics ( = grc-Grek τὰ ἱερογλυφικά [1]
After the United States purchased Alaska, Yupik children were taught to write English with Latin letters in the public schools. The Alaska Purchase (otherwise known as Seward's Folly or Seward's Icebox) by the United States from the Russian Empire occurred in 1867 at the behest Some were also taught the Yupik script developed by Rev. Hinz, which used Latin letters and which had become the most widespread method for writing Yupik. In Russia, most Yupik were taught to read and write only Russian, but a few scholars wrote Yupik using Cyrillic letters.
In the 1960s, the University of Alaska assembled a group of scholars and native Yupik speakers who developed a script to replace the Hinz writing system. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 The University of Alaska is a land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant university founded in 1917 in Fairbanks, Alaska. One of the goals of this script was that it could be input from an English keyboard, without diacriticals or extra letters. Another requirement was that it accurately represent each phoneme in the language with a distinct letter. The phoneME project is Sun Microsystems reference implementation of Java virtual machine and associated libraries of Java ME with source licensed under the GNU A few features of the script are that it uses 'q' for the back version of 'k', 'r' for the Yupik sound that resembles the French 'r', and consonant + ’ for a geminated (lengthened) consonant. The rhythmic doubling of vowels (except schwa) in every second consecutive open syllable is not indicated in the orthography unless it comes at the end of a word.
Footnotes
- ^ Project Naming, the identification of Inuit portrayed in photographic collections at Library and Archives Canada
External links
- The Asiatic (Siberian) Eskimos
- Alaskan Orthodox texts (Yup'ik)
- Ayaprun Elitnaurvik - Yupik Immersion School
- Nunivak Island Cup'ig Language Preliminary Dictionary
Bibliography
- Campbell, Lyle. (1997). American Indian languages: The historical linguistics of Native America. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-509427-1.
- Mithun, Marianne. (1999). The languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23228-7 (hbk); ISBN 0-521-29875-X.
- de Reuse, Willem J. (1994). Siberian Yupik Eskimo: The language and its contacts with Chukchi. Studies in indigenous languages of the Americas. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press. ISBN 0-87480-397-7.
- "The Inuktitut Language" in Project Naming, the identification of Inuit portrayed in photographic collections at Library and Archives Canada
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