Eskimo–Aleut language spoken in southwestern Alaska
For the Alutiiq people, see Alutiiq.
Not to be confused with Aleut language.
Alutiiq
Pacific Gulf Yupik
Sugt’stun, Alutiit’stun
Native to
United States
Region
coastal Alaska (Alaska Peninsula to Prince William Sound)
Ethnicity
3,500 Alutiiq people (2010)
Native speakers
80 (2020)[1]
Language family
Eskaleut
Eskimo
Yupik
Alutiiq
Early forms
Proto-Eskimo–Aleut
Proto-Eskimo
Proto-Yupik
Writing system
Latin
Official status
Official language in
Alaska[2]
Language codes
ISO 639-3
ems
Glottolog
paci1278
ELP
Alutiiq
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,[3]Sugcestun,[4]Suk,[4]Supik,[3][4]Pacific Gulf Yupik, Gulf Yupik,[4]Koniag-Chugach) is a close relative to the Central Alaskan Yup'ik language spoken in the western and southwestern Alaska, but is considered a distinct language. It has two major dialects:
Koniag Alutiiq: spoken on the upper part of the Alaska Peninsula and on Kodiak Island; it was also spoken on Afognak Island before that was deserted by the people in the wake of the 1964 Good Friday earthquake.
Chugach Alutiiq: spoken on the Kenai Peninsula and in Prince William Sound.
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]
^The Alaska Native Language Preservation & Advisory Council (2020). 2020 Biennial Report to the Governor and Legislature(PDF).
^"Alaska OKs Bill Making Native Languages Official". NPR.org.
^ ab"List of Alutiiq (Sugpiaq) language resources". uaf.edu. Archived from the original on 2013-02-17.
^ abcdLanguage in the USA, Cambridge University Press, 1981
^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.)
^Kodiak High School Adding Alutiiq Language Class Archived 2021-05-05 at the Wayback Machine, Jacob Resneck KMXT/Alaska Public Radio Network 12-17-2010
^Friedman, Sam (2014-02-23). "They're speaking Alutiiq in Anchorage". Washington Times / AP. Retrieved 2014-05-03.
The Alutiiqlanguage (also called Sugpiak, Sugpiaq, Sugcestun, Suk, Supik, Pacific Gulf Yupik, Gulf Yupik, Koniag-Chugach) is a close relative to the Central...
The Alutiiq people (pronounced /əˈluːtɪk/ ə-LOO-tik in English; from Promyshlenniki Russian Алеутъ, "Aleut"; plural often "Alutiit"), also called by their...
Alaska. The Chugach people are an Alutiiq (Pacific Native) people who speak the Chugach dialect of the Alutiiqlanguage. Their autonym Sugpiaq derives from...
within the government. The 20 languages that were included in the bill are: Inupiaq Siberian Yupik Central Alaskan Yup'ik Alutiiq Unangax Dena'ina Deg Xinag...
locally as Old Russian, is a dialect of Russian influenced by the Alutiiqlanguage spoken by Alaskan Creoles. Most of its speakers live on Kodiak Island...
related to the Inuit and Iñupiat. Yupik peoples include the following: Alutiiq, or Sugpiaq, of the Alaska Peninsula and coastal and island areas of southcentral...
Kodiak Island (Alutiiq: Qikertaq, Russian: Кадьяк) is a large island on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, separated from the Alaska mainland...
'People of the Tides'. The Russian name Koloshi (Колоши, from a Sugpiaq-Alutiiq term kulut'ruaq for the labret worn by women) or the related German name...
(born 1967) (Alutiiq) is an American anthropologist who specializes in documenting and preserving the language and culture of the Alutiiq. He served, from...
April 2008. "Bear". Alutiiq Museum. 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-02-01. Retrieved 2017-07-21. "Kodiak AlutiiqLanguage Level I & II Teaching...
other parts of the state. The inlet was first explored and settled by Alutiiq people, tribes of coastal-dwelling Pacific Eskimos, beginning around 6000...
(plural) (Aleut); and ciqlluaq (Alutiiq ~ Sugpiaq) were the traditional, main or communal dwelling used by the Alutiiq people and Aleuts, the indigenous...
bilabial nasal (stop) is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this...
Alaska. The Chugach people are an Alutiiq (Pacific Eskimo) people who speak the Chugach dialect of the Alutiiqlanguage. In 1898 United States Army Captain...
three or more. This is the case for Sanskrit, North Mansi, and Alutiiq. In languages with a facultative dual, two of something can be referred to using...
The Alutiiq Museum or Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository is a non-profit museum and cultural center dedicated to preserving and sharing the...
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