 | This article shouldspecify the language of its non-English content, using{{langx}},{{transliteration}} for transliterated languages, and{{IPA}} for phonetic transcriptions, with an appropriateISO 639 code. Wikipedia'smultilingual support templates may also be used - notably ems for Pacific Gulf Yupik.See why.(January 2025) |
| Alutiiq | |
|---|---|
| Pacific Gulf Yupik | |
| Sugt’stun, Alutiit’stun | |
| Native to | United States |
| Region | coastalAlaska (Alaska Peninsula toPrince William Sound) |
| Ethnicity | 3,500Alutiiq people (2010) |
Native speakers | 80 (2020)[1] |
Early forms | |
| 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 theUNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
TheAlutiiq language (also calledSugpiak,Sugpiaq,[3]Sugcestun,[4]Suk,[4]Supik,[3][4]Pacific Gulf Yupik,Gulf Yupik,[4]Koniag-Chugach) is a close relative to theCentral Alaskan Yup'ik language spoken in the western and southwesternAlaska, but is considered a distinct language.
Theethnonyms of the Sugpiaq-Alutiiq are a predicament.[5]Aleut,Alutiiq,Sugpiaq,Russian,Pacific Eskimo,Unegkuhmiut, andChugach 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 theAlutiiq 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 inKodiak 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 inAnchorage is offering classes using the "Where Are Your Keys?" technique.[7]
It has two major dialects:
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | lab. | plain | lab. | |||||
| Nasal | voiceless | m̥ | n̥ | ŋ̊ | ||||
| voiced | m | n | ŋ | |||||
| Stop/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] | |||||
Consonants may be geminated (e.g.kk;[kː]). Two consecutive identical consonants are pronounced either separately or as a geminate depending on dialect.[8] More consonants/ɾ~r,lʲ,rʲ/ are found in loanwords.
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Mid | ə | ||
| Open | a |
All vowels except/ə/ are considered full vowels and can be either short or long./ə/ does not lengthen and does not occur in vowel clusters but may tend to be devoiced as[ə̥] next to other consonants.[9]
After voiceless consonants, the voiceless nasals are written without h-.
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] | ||
| Aleut |  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eskimoan |
| ||||
| See also | |||||
| |||||
| Indigenous | |
|---|---|
| Sign languages | |
| Non-Indigenous | |
