Eyak language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Eyak I.ya.q | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | USA | |
| Region: | Cordova, Alaska | |
| Total speakers: | 1 | |
| Language family: | Na-Dené Athabaskan-Eyak Eyak | |
| Writing system: | Latin | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | none | |
| ISO 639-2: | — | |
| ISO 639-3: | eya | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
Eyak is a moribund Na-Dené language that was historically spoken in southcentral Alaska, near the mouth of the Copper River.
Marie Smith (born 1918) of Cordova is the language's last speaker. She was also the last full blooded Eyak. Because of the dying off of its native speakers, Eyak has become a poster child for the fight against language extinction.
It should be noted that the spread of English and suppression of aboriginal languages by American authorities are not the only reason for the decline of the Eyak language. The northward migration of the Tlingit people around Yakutat in precontact times encouraged the use of Tlingit rather than Eyak along much of the Pacific Coast of Alaska. Eyak was also under pressure from its neighbors to the west, the Alutiiq people of Prince William Sound, as well as some pressure from the people of the Copper River valley. Eyak and Tlingit culture began to merge along the Gulf Coast, and a number of Eyak speaking groups were absorbed by the Gulf Coast Tlingit populations. This resulted in the replacement of Eyak by Tlingit among most of the mixed groups after a few generations, as reported in Tlingit oral histories of the area. This process was however entirely voluntary, in stark contrast to the coercive efforts of the U.S. government during the territorial era.
The closest relatives of Eyak are the Athabaskan languages. The Eyak-Athabaskan cluster, together with Tlingit, forms a basic division of the Na-Dené language phylum.
Numerous Tlingit place names along the Gulf Coast are derived from names in Eyak; they have obscure or even nonsensical meanings in Tlingit, but oral tradition has maintained many Eyak etymologies. The existence of Eyak-derived Tlingit names along most of the coast towards southeast Alaska is strong evidence that the prehistoric range of Eyak was once far greater than it was at the time of European contact. This confirms both Tlingit and Eyak oral histories of migration throughout the region.
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[edit] Consonants
Bilabial Alveolar Postalveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal central lateral plain labial Stop unaspirated d [t] g [k] gw [kʷ] g̣ [q] aspirated t [tʰ] k [kʰ] q [qʰ] ejective t' [t’] k' [k’] q' [q’] ' [ʔ] Affricate unaspirated dz [ts] dl [tɬ] j [tʃ] aspirated ts [tsʰ] tl [tɬʰ] ch [tʃʰ] ejective ts' [ts’] tl' [tɬ’] ch' [tʃ’] Fricative s [s] ł [ɬ] sh [ʃ] x [x] xw [xʷ] x̣ [χ] h [h] Nasal m [m] n [n] Approximant w [w] l [l] y [j]
[edit] Vowels
Tense/Long Lax/Short front central back front central back close i. [i:] u. [u:] i [ɪ] u [ʊ] mid e. [e:] e [ɛ]/æ [ɛ] a [ə] open a. [a:] a [a]
Vowels followed by an "n" are nasalized.
[edit] External links
- Native Village of Eyak (official homepage of the Tribe)
- From Stewards to Shareholders: Eyaks Face Extinction (interview)
- Alaska Native Language Center
- Eyak Preservation Council
- The Eyak Corporation (ANSCA Corporation)
[edit] Bibliography
- Krauss, Michael E., ed. 1982. In Honor of Eyak: The Art of Anna Nelson Harry. Fairbanks: Alaska Native Language Center. ISBN 0933769032
- Krauss, Michael E., and Jeff Leer. Athabaskan, Eyak, and Tlingit Sonorants. Alaska Native Language Center Research Papers No. 5. Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska, P.O. Box 757680, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7680, 1981. ISBN 0933769350
- New Yorker, June 6, 2005: "Last Words, A Language Dies" by Elizabeth Kolbert
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