Aleut (Unangam Tunuu)

Aleut is a member of the Eskimo-Aleut language family and is spoken by about 300 people in Alaska and Siberian Commander Islands. Most of speakers live on the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands of Alaska. There are two main groups of Aleut dialects: Eastern Aleut and Atkan.

During the 19th century, when Alaska was part of Russia, Aleut was written with a version of the Cyrillic alphabet by a Russian Orthodox priest, Ioann Veniaminov (1797-1879), who was later made a saint - Saint Innocent of Alaska. Veniaminov started working with the Aleut in 1824, translated parts of the bible and other religious works into Aleut, and in 1846 he published a grammar of Eastern Aleut.

The Latin orthography for Aleut was developed during the second half of the 20th century by Knut Bergsland who worked with William Dirks Sr., Moses Dirks, and other Aleut speakers. Bergsland produced a comprehensive Aleut dictionary in 1994, and a detailed grammar in 1997.

Aleut pronunciation

Sample text

Al hamaax anĝaĝinax̂, haman qalgadax̂ taxsaqax̂ aguun. taxsaqax̂ ax̂taguun, qan'gim silan, wan tugidam hulax̂tanaa inal aguun, slax̂ hawaan, huzugaan maqat maqadaĝaan mal, anĝaĝinam qaatunanginiin chisilgaqalizaqax̂.

Translation

But towards winter, at the end of this month when the weather generally changes, the food that had been stored was distributed to the hungry people, to everyone.'
(Niiĝuĝis Maqax̂tazaqangis / Atkan Historical Traditions, p. 4-5)

Sample text

Anĝaĝinam huzungis agaxtakuu ingisxigikux̂ ama liidax̂ nagan sahnganaxtada. Txin sakaaĝatal anagis mataxchx̂ida inaqamchix̂ agangudaganasaaĝiiĝutakus ludaangan huzuu ngaan quĝasaatakus.
Translated in Aleut by Halluuq Ungungai

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Longer sample text (Tower of Babel)

Useful phrases in Aleut

Links

Information about the Aleut language and people
http://www.uaf.edu/anlc/langs/al.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleut_language

Niiĝuĝim Tunugan Ilakuchangis - Introduction to Atkan Aleut Grammar and Lexicon
http://www.ankn.uaf.edu:591/Atkan2/Pronunciation.html

Information about Saint Innocent of Alaska (Ioann Veniaminov)
http://www.allsaintsofamerica.org/orthodoxy/innocent.html
http://www.oca.org/HSbioinnocent.asp?SID=7

Alaskan Orthodox texts (Aleut, Alutiiq, Tlingit, Yup'ik). An ongoing project offering Alaskan Orthodox texts on-line in their original languages and alphabets
http://www.asna.ca/alaska/

Alaskan Native Heritage Center
http://www.alaskanative.net

Related languages

Aleut, Greenlandic, Inuktitut, Yupik

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