Alaska Native Language Center

The Alaska Native Language Center, established in 1972 in Fairbanks, Alaska, is a research center focusing on the research and documentation of the Alaska's Native languages. It publishes grammars, dictionaries, folklore collections and research materials, as well as hosting an extensive archive of written materials relating to Eskimo, North Athabaskan and related languages. The Center provides training, materials and consultation for educators, researchers and others working with Alaska Native languages. The closely affiliated Alaska Native Language Program offers degrees in Central Yup'ik and Inupiaq at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and works toward the documentation and preservation of these languages.

New Language Map

In 1974, Michael Krauss published a language map of Alaska, which he later updated in 1982. It has remained the standard since then. In the summer of 2011, the Alaska Native Language Center made an update to Krauss's map.[1] One of the biggest reasons for this update was that some of the names of these languages had changed over the years. While there was not a dramatic change in the updated map, the new edition is entirely digital.[2]

Alaska Native Languages

LanguagePopulationSpeakersPercent Speakers
Ahtna 500 80 %16.00
Aleut 2,200 300 %13.64
Alutiiq/Sugpiaq 3,000 400 %13.33
Dena'ina x x x
Deg Xinag 275 40 %14.55
Eyak 50 0 %0.00
Gwich'in 1,100 300 %27.27
Haida 600 15 %2.50
Hän 50 12 %24.00
Holikachuk 200 12 %6.00
Inupiat 13,500 3,000 %22.22
Koyukon 2,300 300 %13.04
Tanana 380 30 %7.89
Tanacross 220 65 %29.55
Tlingit 10,000 500 %5.00
Tsimshian 1,300 70 %5.38
Upper Kuskokwim 160 40 %25.00
Upper Tanana x x x
Yup'ik, Central Alaskan 21,000 10,000 %47.62
Yupik, Siberian 1,100 1,050 %95.45

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ben Anderson (2011-07-15). "Alaska's indigenous languages map gets updated, for first time in 30 years". Retrieved 2011-11-12.
  2. ↑ Gary Holton (2011). "Indigenous People and Languages of Alaska". Retrieved 2011-11-12.

External links