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Eyak language

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Eyak
I·ya·q
Pronunciation[ʔiːjaːq]
Native toUSA
RegionCordova, Alaska
ExtinctJanuary 21, 2008, upon the death of Marie Smith Jones
Dené–Yeniseian?
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3eya
ELPEyak
Pre-contact distribution of Eyak highlighted
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Eyak is an extinct Na-Dené language historically spoken by the Eyak people, indigenous to south-central Alaska, near the mouth of the Copper River.

The closest relatives of Eyak are the Athabaskan languages. The Eyak–Athabaskan cluster, together with Tlingit, forms the 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.

Extinction

Marie Smith Jones (May 14, 1918 – January 21, 2008)[1][2][3] of Cordova was the language's last native speaker, and the last full-blooded Eyak. Because of the dying off of its native speakers, Eyak became a symbol in the fight against language extinction.[4]

The spread of English and suppression of aboriginal languages are not the only reasons 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.

Resurrection

In June 2010, the Anchorage Daily News published an article about Guillaume Leduey, a French college student with an unexpected connection to the Eyak language. Beginning at age 12, he had taught himself Eyak, utilizing print and audio instructional materials he obtained from the Alaska Native Language Center. During that time, he never traveled to Alaska or conversed with Marie Smith Jones, the last native speaker.[5]

That same month that the article was published, he traveled to Alaska and met with Dr. Michael Krauss, a noted linguist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Dr. Krauss assisted Guillaume with proper Eyak phonological pronunciation and assigned further instruction in grammar and morphology—including morphemic analyses of traditional Eyak stories.

In June 2011, Guillaume returned to Alaska to facilitate Eyak language workshops in Anchorage and Cordova. He is now regarded as a fluent speaker, translator, and instructor of Eyak.[6] Despite his fluency, Eyak remains classified as "Extinct" as there is no native speaker left. Currently, Guillaume provides instruction and curriculum assistance to the Eyak Language Project from France.

Phonology

Consonants

Bilabial Alveolar Postalveolar
/ Palatal 		Velar Uvular Glottal
central lateral plain labial
Stops unaspirated d [t] g [k] gw [kʷ] g̣ [q]
aspirated t [tʰ] k [kʰ] q [qʰ]
ejective t' [tʼ] k' [kʼ] q' [qʼ] ' [ʔ]
Affricate unaspirated dz [ts] dl [tɬ] j [tʃ]
aspirated ts [tsʰ] tl [tɬʰ] ch [tʃʰ]
ejective ts' [tsʼ] tl' [tɬʼ] ch' [tʃʼ]
Fricative s [s] ł [ɬ] sh [ʃ] x [x] xw [xʷ] x̣ [χ] h [h]
Nasal (m [m]) n [n]
Approximant l [l] y [j] w [w]

Note: The /w/ is not very labial, and the /m/ is not a normal speech sound in Eyak.

Vowels

  Tense/Long Lax/Short
front central back front central back
close i· [iː]   u· [uː] i [ɪ]   u [ʊ]
mid e· [eː]     e [ɛ] / æ [ɛ] a [ə]  
open a· [aː]     a [a]    

Vowels followed by an "n" are nasalized.

References

  1. ^ ADN.com
  2. ^ "Last Alaska language speaker dies". BBC News. January 24, 2008.
  3. ^ "How Do You Learn a Dead Language?", Christine Cyr, Slate, January 28, 2008
  4. ^ "Marie Smith". The Economist. February 7, 2008.
  5. ^ Hopkins, Kyle. "Extinct Alaska Native language interests French student". Retrieved 15 July 2011.
  6. ^ Gibbins, Jennifer. "Preserving Alaska Native culture". Retrieved 15 July 2011.

Bibliography

  • Hund, Andrew. “Eyak.” 2004. Encyclopedia of the Arctic. Taylor and Francis Publications. ISBN 1-57958-436-5
  • Krauss, Michael E., ed. 1982. In Honor of Eyak: The Art of Anna Nelson Harry. Fairbanks: Alaska Native Language Center. ISBN 0-933769-03-2
  • Krauss, Michael E. 2004. Athabaskan tone. Pp. 51–136 in Sharon Hargus & Keren Rice (eds) Athabaskan Prosody. (Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 269). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. ISBN 90-272-4783-8. Based on an unpublished manuscript dated 1979.
  • 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 0-933769-35-0
  • New Yorker, June 6, 2005: "Last Words, A Language Dies" by Elizabeth Kolbert
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