Eyak language

language
name=Eyak
nativename=I^.ya^.q
pronunciation=
familycolor=Dené-Yeniseian
fam2=Na-Dene
fam3=Athabaskan-Eyak
states=USA
region=Cordova, Alaska
extinct=January 2008 when Marie Smith Jones died
script=Latin
iso3=eya

Eyak is an extinct Na-Dené language that was historically spoken in southcentral Alaska, near the mouth of the Copper River.

Marie Smith Jones (May 14, 1918 – January 21, 2008 [http://www.adn.com/189/story/290580.html] [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7206411.stm BBC News | Americas | Last Alaska language speaker dies ] ] [" [http://www.slate.com/id/2182949 How Do You Learn a Dead Language?] ", Christine Cyr, "Slate", Jan. 28, 2008] ) of Cordova was the language's last native speaker, as well as the last full blooded Eyak. Because of the dying off of its native speakers, Eyak became a symbol in the fight against language extinction [ [http://www.economist.com/obituary/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10640514 Marie Smith | Economist.com ] ] .

The spread of English and suppression of aboriginal languages 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.

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.

Consonants

:

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

Vowels

:

Vowels followed by an "n" are nasalized.

External links

* [http://www.nveyak.com Native Village of Eyak] (official homepage of the Tribe)
* [http://www.uaf.edu/anlc Alaska Native Language Center]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7206411.stm BBC News article] about death of last native speaker, with her picture. (Article date January 24, 2008).
* [http://www.redzone.org/pages/culture.htm Eyak Preservation Council]
* [http://multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/issues/1993/03/mm0393_09.html From Stewards to Shareholders: Eyaks Face Extinction] (interview).
* [http://www.eyakcorporation.com The Eyak Corporation] (ANSCA Corporation)

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

References