Юпик ситвэлкэн
Central Siberian Yupik
Eskimo-Aleut (Yupik branch — sister to Central Alaskan Yupʼik (esu) and Aleut)
Central Siberian Yupik (Юпик ситвэлкэн Yupik sityelken) is the language spoken on Saint Lawrence Island (USA) and the Chukchi Peninsula (Russia), occupying the Bering Strait between the two countries. It belongs to the Yupik branch of Eskimo-Aleut, distinct from Central Alaskan Yupʼik (esu) and Inuit varieties (Inupiaq ipk, Inuktitut iu, Greenlandic kl). The Saint Lawrence Island Yupik community of Gambell and Savoonga has maintained the language under Alaska's bilingual education programs since the 1970s. Russian-side speakers in Provideniya are more pressured by Russian. Linguistically, the language has classic Eskimo-Aleut features: agglutinative polysynthesis with up to 100+ derivational suffixes per word, ergative-absolutive alignment, and dual + plural number distinctions.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Central Siberian Yupik
Water
мэк
/mək/
Fire
кэныг
/kənəɡ/
Sun
маасьихта
/maːsʲixta/
Moon
аасʼта
/aːsʼta/
Mother
аакаг
/aːkaɡ/
Father
аатаг
/aːtaɡ/
Eat
нэвлэк
/nəvlək/
Drink
эвлэк
/əvlək/
Love
сахвэк
/saxvək/
Heart
эунгэк
/əuŋək/
Tree
эивкʼак
/əivkʼak/
House
нэӈэн
/nəŋən/
Dog
кагилхак
/kaɡilxak/
Cat
пусʼик
/pusʼik/
Hand
унаак
/unaːk/
Eye
ии
/iː/
Hello
аипак
/aipak/
Thank you
игамсиӄанаӄ
/iɡamsiqanaq/
One
атасʼек
/atasʼek/
Good
асʼилкʼа
/asʼilkʼa/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Eskimo-Aleut (Yupik branch — sister to Central Alaskan Yupʼik (esu) and Aleut) languages
| Meaning | Central Siberian Yupik | Central Alaskan Yupik | Inupiaq | Kullui | Daasanach | Greenlandic | Telugu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | мэк /mək/ | meq /meq/ | imiq /imiq/ | पाणी /paːɳiː/ | no /no/ | imeq /imeq/ | నీళ్ళు /niːɭːu/ |
| Fire | кэныг /kənəɡ/ | keneq /keneq/ | igniq /iɡniq/ | आग /aːɡ/ | mes /mes/ | ikuallaq /ikuaɬːaq/ | అగ్ని /əɡni/ |
| Sun | маасьихта /maːsʲixta/ | akerta /akerta/ | siqiñiq /siqiŋiq/ | सूरज /suːɾədʒ/ | sicho /sitʃo/ | seqineq /seqineq/ | సూర్యుడు /suːɾjuɖu/ |
| Moon | аасʼта /aːsʼta/ | iraluq /iraluq/ | tatqiq /tatqiq/ | चांद /tʃãːd/ | mar /mar/ | qaammat /qaːmːat/ | చంద్రుడు /tʃəndɾuɖu/ |
| Mother | аакаг /aːkaɡ/ | aana /aːna/ | aaka /aːka/ | आमा /aːma/ | waana /waːna/ | anaana /anaːna/ | అమ్మ /əmːə/ |
| Father | аатаг /aːtaɡ/ | ata /ata/ | aapa /aːpa/ | बाबा /baːba/ | kaaba /kaːba/ | ataata /ataːta/ | నాన్న /naːnːə/ |
| Eat | нэвлэк /nəvlək/ | ner'uq /nerʔuq/ | niġiruq /niʁiruq/ | खाणु /kʰaːɳu/ | icho /itʃo/ | nerivoq /neɾivoq/ | తినడం /tɪnəɖəm/ |
| Drink | эвлэк /əvlək/ | mertuq /mertuq/ | imiġuq /imiʁuq/ | पीणु /piːɳu/ | ʔurro /ʔuro/ | imerpoq /imeɾpoq/ | తాగడం /taːɡəɖəm/ |
| Love | сахвэк /saxvək/ | kenka /kenka/ | piqpaġiyaa /piqpaʁijaː/ | प्यार /pjaːɾ/ | kashed /kaʃed/ | asaaq /asaːq/ | ప్రేమ /pɾeːmə/ |
| Heart | эунгэк /əuŋək/ | irua /irua/ | uumman /uːmːan/ | मन /mən/ | lubeen /lubeːn/ | uummat /uːmːat/ | హృదయం /ɦɾudəjəm/ |
| Tree | эивкʼак /əivkʼak/ | napa /napa/ | napaaqtaq /napaːqtaq/ | रूख /ɾuːkʰ/ | hecho /hetʃo/ | orpik /oɾpik/ | చెట్టు /tʃeʈːu/ |
| House | нэӈэн /nəŋən/ | ena /ena/ | iglu /iɡlu/ | घर /ɡʱəɾ/ | mar /maɾ/ | illu /iɬːu/ | ఇల్లు /ɪlːu/ |
| Dog | кагилхак /kaɡilxak/ | qimugta /qimuɣta/ | qimmiq /qimːiq/ | कुकर /kukəɾ/ | kashe /kaʃe/ | qimmeq /qimːeq/ | కుక్క /kukːə/ |
| Cat | пусʼик /pusʼik/ | qassraaraq /qassraːraq/ | pussiq /pusːiq/ | बिल्ली /bilːiː/ | paka /paka/ | qitsuk /qitsuk/ | పిల్లి /pɪlːɪ/ |
| Hand | унаак /unaːk/ | unirak /unirak/ | argak /arɡak/ | हाथ /haːtʰ/ | hark /haɾk/ | assak /asːak/ | చేయి /tʃeːjɪ/ |
| Eye | ии /iː/ | ii /iː/ | iri /iri/ | आँख /ãːkʰ/ | ill /ilː/ | isi /isi/ | కన్ను /kənːu/ |
| Hello | аипак /aipak/ | waqaa /waqaː/ | paglagvik /paɡlaɡvik/ | राम राम /ɾaːm ɾaːm/ | nagaya /naɡaja/ | aluu /aluː/ | నమస్కారం /nəməskaːɾəm/ |
| Thank you | игамсиӄанаӄ /iɡamsiqanaq/ | quyana /qujana/ | quyanaq /qujanaq/ | धन्यवाद /dʱənjəʋaːd/ | galche /ɡaltʃe/ | qujanaq /qujanaq/ | ధన్యవాదాలు /dʱənjəʋaːdaːlu/ |
| One | атасʼек /atasʼek/ | ataucik /atautʃik/ | atausiq /atausiq/ | एक /ek/ | takka /takːa/ | ataaseq /ataːseq/ | ఒకటి /okəʈɪ/ |
| Good | асʼилкʼа /asʼilkʼa/ | assirtuq /asːirtuq/ | nakuuruq /nakuːruq/ | भलो /bʱəlo/ | ash /aʃ/ | ajunngilaq /ajuŋːilaq/ | మంచి /məntʃɪ/ |
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