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
31 core words in Central Siberian Yupik
Water
мэк
/mək/
Fire
кэныг
/kənəɡ/
Sun
маасьихта
/maːsʲixta/
Moon
аасʼта
/aːsʼta/
Star
агьяӄ
/aɣjaq/
Mother
аакаг
/aːkaɡ/
Father
аатаг
/aːtaɡ/
I
хванга
/xʷaŋa/
You
элпэк
/əɬpək/
Name
атэӄ
/atəq/
Eye
ии
/iː/
Hand
унаак
/unaːk/
Heart
эунгэк
/əuŋək/
Love
сахвэк
/saxvək/
Tree
эивкʼак
/əivkʼak/
House
нэӈэн
/nəŋən/
Dog
кагилхак
/kaɡilxak/
Cat
пусʼик
/pusʼik/
Eat
нэвлэк
/nəvlək/
Drink
эвлэк
/əvlək/
One
атасʼек
/atasʼek/
Two
малгʼук
/maɬʁuk/
Hello
аипак
/aipak/
Thank you
игамсиӄанаӄ
/iɡamsiqanaq/
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 | Greenlandic | Inupiaq | Inuktitut | Kullui | Old Khmer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | мэк /mək/ | meq /meq/ | imeq /imeq/ | imiq /imiq/ | ᐃᒪᖅ /imaq/ | पाणी /paːɳiː/ | ទឹក /tik/ |
| Fire | кэныг /kənəɡ/ | keneq /keneq/ | ikuallaq /ikuaɬːaq/ | igniq /iɡniq/ | ᐃᑯᒪ /ikuma/ | आग /aːɡ/ | ភ្លើង /pʰlɤːŋ/ |
| Sun | маасьихта /maːsʲixta/ | akerta /akerta/ | seqineq /seqineq/ | siqiñiq /siqiɲiq/ | ᓯᕿᓂᖅ /siqiniq/ | सूरज /suːɾədʒ/ | ព្រះអាទិត្យ /preh ʔaːtit/ |
| Moon | аасʼта /aːsʼta/ | iraluq /iraluq/ | qaammat /qaːmːat/ | tatqiq /tatqiq/ | ᑕᖅᑭᖅ /taqːiq/ | चांद /tʃãːd/ | ខែ /kʰae/ |
| Star | агьяӄ /aɣjaq/ | agyaq /aɣjaq/ | ulloriaq /uɬːɔʁiaq/ | uvluġiaq /uvluʁiaq/ | ᐅᓪᓗᕆᐊᖅ /ulˈluːriaq/ | तारा /t̪aːra/ | ផ្កាយ /pkaːj/ |
| Mother | аакаг /aːkaɡ/ | aana /aːna/ | anaana /anaːna/ | aaka /aːka/ | ᐊᓈᓇ /anaːna/ | आमा /aːma/ | មាតា /maːtaː/ |
| Father | аатаг /aːtaɡ/ | ata /ata/ | ataata /ataːta/ | aapa /aːpa/ | ᐊᑖᑕ /ataːta/ | बाबा /baːba/ | បិតា /pitaː/ |
| I | хванга /xʷaŋa/ | wiinga /wiːŋa/ | uanga /uaŋa/ | uvaŋa /uvaŋa/ | ᐅᕙᖓ /uˈvaŋa/ | हौं /hãũ/ | អញ /ʔaɲ/ |
| You | элпэк /əɬpək/ | elpet /əɬpət/ | illit /iɬːit/ | ilvich /iʎvitʃ/ | ᐃᕝᕕᑦ /ivːit/ | तू /tu/ | ឯង /ʔeːŋ/ |
| Name | атэӄ /atəq/ | ateq /atəq/ | ateq /atəq/ | atiq /atiq/ | ᐊᑎᖅ /aˈtiq/ | नां /nãː/ | ជ្មុះ /cmuəh/ |
| Eye | ии /iː/ | ii /iː/ | isi /isi/ | iri /iri/ | ᐃᔨ /iji/ | आँख /ãːkʰ/ | ភ្នែក /pʰnɛːk/ |
| Hand | унаак /unaːk/ | unirak /unirak/ | assak /asːak/ | argak /arɡak/ | ᐊᒡᒑᖅ /aɡːaːq/ | हाथ /haːtʰ/ | ហស្ត /hast/ |
| Heart | эунгэк /əuŋək/ | irua /irua/ | uummat /uːmːat/ | uumman /uːmːan/ | ᐆᒻᒪᑦ /uːmːat/ | मन /mən/ | ហ្ឫទ័យ /hridəj/ |
| Love | сахвэк /saxvək/ | kenka /kenka/ | asaaq /asaːq/ | piqpaġiyaa /piqpaʁijaː/ | ᓇᒡᓕᒍᓱᒃ- /naɡliɡusuk/ | प्यार /pjaːɾ/ | ស្នេហា /snehaː/ |
| Tree | эивкʼак /əivkʼak/ | napa /napa/ | orpik /oɾpik/ | napaaqtaq /napaːqtaq/ | ᓇᐹᖅᑐᖅ /napaːqtuq/ | रूख /ɾuːkʰ/ | ដើមឈើ /daəm tʃʰəː/ |
| House | нэӈэн /nəŋən/ | ena /ena/ | illu /iɬːu/ | iglu /iɡlu/ | ᐃᒡᓗ /iɡlu/ | घर /ɡʱəɾ/ | គេហ /keːh/ |
| Dog | кагилхак /kaɡilxak/ | qimugta /qimuɣta/ | qimmeq /qimːeq/ | qimmiq /qimːiq/ | ᕿᒻᒥᖅ /qimːiq/ | कुकर /kukəɾ/ | ឆ្កែ /tʃʰkae/ |
| Cat | пусʼик /pusʼik/ | qassraaraq /qassraːraq/ | qitsuk /qitsuk/ | pussiq /pusːiq/ | ᐱᓯᒃᑎ /pisikti/ | बिल्ली /bilːiː/ | ឆ្មា /tʃʰmaː/ |
| Eat | нэвлэк /nəvlək/ | ner'uq /nerʔuq/ | nerivoq /neɾivoq/ | niġiruq /niʁiruq/ | ᓂᕆ- /niʁi/ | खाणु /kʰaːɳu/ | ស៊ី /siː/ |
| Drink | эвлэк /əvlək/ | mertuq /mertuq/ | imerpoq /imeɾpoq/ | imiġuq /imiʁuq/ | ᐃᒥᖅ- /imiq/ | पीणु /piːɳu/ | ផឹក /pʰək/ |
| One | атасʼек /atasʼek/ | ataucik /atautʃik/ | ataaseq /ataːseq/ | atausiq /atausiq/ | ᐊᑕᐅᓯᖅ /atausiq/ | एक /ek/ | ឯក /ʔaek/ |
| Two | малгʼук /maɬʁuk/ | malruk /maɬʁuk/ | marluk /maɬːuk/ | malġuk /maʎɣuk/ | ᒪᕐᕈᒃ /mɑˈruːk/ | दो /d̪o/ | វ្យរ /ʋiər/ |
| Hello | аипак /aipak/ | waqaa /waqaː/ | aluu /aluː/ | paglagvik /paɡlaɡvik/ | ᐊᐃ /aj/ | राम राम /ɾaːm ɾaːm/ | សួស្តី /suəsdəj/ |
| Thank you | игамсиӄанаӄ /iɡamsiqanaq/ | quyana /qujana/ | qujanaq /qujanaq/ | quyanaq /qujanaq/ | ᓇᑯᕐᒦᒃ /nakuʁmiːk/ | धन्यवाद /dʱənjəʋaːd/ | អនុមោទនា /ʔanumoːtəna/ |
| Good | асʼилкʼа /asʼilkʼa/ | assirtuq /asːirtuq/ | ajunngilaq /ajuŋːilaq/ | nakuuruq /nakuːruq/ | ᐱᐅᔪᖅ /piujuq/ | भलो /bʱəlo/ | ល្អ /lʔɑː/ |
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