Итэнмэн
Itelmen
Chukotko-Kamchatkan (Kamchatkan)
Itelmen (also Kamchadal) is the sole surviving Kamchatkan language, spoken in scattered villages along the western coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. Once the dominant language of the peninsula before Russian colonisation in the 18th century, it now has roughly 80 fluent speakers. It is famed for its unusually large consonant inventory with ejectives and complex onset clusters, plus polysynthetic morphology that connects it to neighbouring Chukotko-Koryak languages.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Itelmen
Water
иʔ
/iʔ/
Fire
пʼэнэ
/pʼene/
Sun
коачʼ
/koatʃʼ/
Moon
куӆаӈ
/kuɬaŋ/
Star
эӈэн
/eŋen/
Mother
—
/—/
Father
—
/—/
I
кма
/kʼma/
You
кза
/kza/
Name
нан
/nan/
Eye
иркэ
/irke/
Hand
ʼух
/ʔux/
Heart
пинпин
/pinpin/
Love
—
/—/
Tree
ʼурх
/ʔurx/
House
—
/—/
Dog
ʼат
/ʔat/
Cat
кошка
/koʂka/
Eat
эс
/es/
Drink
—
/—/
One
дин
/din/
Two
каӽх
/kaχ/
Hello
—
/—/
Thank you
—
/—/
Good
ӆач
/ɬatʃ/
Cuckoo
ӄэӄуӄ
/qəquq/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Chukotko-Kamchatkan (Kamchatkan) languages
| Meaning | Itelmen | Proto-Uralic | Neko | Lardil | Damin (Lardil ceremonial register) | Proto-Kra-Dai | Nicaraguan Sign Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | иʔ /iʔ/ | *wete /wete/ | wai /wai/ | kantha /kanθa/ | — /—/ | *naːm /naːm/ | — /—/ |
| Fire | пʼэнэ /pʼene/ | — /—/ | titɛ /titɛ/ | jalul /dʒalul/ | l!ii /lǃiː/ | *vɤj /vɤj/ | — /—/ |
| Sun | коачʼ /koatʃʼ/ | — /—/ | aatʌ /aːtʌ/ | thurara /θuɾaɾa/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Moon | куӆаӈ /kuɬaŋ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | kirdikir /kiɖikir/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Star | эӈэн /eŋen/ | — /—/ | kumba /kumba/ | kambin /kambin/ | l*i /ʎ͡ʘi/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Mother | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | ngama /ŋama/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Father | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| I | кма /kʼma/ | *mun /mun/ | na /na/ | ngada /ŋada/ | n!aa /ŋ͡ʘaː/ | *kuː /kuː/ | — /—/ |
| You | кза /kza/ | *tun /tun/ | ga /ɡa/ | nyingki /ɲiŋki/ | n!uu /ŋ͡ʘuː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Name | нан /nan/ | *nimi /nimi/ | iwi /iwi/ | wangalk /waŋalk/ | m!ii /m͡ʘiː/ | *ɟɯː /ɟɯː/ | — /—/ |
| Eye | иркэ /irke/ | *śilmä /śilmä/ | ta /ta/ | mela /mela/ | — /—/ | *taː /taː/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | ʼух /ʔux/ | *käti /käti/ | — /—/ | marra /maɾa/ | — /—/ | *mɯː /mɯː/ | — /—/ |
| Heart | пинпин /pinpin/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | ʼурх /ʔurx/ | *puwi /puwi/ | tei /tei/ | tungal /tuŋal/ | — /—/ | *maːj /maːj/ | — /—/ |
| House | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Dog | ʼат /ʔat/ | — /—/ | gonʌ /ɡonʌ/ | ngawu /ŋawu/ | — /—/ | *hmaː /hmaː/ | — /—/ |
| Cat | кошка /koʂka/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eat | эс /es/ | *sewe- /sewe-/ | nei /nei/ | jitha /dʒiθa/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Drink | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| One | дин /din/ | *ükte /ükte/ | — /—/ | kunngirr /kuŋŋir/ | — /—/ | *nɯŋ /nɯŋ/ | — /—/ |
| Two | каӽх /kaχ/ | *kakta /kakta/ | iri /iri/ | kiyarrng /kijaraŋ/ | r!ii /ɽ͡ʘiː/ | *soːŋ /soːŋ/ | — /—/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | ӆач /ɬatʃ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Cuckoo | ӄэӄуӄ /qəquq/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.