Central Siberian Yupik language
Central Siberian Yupik,[4][5] (also known as Siberian Yupik, Bering Strait Yupik, Yuit, Yoit, "St. Lawrence Island Yupik",[6][7] and in Russia "Chaplinski Yupik" or Yuk) is an endangered Yupik language spoken by the Indigenous Siberian Yupik people along the coast of Chukotka in the Russian Far East and in the villages of Savoonga and Gambell on St. Lawrence Island. The language is part of the Eskimo-Aleut language family.
Central Siberian Yupik
United States, Russia
Chukchi Peninsula (Chukotka, Russia), Bering Strait region, St. Lawrence Island
2,828 Siberian Yupiks
• 400-750 in United States[1]
• 172-1,200 in Russia (with Chaplino dialect)[2] (2021)
- Chaplino Yupik
- St. Lawrence Island Yupik
- Chukchi Peninsula, Russia.
- Alaska, United States.[3]
cent2128 Central Siberian Yupik
In the United States, the Alaska Native Language Center identified about 400-750 Yupigestun speakers, considering “dormant speakers” who understand but cannot converse.[1] In Russia in 2021, 172 people indicated that they speak the language, while only 92 of them use it in everyday life.[2] Thus, the total number of speakers is no more than 550-900 people.
Other Eskimo languages spoken in Chukotka[edit]
Other Yupik languages[edit]
Naukan, or Nuvuqaghmiistun, the second largest Yupik language spoken in Chukotka, is spoken in settlements including Uelen, Lorino, Lavrentiya, and Provideniya.[13]
Debated classifications[edit]
Additionally, the Sireniki Eskimo language, locally called Uqeghllistun, was an Eskimo language once spoken in Chukotka. It had many peculiarities. Sometimes it is classified as not belonging to the Yupik branch at all, thus forming (by itself) a stand-alone third branch of the Eskimo languages (alongside Inuit and Yupik).[12][24] Its peculiarities may be the result of a supposed long isolation from other Eskimo groups in the past.[25]
Sireniki became extinct in early January 1997.[12][24][26]