Sustaining Linguistic Continuity in the Beringia: Examining Language Shift and Comparing Ideas of Sustainability in Two Arctic Communities

Abstract

In order to answer the critical question of “how (and whether) communities can sustain continued use of their languages in the future,” this article addresses the subject of linguistic “sustainability” by comparing linguistic situations in two geographically and politically divided Yupik communities with dissimilar degrees of language maintenance: the predominantly Russian-speaking village of Novoe Chaplino in the Russian Far East and the still bilingual (English-Yupik) village of Gambell on St. Lawrence Island in the United States. Addressing the question of sustainability from “within” – that is, looking at what “sustainability” looks like and how it works on the ground – the article discusses the place of language ideologies in this process, advocating for a move away from purists' conceptualisation of language to more experimental practices and “bilingual games.”

Grænselandsidentiteter – om tilhørsforhold og lokale handlemåder i et postsovjetisk rum

“…Ifølge flere skifter de også til yupik-sprog, når de løber ind i aeldre folk i bygderne »for at betone respekt« -en adfaerd, som også kendes fra St. Lawrence Øen (Schwalbe, 2017). Flere har forklaret, at fremhaevet respekt for aeldre søskende, bedsteforaeldrene og bygdernes aeldre er et af de vigtige aspekter i traditionel yupik-kultur (Huges, 1960(Huges, , 1984Jolles, 2002;Krupnik & Chlenov, 2013).…”

Community-Focused Language Documentation in Support of Language Education and Revitalization for St. Lawrence Island Yupik

“…There are currently two settlements on St. Lawrence Island, the Yupik villages of Sivuqaq (English: Gambell) and Sivunga (English: Savoonga). Nearly all of St. Lawrence Island's 1,300 permanent residents are Yupik; another 300 to 400 Yupiget reside on the Alaskan mainland (Schwalbe 2017). In Russia, most Yupik settlements were closed during the early to mid-twentieth century as a result of Soviet relocation programs (Krupnik and Chlenov 2013); today, most of the 800 Russian Yupiget live in the villages of Novoe Chaplino and Sirinek (Schwalbe 2017).…”

“…Nearly all of St. Lawrence Island's 1,300 permanent residents are Yupik; another 300 to 400 Yupiget reside on the Alaskan mainland (Schwalbe 2017). In Russia, most Yupik settlements were closed during the early to mid-twentieth century as a result of Soviet relocation programs (Krupnik and Chlenov 2013); today, most of the 800 Russian Yupiget live in the villages of Novoe Chaplino and Sirinek (Schwalbe 2017). Despite the geographic and political separation, the differences between the varieties of Yupik on St. Lawrence Island and Chukotka are generally assumed to be relatively minor (Krauss 1975).…”

Siberian Yupik Names for Birds: What Can Bird Names Tell Us about Language and Knowledge Transitions?

“…All island lists are substantially larger than the Bogoslovskaya and Ainana sample, basically, for the same language. The richness of the SLI Yupik bird lexicon comes from a different status of the language in two geographically close socio-linguistic settings (see Schwalbe 2017). In Chukotka, only a few dozen Elders still speak the Siberian Yupik, primarily women, whereas on the island the active speech community of at least a thousand people includes several hundred active hunters and most of the adults and Elders.…”

“…2,200), of whom over a thousand actively speak the language. Children in both Chukotka and Alaska have Yupik language classes at local schools, but most possess limited fluency or even passive knowledge of the language (Schwalbe 2017).…”