What is it really called? Well, there are actually a few options.
- In the Aleut language, it is called ‘Unangam Tunuu’ (Унáӈам тунуý or унаӈан умсуу in Cyrillic script).
- It is also referred to as Unangan, Unangas or Unangax̂.
Aleut is a member of the Eskimo-Aleut language family.
- Aleut is the sole member of the Aleut branch in the Eskimo-Aleut language family.
- I will be covering at least some of the languages of the Eskimo branch over the next couple of months.
There are several dialects within the Aleut language.
- These can be divided into two main groups: one source refers to these as Eastern and Western, another source refers to these two groups as Eastern Aleut and Atkan.
There are approximately 100-300 native speaker of Aleut.
- At one time, there were approximately 20,000 speakers of the language.
- The current ethnic population is around 2200 people.
- Aleut speakers can be found on the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands of Alaska and the Commander Islands of Russia.
It is written with a version of Cyrillic script as well as with Latin script.
- The Cyrillic script was adapted for use in the Aleut language during the 19th century, when Alaska was still part of Russia.
- The Latin alphabet was put into use in Aleut during the last half of the previous century.
What efforts are being made to preserve the Aleut language?
- Here is one project: http://sciencenetlinks.com/science-news/science-updates/saving-aleut/
Want to begin learning the language? Start with these handy resources:
- Unangan Language Course
- A series of courses on Memrise for Unangam Tunnu
- Unangam Tunuu Language Resources
References
https://www.ethnologue.com/language/ale
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleut_language
http://sciencenetlinks.com/science-news/science-updates/saving-aleut/
Polyglot in Progress 