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Language

The Alutiiq/Sugpiaq people speak Sugt’stun or Alutiit’stun.

The museum’s language programs document and revitalize Kodiak Alutiiq.  Working together, fluent Alutiiq speakers, Alutiiq language learners, and linguists study Alutiiq, make recordings, create learning materials for all ages, and teach the language to a new generation of speakers. To get involved or attend Qik Committee meetings to plan language projects contact Dehrich Chya, 844-425-8844.

Online Exhibits

Elders and language learners gather for a weekly discussion in Alutiiq.


Language Lessons

LEARN ALUTIIQ

Liicugtuten-qaa Alutiit’stun? — Do you want to learn Alutiiq?

Many resources can help you get started. Follow the link below to explore Alutiiq sounds, grammar, and vocabulary.

Alutiiq Museum Exhibit

Alutiiq Word of the Week

LESSONS IN ALUTIIQ LANGUAGE & CULTURE

What is the origin of the word Kodiak?  How do you bend wood to make a bowl?  Why is it bad luck to talk about bears?  The answers are in the Alutiiq Word of the Week, a series of lessons on all things Alutiiq.  Each lesson pairs a word and a sentence in the Alutiiq language with a short article.  Explore Alutiiq vocabulary and a wealth of cultural information in this compilation of over 650 lessons.

Alutiiq Museum Exhibit

Candace Branson speaks with Elder Phyllis Peterson. Photo by Janet Kotwas.

Language Collections

SPEAKERS AND RECORDINGS

The Alutiiq Museum has been recording Alutiiq speakers for two decades to preserve Alutiiq vocabulary and the sounds of Alutiiq speech.  Meet the speakers, browse the collections, and hear Alutiiq spoken by Elders who learned the language as children.

Alutiiq Museum Exhibit

April Counceller records an Alutiiq legend, 2022.

Research

LANGUAGE STUDIES

The Alutiiq language is a rich archive of cultural information. Language studies help to document cultural traditions preserved in ways of speaking, vocabulary, and grammar, and to locate Alutiiq terms that have passed from living memory.

Alutiiq Museum Exhibit

Alaska Native Languages

Language History

ALUTIIQ—AN ALASKA NATIVE LANGUAGE

What are Alaska’s Native languages and how are they related? When did people start writing in Alutiiq? How is  Alutiiq spoken today? The answers are in this presentation on the history of the Alutiiq language. Produced with support from the Kodiak Community Foundation.