Iñupiaq or Inupiaq ( / ɪ ˈ n uː p i æ k / ih- NOO -pee-ak , Inupiaq: [iɲupiaq] ), also known as Iñupiat , Inupiat ( / ɪ ˈ n uː p i æ t / ih- NOO -pee-at ), Iñupiatun or Alaskan Inuit , is an Inuit language , or perhaps group of languages, spoken by the Iñupiat people in northern and northwestern Alaska , as well as a small adjacent part of the Northwest Territories of Canada. The Iñupiat language is a member of the Inuit-Yupik-Unangan language family , and is closely related and, to varying degrees, mutually intelligible with other Inuit languages of Canada and Greenland. There are roughly 2,000 speakers. Iñupiaq is considered to be a threatened language, with most speakers at or above the age of 40. Iñupiaq is an official language of the State of Alaska, along with several other indigenous languages.
41-581: 65°37′31″N 168°44′33″W / 65.6253°N 168.7426°W / 65.6253; -168.7426 Fairway Rock ( Inupiaq : Ugiiyaq ) ( Census block 1047, Nome, Alaska) is a small islet with mostly vertical rock faces in the Bering Strait , located southeast of the Diomede Islands and west of Alaska's Cape Prince of Wales . Part of Alaska , a U.S. state , the islet has an area of 0.3 km (0.12 mi). Known to Inuit of
82-472: A consonant cluster. All Iñupiaq dialects have three basic vowel qualities : /a i u/. There is currently no instrumental work to determine what allophones may be linked to these vowels. All three vowels can be long or short, giving rise to a system of six phonemic vowels /a aː i iː u uː/. Long vowels are represented by double letters in the orthography: ⟨aa⟩, ⟨ii⟩, ⟨uu⟩. The following diphthongs occur: /ai ia au ua iu ui/. No more than two vowels occur in
123-445: A generator at Fairway Rock. Fairway Rock's then-current generator was propane-fueled and could not operate in the winter months. Since the generator powered "detectors on the ocean floor for submarine traffic heading North" it was considered essential that it be replaced rapidly. However, moving the new generator from Baltimore to Alaska to Fairway Rock would be a complicated process and LeDoux suspected that " red tape " would delay
164-497: A long way and inflict a sharp puncture without making any noise. The end of the church was occupied by a guard of soldiers under arms with fixed bayonets." In July 1826, he named the three islands in the Bering Strait. Two were the Diomede Islands that Vitus Bering had named in 1728: "Ratmanoff Island" (Big Diomede) and "Krusenstern Island" (Little Diomede). Beechey called the uninhabited third islet " Fairway Rock ", which
205-539: A sequence in Iñupiaq. The Bering strait dialect has a fourth vowel /e/, which preserves the fourth proto-Eskimo vowel reconstructed as */ə/. In the other dialects, proto-Eskimo */e/ has merged with the closed front vowel /i/. The merged /i/ is referred to as the "strong /i/", which causes palatalization when preceding consonant clusters in the North Slope dialect (see section on palatalization below). The other /i/
246-536: A short span of time. The device, developed by Martin Marietta , was the first commercially developed instrument of its kind deployed for unattended field use by the U.S. government. This use was cited in 1978 congressional hearings on potential uses for nuclear waste . In 1981 two additional RTGs were added. All three RTGs were removed from the rock in 1995 in a joint Army/Navy operation with Chinook helicopters from B Company, 4th Battalion, 123rd Aviation Regiment,
287-742: Is siun whereas in Uummarmiutun it is hiun . A word may end in any nasal sound (except for the /ɴ/ found in North Slope), in the stops /t k q/ or in a vowel. In the North Slope dialect if a word ends with an m, and the next word begins with a stop, the m is pronounced /p/, as in aġna m t upiŋa, pronounced /aʁna p tupiŋa/ Very little information of the prosody of Iñupiaq has been collected. However, "fundamental frequency (Hz), intensity (dB), loudness (sones), and spectral tilt (phons - dB) may be important" in Malimiutun. Likewise, "duration
328-500: Is "a mix of the various speech forms formerly used in the area". The Point Barrow dialect was "spoken only by a few elders" in 2010. A dialect of North Slope is also spoken in Kivalina , Point Lay , Wainwright , Atqasuk , Utqiaġvik , Nuiqsut , and Barter Island . Iñupiaq dialects differ widely between consonants used. However, consonant clusters of more than two consonants in a row do not occur. A word may not begin nor end with
369-596: Is chronicled in the book The Last Shot . In 1964, the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker USCGC Northwind (WAGB-282) visited the rock, and installed an unmanned, propane-powered oceanographic station in order to measure water flows across the Bering Strait. Northwind s crew continued to help maintain the station until its closure. On August 11, 1966, the US Navy placed a strontium -powered radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) atop Fairway Rock for "powering environmental instruments". At this time Commander John C. LeDoux
410-469: Is not likely to be important in Malimiut Iñupiaq stress/syllable prominence". For North Slope Iñupiaq The voiceless stops /p/ /t/ /k/ and /q/ are not aspirated. This may or may not be true for other dialects as well. /c/ is derived from a palatalized and unreleased /t/. Source: Two consonants cannot appear together unless they share the manner of articulation (in this case treating
451-516: Is other than English, [then the school] shall have at least one teacher who is fluent in the native language". Today, the University of Alaska Fairbanks offers bachelor's degrees in Iñupiaq language and culture, while a preschool/kindergarten-level Iñupiaq immersion school named Nikaitchuat Iḷisaġviat teaches grades PreK-1st grade in Kotzebue . In 2014, Iñupiaq became an official language of
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#1732794519153492-532: Is preceded by an ⟨i⟩, it is weak. Words begin with a stop (with the exception of the palatal stop /c/), the fricative /s/, nasals /m n/, with a vowel, or the semivowel /j/. Loanwords , proper names, and exclamations may begin with any segment in both the Seward Peninsula dialects and the North Slope dialects. In the Uummarmiutun dialect words can also begin with /h/. For example, the word for "ear" in North Slope and Little Diomede Island dialects
533-432: Is referred to as "the weak /i/". Weak and strong /i/s are not differentiated in orthography, making it impossible to tell which ⟨i⟩ represents palatalization "short of looking at other processes which depend on the distinction between two i's or else examining data from other Eskimo languages". However, it can be assumed that, within a word, if a palatal consonant is preceded by an ⟨i⟩, it is strong. If an alveolar consonant
574-399: Is still its contemporary name. One of his crew, Petty Officer John Bechervaise, gave a detailed account of the voyage in his Thirty-six Years of a Seafaring Life by an Old Quartermaster , published privately in 1839. (The crewmember's namesake and great-great-grandson John Béchervaise (1910–1998) was a noted explorer of Antarctica.) In 1831, there appeared Beechey's Narrative of a Voyage to
615-479: Is variously reported as from 300 m (984 ft) to 1.5 km (0.93 mi) in length. Rising steeply from the surrounding waters to 534 ft (163 m) above sea level, Fairway Rock can be easily seen from the mainland coast of Alaska at Cape Prince of Wales. Because of its steep cliffs, it poses no additional maritime hazard. The Bering Strait around Fairway Rock is relatively shallow — about 50 m (164 ft) in depth — and oceanographic transects show
656-480: The Army Corps of Engineers , and a Coast Guard escort ( USCGC Northwind (WAGB-282) ) was assigned, allowing the journey over the Bering Strait to be made safely. In the end, the project only took 10 days and "was done with no money or paperwork – mostly phone calls and personal visits." LeDoux was impressed that a project involving so many disparate military and non-military parties could be carried off in such
697-486: The tufted puffin ( Fratercula cirrhata ), horned puffin ( Fratercula corniculata ), parakeet auklets ( Aethia psittacula ), and Pallas' murre ( Uria lomvia arra ) were reported at Fairway Rock, nesting in the crevices of the island's cliffs. A 1960 account reports that Eskimo inhabitants of Little Diomede reported a glaucous gull ( Larus hyperboreus ) colony on Fairway Rock larger than that on Little Diomede. The Steller sea lion may also breed on Fairway Rock. For
738-641: The "Sugar Bears" of Fort Wainwright , AK. The three RTGs were transported from Fort Wainwright, AK to the Richland Consolidation Facility at Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state for disposal. Inupiaq language The major varieties of the Iñupiaq language are the North Slope Iñupiaq and Seward Peninsula Iñupiaq dialects. The Iñupiaq language has been in decline since contact with English in
779-429: The Bering Strait region in prehistory, Fairway was documented by James Cook in 1778 and named by Frederick Beechey in 1826. Although uninhabited, the island is a nesting site for seabirds — most notably the least and crested auklet — which prompt egg-collecting visits from local indigenous peoples. The United States Navy placed radioisotope thermoelectric generator -powered environmental monitoring equipment on
820-1495: The Big Diomede Island was moved to the Siberian mainland after World War II. The following generation of the population spoke Central Siberian Yupik or Russian. The entire population of King Island moved to Nome in the early 1960s. The Bering Strait dialect might also be spoken in Teller on the Seward Peninsula . Qawiaraq dialect : A dialect of Qawiaraq is spoken in Nome . A dialect of Qawariaq may also be spoken in Koyuk , Mary's Igloo , Council, and Elim . The Teller sub-dialect may be spoken in Unalakleet . Malimiutun dialect : Both sub-dialects can be found in Buckland , Koyuk , Shaktoolik , and Unalakleet . A dialect of Malimiutun may be spoken in Deering , Kiana , Noorvik , Shungnak , and Ambler . The Malimiutun sub-dialects have also been classified as "Southern Malimiut" (found in Koyuk , Shaktoolik , and Unalakleet ) and "Northern Malimiut" found in "other villages". North Slope dialect: Common North Slope
861-625: The British admiral and painter Richard Brydges Beechey , the portraitist Henry William Beechey and the painter George Duncan Beechey . Frederick entered the Royal Navy at the age of 10 under the command of John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent . He was promoted to midshipman on February 8 1807 and saw active service during the War of 1812 . He served in the Battle of New Orleans . Because of this, he
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#1732794519153902-721: The Pacific and Bering's Strait to Co-operate with the Polar Expeditions, 1825-1828 . In 1835 and '36, Captain Beechey was employed on the coast survey of South America , and from 1837 to 1847, carried on similar work along the Irish coasts, and in the North Sea and English Channel . He carried out detailed tidal surveys during this period, which were published, with charts, in two Royal Society papers in 1848 and 1851. This
943-464: The State of Alaska, alongside English and nineteen other indigenous languages. In 2018, Facebook added Iñupiaq as a language option on their website. In 2022, an Iñupiaq version of Wordle was created. There are four main dialect divisions and these can be organized within two larger dialect collections: Extra geographical information: Bering Strait dialect: The Native population of
984-469: The Teller Quadrangle. The island's bold cliffs are a haven for many migratory birds . The indigenous peoples who have lived nearby for thousands of years come to the island to gather bird eggs in the spring. and have continued to do so as recently as the 1990s. The island supports a breeding colony of about 35,000 seabirds, including some 25,000 least auklets and crested auklets . In 1925,
1025-594: The boots on Kami k + n iaq + te → {kami gn iaqtuq or kami ŋn iaqtuq} {"to put boots on"} + "will" + "he" → {he will put the boots on} iḷisa q "to study" Frederick William Beechey Rear-Admiral Frederick William Beechey FRS (17 February 1796 – 29 November 1856) was an English naval officer , artist, explorer, hydrographer and writer. He was the son of two painters, Sir William Beechey , RA and his second wife, Anne Jessop . Born in London on 17 February 1796, his brothers included
1066-519: The course of it, Beechey discovered several islands in the Pacific , and an excellent harbour near Cape Prince of Wales . In 1826, he visited a Catholic mission in California. He wrote, "...with whips, canes and goads or sharp, pointed sticks to preserve silence and maintain order, and what seemed more difficult than either, to keep the congregation in their kneeling posture. The goads would reach
1107-712: The entire Arctic coast and much of the surrounding inland areas. The Iñupiaq dialects are the most conservative forms of the Inuit language, with less linguistic change than the other Inuit languages. In the mid to late 19th century, Russian, British, and American colonists made contact with Iñupiat people. In 1885, the American territorial government appointed Rev. Sheldon Jackson as General Agent of Education. Under his administration, Iñupiat people (and all Alaska Natives) were educated in English-only environments, forbidding
1148-436: The island from the 1960s through the 1990s. The granite mass that is now Fairway Rock, like the larger nearby Diomede Islands , is the remnant of an earlier era of glaciation. Fairway Rock is situated 12 mi (19 km) SSE of Little Diomede Island and 20 mi (32 km) W of Cape Prince of Wales , at 65°37′N 168°44′W / 65.617°N 168.733°W / 65.617; -168.733 . The island
1189-464: The island to lie near a current velocity minimum for the strait. Ocean currents north of Fairway Rock are occasionally studied as an example of a real-world system where a Von Kármán vortex street is generated. Fairway Rock lies inside Alaska's Nome Census Area and Alaska Department of Fish and Game Wildlife Conservation Unit 22E. It is conveyed to Inalik Native Corporation. Fairway Rock appears on United States Geological Survey topographic maps in
1230-529: The late 19th century. American territorial acquisition and the legacy of boarding schools have created a situation today where a small minority of Iñupiat speak the Iñupiaq language. There is, however, revitalization work underway today in several communities. The Iñupiaq language is an Inuit language , the ancestors of which may have been spoken in the northern regions of Alaska for as long as 5,000 years. Between 1,000 and 800 years ago, Inuit migrated east from Alaska to Canada and Greenland , eventually occupying
1271-410: The lateral and approximant consonants as fricatives). The only exception to this rule is having a voiced fricative consonant appear with a nasal consonant. Since all stops in North Slope are voiceless, a lot of needed assimilation arises from having to assimilate a voiceless stop to a voiced consonant. This process is realized by assimilating the first consonant in the cluster to a consonant that: 1) has
Fairway Rock - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-693: The name "Fairway" has persisted. Fairway Rock was passed and mentioned within the accounts of John Muir 's voyage aboard the Corwin in 1881 and Roald Amundsen aboard the Gjøa in 1906. What is considered the last offensive action of the American Civil War happened in this area: the CSS Shenandoah fell upon a fleet of whalers working the waters near Alaska's Little Diomede Island and sank more than two dozen ships on June 22, 1865. This
1353-483: The operation for a long time. LeDoux was able to use contacts in the AEC to get approval to move the generator in only four days, which he considered "a miracle in itself." A weekly Air Force flight to Vietnam was able to take it to Alaska. Getting the generator onto the island itself proved more difficult, since there were no Navy helicopters in the area. A bush pilot was contracted, two refueling locations were set up by
1394-584: The sake of convenience, I named each of these islands. The eastern one I called Fairway Rock, as it is an excellent guide to the eastern channel, which is the widest and best. Fairway Rock was sighted by Captain James Cook on August 8, 1778. It was named by the English naval officer and geographer Frederick William Beechey upon sighting the island in July 1826. Unlike the names he gave to the Diomede Islands ,
1435-533: The same (or closest possible) area of articulation as the consonant being assimilated to; and 2) has the same manner of articulation as the second consonant that it is assimilating to. If the second consonant is a lateral or approximant, the first consonant will assimilate to a lateral or approximant if possible. If not the first consonant will assimilate to a fricative. Therefore: Kami k "to put boots on" + + n iaq "will" + + te "he" → → kami gn iaqtuq or kami ŋn iaqtuq he will put
1476-660: The survey of the Mediterranean coast of Africa under the direction of Captain William Henry Smyth . His brother, Henry William Beechey, and he made an overland survey of this coast and published a full account of their work in 1828 under the title of Proceedings of the Expedition to Explore the Northern Coast of Africa from Tripoly [ sic ] Eastward in 1821-1822 . In 1825, Beechey
1517-508: The use of Iñupiaq and other indigenous languages of Alaska. After decades of English-only education, with strict punishment if heard speaking Iñupiaq, after the 1970s, most Iñupiat did not pass the Iñupiaq language on to their children, for fear of them being punished for speaking their language. In 1972, the Alaska Legislature passed legislation mandating that if "a [school is attended] by at least 15 pupils whose primary language
1558-512: Was appointed to command HMS Blossom . His task was to explore the Bering Strait in concert with Franklin and Parry operating from the east. In the summer of 1826, he passed the strait and a barge from his ship reached 71°23'31" N., and 156°21'30" W. near Point Barrow , which he named, a point only 146 miles west of that reached by Franklin's expedition from the Mackenzie River . The whole voyage lasted more than three years, and in
1599-441: Was in charge of NavFac 's shore based nuclear power program, whose over 200 trained men only had one power plant to run. With a new NavFac Chief taking over soon, Commander LeDoux feared the program might be cancelled if it had no other applications. In his memoir LeDoux writes that, "like good marketers we produced a catalog of what was available and sent it to all Navy commands." Within two weeks they received an urgent request for
1640-548: Was promoted to 2nd lieutenant on March 10 1815 In early 1818, and now a lieutenant, Beechey sailed on HMS Trent under Lieutenant John Franklin in David Buchan 's Arctic expedition, of which at a later period he published a narrative. In the following year he accompanied Lieutenant W. E. Parry in HMS ; Hecla , sailing as far north as Melville Island . In 1821, as an officer on HMS Adventure , he took part in
1681-618: Was the first published work of its kind since Edmond Halley 's tidal chart appeared in about 1702. He was appointed in 1850 to preside over the Marine Department of the Board of Trade . In 1854, he was made rear admiral , and in the following year was elected president of the Royal Geographical Society . Beechey Island , where Sir John Franklin wintered, was named by him after his father. His daughter