My village doesn’t speak a lot of Yup’ik, which is the native language of a lot of the Native American tribes up here. But there are a lot of different terms and phrases up here that are used that aren’t used down in Colorado. So that’s what this entry is dedicated to! Some words are Yup’ik, and some aren’t. Some need explanations, and some don’t. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don’t guarantee that my Yup’ik translation is correct. If you see it’s wrong, please let me know so I can change it! Also, I’ve learned that Yup’ik spellings vary from one place to another. Most of the pictures included were found on the internet.
Phrases
- “I joke” or “I fool” - instead of “just kidding” or “just joking”
- Short pants - usually basketball shorts
- “Oh Salmon!” - used by some instead of the phrase “oh shit!”
- Questions that don’t have proper verbs, such as: Where you go? What your doing? How you know?
- Hurry up-a
- Holy Cats!
- This one isn’t verbal...but lifting your eyebrows up to answer “yes” to someone instead of saying anything at all.
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| Agutak |
Yup’ik Words
- Maqii - steam
- Ciivak (pronounced Chee-vack)- flies
- Agutak (akutak) - the spelling varies; but it’s also called “eskimo ice cream.” It’s usually made of Crisco, sugar, and berries (sometimes fish or rice)
Kuspuk - Muktuk - whale fat
- Anuk - poop
- Uppa - grandpa
- Glusna - godparent
- Kuspuk - A cloth shell, usually made of bright patterned cotton.
- Quanna - thanks
- Ulu - a knife that is shaped like a saw blade, with a wood handle attached
- Camii - hello
- Akleng - sorry
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| Ulu |
Words
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| Sno-Go |
- Bum - bad (such as “The weather’s bum.”)
- Buggy - annoying (“Buggy kids!”)
- Ting - thing
- Honda - four-wheeler
- Sno-go - Snow machine
Skiffs - Skiff - small, shallow-bottom boat with a motor
- Holeh! - just an exclamation
- PFD - Permanent Fund Dividend. This is the money Alaskan residents receive each year based on the state’s oil income. A portion of the state’s oil income goes back to the Alaskan residents through some crazy equation.
- VPSO - Village Public Safety Officer
- No-see-ums - A very small, biting, winged bug. Hard to see when they’re by themselves, hence the name. Their bites are quite irritating too!
No-See-Um - Selavi - Russian Christmas, celebrated on January 7 and for seven days. Involves caravans of people going from house to house with a large decorated star, caroling and sharing food and small gifts.
- Bush - Pretty much any part of Alaska that is not accessible by road. Communities that can only accessed by air, water, sled, or snow machine.
- Cache - food storage for the winter
I came across this searching for the meaning to akleng and loved this post. I know it is an old post but you brought back great memories. My Gram lives in Koliganek and I have been there to visit before. I now live in the lower 48 and miss Alaska so much.
ReplyDeleteThis is b.s.. selavi is not yupik neither is pfd or Bush and a lot more is dumb. Not to mention no seeums is a damn bug not named by the yupik people. The person who wrote this needs to make themselves
ReplyDeletePlease note that the title of this blog is “Village Words,” not “Yup’ik Words.” The words in which you mention were not claimed to be Yup’ik, but simply words that were used in the village. While your commentary is acknowledged, I would appreciate it more if you read the article closer and responded with more constructive comments.
DeleteSmack themselves
ReplyDelete