Chukchi-Speaking Communities in Three Russian Regions

A 120-Year Story of Language Shift

in Sibirica
Author:
Maria Pupynina Researcher, Institute for Linguistic Studies, Russia pupynina@gmail.com

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Yuri Koryakov Researcher, Institute of Linguistics, Russia ybkoryakov@gmail.com

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3167/sib.2019.180205
Keywords:
Chukchi language; Chukotka; language change; language shift; sociolinguistics
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Abstract

The Chukchi-speaking population is distributed within three regions of the Russian Federation—Chukotka, Kamchatka, and Yakutia. Because of the lack of regular transportation between these regions and different attitudes toward the Chukchi from the local authorities, Chukchi-speaking communities in these regions have become isolated from one another and have been developing independently. This article observes the dynamics of language shift in all Chukchi-speaking areas through the analysis of the data of the Russian Censuses (1897–2015), literature sources, and personal observations. The figures in this article illustrate the distribution of Chukchi-speaking communities within their historical and modern homeland, Chukchi vernacular zones, the participation in traditional economic activities, and contacts with other languages.

Contributor Notes

Maria Pupynina is a researcher at the Institute for Linguistic Studies, Saint Petersburg, and Institute of Linguistics, Moscow. Her main areas of research are grammar, sociolinguistic aspects, and dialectology of Chukchi language. She works on the reconstruction of Chukchi-Even-Yakut-Yukaghir-Russian multilingualism in the Lower Kolyma and Alazeya tundra. She is also involved in language revitalization projects and is interested in creating teaching materials for Chukchi and other minority languages of Russia. E-mail: pupynina@gmail.com.

Yuri Koryakov is a senior researcher at the Institute of Linguistics, Moscow. His research interests include language cartography, sociolinguistics, language statistics, and taxonomy as well as language change over time. He focuses on the languages of Russia and adjacent areas, especially those of Siberia and Caucasus, but also on many other regions. He is the author or coauthor of several language atlases. E-mail: ybkoryakov@gmail.com.

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Sibirica

Interdisciplinary Journal of Siberian Studies

Cover Sibirica
Article Category:
Research Article
Page Count:
47
Keywords:
Chukchi language; Chukotka; language change; language shift; sociolinguistics
Print Publication Date:
01 Jun 2019
Online Publication Date:
01 Jun 2019
Copyright:
© Berghahn Books 2019

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