Language, identities and ideologies of the past and present Chukotka
The historical background of Chukotka is one of intensive language contact and of rapid socio-political, economic, cultural and spiritual change, which often makes any predictions difficult, also in regard to language. When I first came to Chukotka in 2003, the Yupiget sense of ethnic awareness was...
| Published in: | Études/Inuit/Studies |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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Association Inuksiutiit Katimajiit Inc.
2007
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/019721ar https://doi.org/10.7202/019721ar |
| Summary: | The historical background of Chukotka is one of intensive language contact and of rapid socio-political, economic, cultural and spiritual change, which often makes any predictions difficult, also in regard to language. When I first came to Chukotka in 2003, the Yupiget sense of ethnic awareness was very strong. The majority of the Yupik population expressed positive attitudes towards their Native language and seemed to be supportive of its revitalisation. However, when I returned to Chukotka in 2005, I found out that the Yupik language status and loyalty had shifted. In this paper, I discuss language shift in Chukotka with reference to St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. I also cast light on language transformations and adaptation that I have documented during my fieldwork in the area in 2003 and 2005, and give possible explanations as to why the revitalisation movement that I witnessed in the beginning of the new millennium was short-lived and had ceased by 2005. L’histoire de la Tchoukotka est celle d'un contact intensif et de rapides changements sociopolitiques, économiques, culturels et spirituels, ce qui rend souvent difficile toute prédiction, y compris en ce qui concerne la langue. Lors de ma première visite en Tchoukotka en 2003, le sentiment de la conscience ethnique des Yupiget était très fort. La majorité de la population yupik exprimait une attitude positive envers sa langue autochtone et on pourrait y voir une tendance vers sa revitalisation. Pourtant, lorsque je suis revenue en 2005 j'ai constaté un changement de statut de la langue yupik et de sa notoriété. Dans cet article j'aborde le changement de situation linguistique en Tchoukotka en comparaison avec l'île Saint-Laurent, en Alaska. Je fais la lumière sur ce rapide changement de langue constaté durant mon travail de terrain dans cette région en 2003 et 2005. Je présente des explications possibles sur la courte durée du mouvement de revitalisation dont j'ai été témoin au début d'un nouveau millénaire et qui avait déjà pris fin en 2005. |
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