Nunamiut, the Tundra Dwellers
This article investigates the various senses and derivations of the term nuna in the Inuit-Yupik languages in order to reveal its origin in referring to the Arctic tundra. These languages arguably derive from that of the ancestors of the earliest inhabitants of the North American tundra, other inhab...
| Published in: | Études Inuit Studies |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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Centre interuniversitaire d’études et de recherches autochtones (CIÉRA)
2020
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| Online Access: | http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1081797ar https://doi.org/10.7202/1081797ar |
| Summary: | This article investigates the various senses and derivations of the term nuna in the Inuit-Yupik languages in order to reveal its origin in referring to the Arctic tundra. These languages arguably derive from that of the ancestors of the earliest inhabitants of the North American tundra, other inhabitants of the circumpolar Arctic today having only moved up at later times. Likely etymological correspondences in Eurasian languages of the far north support the original meaning of the word, whose connotations can be contrasted with those of English land, by which it is usually translated. They include reference to the unique vegetation of the Arctic tundra and to settlement and migratory movements across it in the past. The word has survived through millennia as far apart as mountainous East Greenland and the Aleutian Islands chain, where it has been adapted (as Unangan tanaX) to the archipelagic setting. It is suggested that the term nunamiut, literally “tundra dwellers,” can suitably be applied to speakers of all these languages still today. Les sens et dérivations diverses du terme nuna dans les langues Inuit et Yupik sont le sujet de cette enquête qui montre que nuna renvoie originalement à la toundra arctique. Ces langues proviennent de celle des ancêtres des habitants plus anciens de la toundra nord-américaine. Les autres habitants de l’Arctique circumpolaire aujourd’hui n’y sont arrivés que plus tard. Des correspondances étymologiques probables dans les langues autochtones du Nord-eurasiatique apportent leur soutien au sens original, dont les connotations contrastent avec celles du mot land en anglais, par lequel on traduit habituellement nuna. Celles-ci comprennent une référence à la végétation unique de la toundra arctique ainsi qu’à l’habitation et aux mouvements migratoires à travers elle dans le passé. Le mot a survécu pendant des milliers d’années entre des régions si éloignées que les montagnes du Groenland oriental et les îles aléoutiennes, où il s’est adapté (comme Unangan tanaX) à l’environnement ... |
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