Article

Name: Naukan Yupik: the disbandment of the village of Naukan as a key factor of the language shift

Authors: M. Yu. Pupynina, T. V. Kornev, E. M. Budyanskaya, Yu. B. Koryakov

In the section Полевые исследования

Abstract:

This paper analyzes the principal resettlement trends of the Naukan people post-1958 village dissolution, employing statistical analysis and sociolinguistic interviews. A study of the linguistic conditions in Naukan between the early 20th century and 1958, alongside a detailed tracing of relocation pathways, indicates a clear link between the rapid decline of the Naukan language and the dissolution of the Naukan settlement. This shift is further substantiated by the subsequent dispersal of the community across multiple settlements within and beyond the Chukotka Autonomous Region. The first wave of resettlement, while consolidating at least half the Naukan population in the Chukchi village of Nunyamo, was followed by the dissolution of Nunyamo, which further fragmented the Naukan community, ultimately leaving them a distinct ethnic minority in settlements like Lavrentia, Uelen, Lorino, Anadyr, and many more. In the first half of the 20th century all Naukan people were native speakers of Naukan Yupik, with some villagers possessing certain levels of proficiency in Chukchi, Inupiaq, English and Russian due to the active contacts with neighbouring peoples. However, it was not until the dissolution of Naukan that the language shift from Naukan towards Russian bagan, as evidenced by the available data. This article posits that the dissolution, and the subsequent chaotic resettlement of the Naukan people, were the primary factors leading to a significant decline in Naukan speakers. A dramatic decline in active Naukan speakers is evident, with a current count not exceeding seventeen, compared to a minimum of two hundred and twenty-two in 1958.

Keywords: Naukan Yupik, language shift, language policy, language attitudes, sociolinguistics

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