Article

Name: Naukan Yupik: dynamics of language shift after the closure of Naukan

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

Institute of Linguistics of the RAS, Moscow, Russian Federation; Institute of Linguistics of the RAS, Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation; National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation

In the section Социолингвистика

Abstract:

This paper provides a diachronic analysis of the linguistic situation in the Naukan community during the 67 years following the closure of the Naukan settlement in 1958. By synthesizing historical data with recent field observations, the study tracks the acceleration of language shift toward Russian from 1958 to 2025. The analysis identifies the 1958 relocation as the primary catalyst that disrupted intergenerational transmission. Quantitative data reveal a catastrophic decline: while at least 222 fluent speakers were documented in 1958, the current number has dwindled to only 9 individuals, all born in the original settlement. Comparative analysis with the Chaplino Yupik language suggests that the smaller initial size of the Naukan ethnic group may also have affected the rate of shift. Field data indicates that once the community was dispersed among multiethnic settlements, Naukan Yupik lost its status as a primary means of communication, giving way to Russian. This study combines quantitative demographic mapping with qualitative insights from the community, documenting the “distinctive features” of a shift shaped by geographic displacement. Ultimately, the work serves as a diachronic documentation of a critically endangered language, emphasizing that the interruption of transmission was not gradual but an abrupt consequence of settlement policy.

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

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