Alaska Native Language Center facts for kids
The Alaska Native Language Center (ANLC) is a special place in Fairbanks, Alaska. It was started in 1972. Its main job is to study and record the many different Alaska Native languages.
The Center creates and shares important books like grammars (rules for languages), dictionaries, and stories. It also keeps a huge collection of written materials about Eskimo, North Athabaskan, and other related languages.
The ANLC helps teachers, researchers, and anyone else working with these languages. They offer training, materials, and advice. There's also a related group called the Alaska Native Language Program. This program offers college degrees in languages like Central Yup'ik and Inupiaq at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Both groups work hard to record and keep these important languages alive.
Mapping Alaska's Languages
In 1974, a person named Michael Krauss created a map showing all the languages spoken in Alaska. He updated this map in 1982, and it became the main map used for many years.
In 2011, the Alaska Native Language Center updated Krauss's map again. One big reason for this update was that some language names had changed over time. The new map didn't show huge changes, but it was made completely digital. This means it's easier to use and update in the future.
Alaska Native Languages and Speakers
Many different Native languages are spoken in Alaska. The table below shows some of these languages. It also tells us how many people are in the group that speaks the language (population) and how many of those people actually speak the language. The last column shows the percentage of speakers.
| Language | Population | Speakers | Percent Speakers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahtna | 500 | 80 | %16.00 |
| Aleut | 2,200 | 300 | %13.64 |
| Alutiiq/Sugpiaq | 3,000 | 400 | %13.33 |
| Dena'ina | x | x | x |
| Deg Xinag | 275 | 40 | %14.55 |
| Eyak | 50 | 0 | %0.00 |
| Gwich'in | 1,100 | 300 | %27.27 |
| Haida | 600 | 15 | %2.50 |
| Hän | 50 | 12 | %24.00 |
| Holikachuk | 200 | 12 | %6.00 |
| Inupiat | 13,500 | 3,000 | %22.22 |
| Koyukon | 2,300 | 300 | %13.04 |
| Tanana | 380 | 30 | %7.89 |
| Tanacross | 220 | 65 | %29.55 |
| Tlingit | 10,000 | 500 | %5.00 |
| Tsimshian | 1,300 | 70 | %5.38 |
| Upper Kuskokwim | 160 | 40 | %25.00 |
| Upper Tanana | x | x | x |
| Yup'ik, Central Alaskan | 21,000 | 10,000 | %47.62 |
| Yupik, Siberian | 1,100 | 1,050 | %95.45 |
- This information comes from the Alaska Native Languages Center. [1]
See Also
In Spanish: Alaska Native Language Center para niños
