Central Siberian Yupik language
| Central Siberian Yupik | |
|---|---|
| Siberian Yupik, Yuit | |
| Yupigestun, Akuzipigestun, Юпик | |
| Native to | United States, Russia |
| Region | Chukchi Peninsula (Chukotka, Russia), Bering Strait region, St. Lawrence Island |
| Ethnicity | 2,828 Siberian Yupiks |
Native speakers | • 400-750 in United States • 172-1,200 in Russia (with Chaplino dialect) (2021) |
Early forms | Proto-Eskimo–Aleut
|
| Dialects |
|
| Latin, Cyrillic | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Russia |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ess |
| Glottolog | cent2128 Central Siberian Yupik |
| ELP | Central Siberian Yupik |
Yupik settlements around the Bering Strait. The Siberian Yupik settlements are indicated with red dots. | |
Central Siberian Yupik is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Central Siberian Yupik (also known as Siberian Yupik, Bering Strait Yupik, Yuit, Yoit, "St. Lawrence Island Yupik", and in Russia "Chaplinski Yupik" or Yuk) is an endangered Yupik language spoken by the Indigenous Siberian Yupik people along the coast of Chukotka in the Russian Far East and in the villages of Savoonga and Gambell on St. Lawrence Island. The language is part of the Eskimo-Aleut language family.
In the United States, the Alaska Native Language Center identified about 400-750 Yupigestun speakers, considering “dormant speakers” who understand but cannot converse. In Russia in 2021, 172 people indicated that they speak the language, while only 92 of them use it in everyday life. Thus, the total number of speakers is no more than 550-900 people.