View source for Alyutor language

{{Short description|Chukotkan language of Kamchatka, Russia}}
{{more citations needed|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Alyutor
| nativename       = {{lang|alr| алуталг’у}} <br> {{tlit|alr|alutalg'u}}
| states           = [[Russia]]
| region           = [[Kamchatka Peninsula|Kamchatka]]
| ethnicity        = [[Alyutors]]
| speakers         = 25
| date             = 2010 census
| ref              = e18
| familycolor      = Paleosiberian
| fam1             = [[Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages|Chukotko-Kamchatkan]]
| fam2             = [[Chukotkan languages|Chukotkan]]
| dia1             = Alutor
| dia2             = {{ill|Palana language|ru|Паланский язык|lt=Palana}} Koryak
| script           = [[Cyrillic script]]
| iso3             = alr
| notice           = IPA
| glotto           = alut1245
| glottorefname    = Alutor
| map              = Chukotko-Kamchatkan map.svg
| mapcaption       = Pre-contact distribution of Alyutor (light purple) and other [[Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages]]
| map2             = Lang Status 40-SE.svg
| mapcaption2      = {{center|{{small|Alutor is classified as Severely Endangered by the [[UNESCO]] ''[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]''}}}}
| nation           = [[Tigilsky District]], [[Karaginsky District]], [[Kamchatka]] ([[Russia]])
}}

'''Alyutor''' or '''Alutor''' is a [[language]] of [[Russia]] that belongs to the Chukotkan branch of the [[Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages]], by the [[Alyutors]]. It is moribund, as only 25 speakers were reported in the [[2010 Russian census]].

==Sociolinguistic situation ==
The Alutor are the indigenous inhabitants of the northern part of the [[Kamchatka Peninsula]]. The language is unwritten and moribund; in the 1970s residents of the chief Alutor village of Vyvenka under the age of 25 did not know the language. In recent years the Vyvenka village school has started teaching the language. Until 1958 the language was considered the "village" (settled) dialect of the [[Koryak language]], but it is not intelligible with traditionally nomadic varieties of Koryak. The autonym {{IPA|[ˈnəməlʔən]}} means "villager".

== Phonology ==

=== Vowels ===
Alyutor has six vowels, five of which may be long or short. The [[schwa]] {{IPA|/ə/}} cannot be long.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Central vowel|Central]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPAlink|i}} {{IPAlink|iː}}
|
| {{IPAlink|u}} {{IPAlink|uː}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPAlink|e}} {{IPAlink|eː}}
| {{IPAlink|ə}}
| {{IPAlink|o}} {{IPAlink|oː}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|
| {{IPAlink|a}} {{IPAlink|aː}}
|
|}

=== Consonants ===
There are 18 consonants in Alyutor.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nagayama |first=Yukari |title=Ocherk grammatiki aljutorskogo jazyka |publisher=Osaka: Osaka Gakuin University. |year=2003}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" | [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Pharyngeal consonant|Pharyngeal]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! {{Small|plain}}
! {{Small|palatalized}}
|-
! [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPAlink|m}}
| {{IPAlink|n}}
| {{IPAlink|nʲ}}
|
| {{IPAlink|ŋ}}
|
|
|
|-
! [[Plosive]]
| {{IPAlink|p}}
| {{IPAlink|t}}
|
|
| {{IPAlink|k}}
| {{IPAlink|q}}
|
| {{IPAlink|ʔ}}
|-
! [[Fricative]]
| {{IPAlink|v}}
| {{IPAlink|s}}
|
|
| {{IPAlink|ɣ}}
|
| {{IPAlink|ʕ}}
|
|-
! [[Approximant]]
| {{IPAlink|w}}
| {{IPAlink|l}}
| {{IPAlink|lʲ}}
| {{IPAlink|j}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
| {{IPAlink|r}}
|
|
|
|
|
|
|}

=== Stress ===
Stress generally falls on the second syllable of polysyllabic words, and on the first syllable of disyllabic words, e.g.:
 
*{{IPA|/ˈmi.məl/}} 'water', {{IPA|/ˈɣəl.ɣən/}} 'skin', {{IPA|/ˈta.wə.ja.tək/}} 'to feed', {{IPA|/qə.ˈla.vul/}} 'husband', {{IPA|/pə.ˈla.kəl.ŋən/}} '[[mukluk]]'.

An [[syllable#Open and closed|open syllable]] containing schwa cannot be stressed. As a consequence, if a disyllabic term begins with such a syllable, the stress is shifted to the last syllable and thereafter a new, epenthetic syllable is added at the end, e.g.:

*<nowiki>*</nowiki>{{IPA|/ˈmə.tan/}} -> {{IPA|/məˈtan.'''nə'''/}} 'mosquito'.

The final syllable of a word is never stressed.<ref>Nedoluzhko, Anja (2016). Variability of languages in time and space: Linguistic typology - phonology</ref>

=== Syllable structure ===
All Alyutor syllables begin with a single consonant. If the vowel is short, including a schwa, they may also close with a single consonant. Consonant clusters are not permitted in the word initial or word final positions. The schwa is used to break up disallowed clusters.

Examples are {{IPA|/ˈvi.tak/}} 'to work', {{IPA|/ˈtil.mə.til/}} 'eagle', {{IPA|/ˈʔitʔən/}} 'parka'.

Alyutor word boundaries always coincide with syllable boundaries.

==Orthography==
{{No sources section|date=September 2024}}
The Alyutor language does not have an official orthography, but the newspaper ''Aborigen Kamchatki'' uses the following orthography:
{| style="font-family:Arial Unicode MS; font-size:1.4em; border-color:#000000; border-width:1px; border-style:solid; border-collapse:collapse; background-color:#F8F8EF"
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | А а
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Б б
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | В в
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Вʼ вʼ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Г г
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Гʼ гʼ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ғ ғ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Д д
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Е е
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ә ә
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ё ё
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ж ж
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | З з
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | И и
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Й й
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | К к
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ӄ ӄ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Л л
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | М м
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Н н
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ӈ ӈ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | О о
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | П п
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Р р
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | С с
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Т т
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | У у
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ф ф
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Х х
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ц ц
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ч ч
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ш ш
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Щ щ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ъ ъ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ы ы
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ь ь
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Э э
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ю ю
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Я я
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
|}

== Typology ==
Alutor is a [[polysynthetic]] language.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Grammatical Sketches from the Field: Alutor|last=Nagayama|first=Yukari|publisher=ILCAA: Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.|year=2010}}</ref>

{{interlinear|lang=alr|indent=3
|ɣəmmə t-ə-plak+tavamjat-ə-tkən
|I.ABS 1SG.S-E-boot+crumple-E-IMPERF
|'I soften boots '}}

The morphology is [[agglutinative]], with extensive prefixes and suffixes.

{{interlinear|lang=alr|indent=3
|qəlʲippə tətu-kki ɣeqə⟩masla⟨ta n-ə-mal-qin.
|bread+NOM+SG eat.with.something-CVB ASSOC{{circumfix|butter}}ASSOC good
|'Bread (eaten) with butter is excellent.'}}

The argument structure is [[Ergative–absolutive language|ergative]].

{{interlinear|lang=alr|indent=3
|ən-an(nə) ɣəmmə ina-ɣal-i.
|he-ERG me+ABS 1SG.P-walk.past-3SG.A
|'He walked past me.'}}

The [[word order]] is variable, and it is difficult to say which typology is basic. The verb-absolutive orders AVO and VAO are perhaps most common.

{{interlinear|lang=alr|indent=3
|tita·qa qutkinʲnʲaqu-nak maŋ.ki·ʔana ɣa⟩laʔu⟨lin ʔənnə-ʔən.
|once (name)-ERG+SG somewhere RES{{circumfix|see}}RES+3SG.P fish-ABS+SG
|'Once Qutkinnyaqu saw a fish somewhere.'}}

{{interlinear|lang=alr|indent=3
|ɣa⟩nvə⟨lin qutkinʲnʲaqu-nak təlɣə-lŋən ŋan.tiŋ.
|RES{{circumfix|poke}}RES+3SG.P (name)-ERG+SG finger-ABS+SG there
|'Qutkinnyaqu stuck his finger there.'}}

== Morphology ==
Alyutor has the following parts of speech: nouns, adjectives, numerals, pronouns, verbs, participles, adverbs, postpositions, conjunctions, and particles.

=== Nouns ===
Nouns are inflected for number, case, definiteness, and grammatical person.

There are three [[grammatical number]]s: singular, dual and plural.

There are eleven cases: [[absolutive]], [[ergative case|ergative]], [[locative]], [[dative]], [[lative]], [[prolative]], contractive, [[causative]], equative, [[comitative]], and [[Associative case|associative]].

Number and case are expressed using a single affix. A suffix is used for all cases except the comitative and associative, which are expressed using [[circumfix]]es. There are two [[declension]]s, taught as three noun classes. The first class are nonhuman nouns of the first declension. Number is only distinguished in the absolutive case, though verbal agreement may distinguish number when these nouns are in the ergative. The second class are proper names and kin terms for elders. They are second declension, and distinguish number in the ergative, locative, and lative cases, as well as the absolutive. The third class are the other human nouns; they may be either first or second declension.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
!colspan=3 | 1st declension
!colspan=3 | 2nd declension
|-
!
! singular || dual || plural
! singular || dual || plural
|-
! absolutive
| {{center|(stem)}}
| {{center|-t/-ti}}
| {{center|-w/-wwi}}
| {{center|(stem)}}
| {{center|-nti}}
| {{center|-w/-wwi}}
|-
!ergative
| colspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | -a/-ta
| {{center|-ənak}}
|colspan=2 style="text-align:center;" | -ətək
|-
!locative
| colspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | -k/-ki
| {{center|-ənak}}
|colspan=2 style="text-align:center;" | -ətək
|-
!dative
| colspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | -ŋ
| {{center|-ənaŋ}}
|colspan=2 style="text-align:center;" | -ətək
|-
!lative
| colspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | -kəŋ
|colspan=3 style="text-align:center;" | —
|-
!prolative
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;" | -jpəŋ/-ɣəpəŋ (-e ~ -i)
|-
!contactive
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;" | -jit ~ -jita
|-
!causative
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;" | -kjit ~ -kjita
|-
!equative
| colspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | -u/-nu
|colspan=3 style="text-align:center;" | -u/-ənu
|-
!comitative
| colspan="3" | {{center|ɣa{{circumfix|…}}a/-ta}}
|colspan=3 | {{center|awən{{circumfix|…}}ma}}
|-
!associative
| colspan="3" | {{center|ɣeqə{{circumfix|…}}a/-ta}}
|colspan=3 style="text-align:center;" | —
|}

==== Case roles ====
*The absolutive case is the citation form of a noun. It is used for the argument ("subject") of an intransitive clause and the object of a transitive clause, for "syntactic possessives",{{Clarify|date=January 2010}} and for the [[vocative]].
*The ergative is used for the agent ("subject") of a transitive verb, as an [[instrumental case]], and as the argument of an [[antipassive]] clause.
*The locative is used for position and direction ([[essive]] and [[lative case]]s), as well as arguments which are "driven away",<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Case for Fewer Cases in Pre-Chukotko-Kamchatkan: Grammaticalization and Semantics in Internal Reconstructions|last=Wdzenczny|first=Dibella|publisher=Eastern Michigan University.|year=2011}}</ref> e.g.:
{{interlinear|lang=alr|indent=3
|ənnu ɣilŋatə-tkən ujatiki-k.
|he-ABS.SG drive-IMPERF sledge-LOC
|'he drove away the sledge.'}}
*The dative is used for recipients, benefactors, directional objects ([[allative case]]), and subjects of experiential verbs
*Lative is used for motion toward a goal
*Prolative is used for movement along and movement from ([[perlative]] and [[elative case]]s)
* Equative is used with the meanings 'like X', 'as X', usually with verbs like 'to become', 'to turn into', 'to work as,' etc.
* Contactive is used for objects that make contact
* Causative is used for noun phrases that cause or motivate an action
* Comitative is used for ... {{Clarify|date=January 2010}}. It is primarily used with high-animacy referents.
* Associative is used for secondary or passive accompaniment. {{Clarify|date=January 2010}} It is only attested in the declension of nouns of the first declension, usually inanimate.

==== Grammatical person ====
Grammatical first and second person suffixes on nouns are used to equate a noun with participants in the discourse. They only appear in the absolutive, with an intervening ''j'' on nouns ending in a vowel and an ''i'' on nouns ending in a consonant.

{| class="wikitable"
!
! singular
! dual
! plural
|-
! 1st person
| -j-ɣəm
| -muri
| -muru
|-
! 2nd person
| -j-ɣət
| -turi
| -turu
|}

* ...ʡopta am-ʡujamtawilʔ-ə-muru "yes we the people"
* japlə=q ʡujamtawilʔ-iɣəm "and I'm a man"

=== Numerals ===
Alyutor has simple numerals for the numbers one to five, ten, and twenty. All other numbers are compounds based on these numerals.

{| class="wikitable"
| ənnan
| one
|-
| ŋitaq
| two
|-
| ŋər'''u'''qqə
| three
|-
| ŋər'''a'''qqə
| four
|-
| məlləŋin
| five
|-
| ənnanməlləŋ(in)
| six (one-five)
|-
| ŋitaqməlləŋ(in)
| seven (two-five)
|-
| ŋəruqməlləŋ(in)
| eight (three-five)
|-
| ŋəraqməlləŋ(in)
| nine (four-five)
|-
| mənɣətkin
| ten 
|-
| mənɣətək ənnan
| eleven
|-
| qəlikkə
| twenty (a score)
|-
| qəlikək ənnan
| twenty one
|-
| ŋəraqmənɣətkin
| forty (four tens)
|-
| ŋəraqmənɣətkin ŋəraqqə
| forty four
|-
| ŋitaqməlləŋin mənɣətkin
| seventy (seven tens)
|-
| mənɣətək mənɣətkin
| hundred (ten tens)
|}

===Verbs===
There are finite (conjugated) and non-finite verbs. There are several conjugations.

====Polypersonal conjugation====
Finite verbs agree in person and number with their nuclear [[Argument (linguistics)|arguments]]; agreement is through both prefixes and suffixes. Transitive verbs agree with both arguments (ergative and absolutive), whereas intransitive verbs agree with their sole (absolutive) argument.

Verbs distinguish two aspects, [[perfective]], the bare stem, and [[imperfective]], using the suffix ''-tkə / -tkəni''. There are five moods, [[Realis mood|indicative]], [[Imperative mood|imperative]], [[Optative mood|optative]], potential (marked by the circumfix ''ta…(ŋ)''), and conjunctive (prefix ''ʔ-/a-'').

==== Monopersonal conjugation ====
Monopersonal verbs{{Clarify|date=January 2010}} include two conjugations, one with the third-person singular in ''ɣa-...-lin,'' and the other in ''n-...-qin''.

==== Impersonal conjugation ====
For impersonal forms of conjugation include verbal predicate (formed with the circumfix a...ka) and imperative (formed by circumfix ɣa...a/ta). Non-finite forms Impersonal forms include the verbal predicate{{Clarify|date=January 2010}} with the circumfix ''a…ka,'' and the imperative in ''ɣa…a/ta.''

==== Non-finite forms ====
These include the infinitive, [[supine]], gerunds, and participles.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*Kibrik, A.E., S.V. Kodzasov, I.A. Murav'eva. 2000. ''Jazyk i fol'klor aljutorcev.'' Moscow: IMLI RAN Nasledie. {{ISBN|5-9208-0035-6}}
*Nagayama, Yukari. 2003. ''Ocherk grammatiki aljutorskogo jazyka'' ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110326002402/http://www.elpr.bun.kyoto-u.ac.jp/index_e.html ELPR] Publication Series A2-038). Osaka: [[Osaka Gakuin University]].

==External links==
{{Incubator|code = alr}}
* [http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook/aliutors.shtml The Aliutors]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060714081303/http://lingsib.unesco.ru/en/languages/aliutor.shtml.htm The Aliutor Language]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110526032352/http://www.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~kmatsum/kaken/Rusbiblio/Alutor.html Alutor: Bibliographical guide]

{{Paleosiberian languages}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alyutor Language}}
<!-- Categories -->
[[Category:Agglutinative languages]]
[[Category:Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages]]
[[Category:Indigenous languages of Siberia]]
[[Category:Subject–verb–object languages]]
[[Category:Endangered languages of Asia]]
[[Category:Languages written in Cyrillic script]]
[[Category:Polysynthetic languages]]