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Eskimo-Aleut

Eskimo-Aleut family of Native American languages consisting of Aleut (spoken on the Aleutian Islands and the Kodiak Peninsula) and Eskimo or Inuktitut (spoken in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Siberia). Aleut is the language of a few thousand people, and Eskimo is native to over 100,000 people. There are a few varieties of the Eskimo language. Eskimo and Aleut have enough similarities to justify the theory that they are descendants of a single ancestor language. A striking and important feature of both tongues is polysynthesism (see Native American languages ). In a polysynthetic language, a one-word unit composed of a number of word elements can convey the meaning of an entire sentence of an Indo-European language. Eskimo and Aleut make great use of suffixes, but almost never of prefixes. Internal vowel changes are rare. Both languages are highly inflected. The difference between transitive and intransitive verbs is clearly shown. Three numbers are found—singular, dual, and plural. Phonetically, there are three main vowels in Eskimo, and from 13 to 20 consonants, the number varying according to the dialect. In earlier times the Eskimos had only pictographic writing. Since the 18th cent., however, the Eskimos of Greenland, Canada, and Alaska have used an adaptation of the Roman alphabet, introduced by missionaries. The Eskimos of modern Siberia and the Aleut-speaking groups employ the Cyrillic alphabet.

Bibliography: See K. Bergslund, A Grammatical Outline of the Eskimo Language of West Greenland (1955) and Aleut Dialects of Atha and Attu (1959); L. L. Hammerich, The Eskimo Language (1970); M. E. Krauss, Alaskan Native Languages (1980).

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	The Aleut Corporation.(construction firm)(Company Profile) Magazine article from: Alaska Business Monthly; 5/1/1999; ; 697 words ; ...have the largest operating area. For The Aleut Corp. that means not only operating in...such as Space Mark Inc., Akima Corp., Aleut Enterprises Corp., TAC Services Inc. and Alaska Trust Co. The Aleut Corp. settlement land holdings stretch... Read more
	The Aleut Corp.(plans to develop Aleutian Islands, Alaska)(Statistical Data Included) Magazine article from: Alaska Business Monthly; 6/1/2001; ; 700+ words ; ...tough sell in the business world, but The Aleut Corp. believes it has found a way to bring...Bering Sea, 1,000 miles from Anchorage. Aleut Corp. told its shareholders: The acquisition...by any other corporation in Alaska. The Aleut Corp. is one of 13 Alaska Native regional... Read more
	When the wind was a river: Aleut evacuation in World War II. Magazine article from: Arctic; 12/1/1996; 700+ words ; ...understanding the concern of the supporting Aleut organizations. Their spokesmen, ranging...considered friends, really thought about the Aleut people. Further, she states One positive effect that the evacuation had on the Aleut people as a whole was exposure to the political... Read more
	Aleut Art, 2nd Edition.(Brief article)(Book review) Magazine article from: Internet Bookwatch; 2/1/2007; 104 words ; Aleut Art, 2nd Edition Lydia T. Black Donning Company, Publishers...holdings. It's one of the dew works to analyze and illustrate Aleut art and artifacts, weaving a cultural history with fresh...heritage and adding new rare photos and analysis of contemporary Aleut artists and prehistory. It's an essential ... Read more
	Better future is Aleut woman's goal. Newspaper article from: Wind Speaker; 9/1/1996; ; 450 words ; ...future -- for the sake of her people. The Aleut woman from the Commander Islands off the...Kiiyakina began to teach herself traditional Aleut basketweaving. As director of the Aleutsk...years, that focus has shifted. Now the Aleut woman is working to protect her people... Read more
	Aleut Global Solutions.(NAVY) Newspaper article from: Set-Aside Alert; 5/4/2007; 94 words ; Aleut Global Solutions (name changed from TekStar Inc.), Colorado Springs, CO, is being awarded $7,658,360 under previously awarded cost-plus-awa... Read more
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	Adak: Open for Business. Magazine article from: Alaska Business Monthly; 6/1/2000; ; 700+ words ; ...military base become the thriving community Aleut Corp. envisions? At a time when many of...Corporations are acquiring new businesses, Aleut Corp. has made a quantum leap in the business...the Department of the Interior and the Aleut Corporation, the Navy's former submarine... Read more

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	Aleut Dictionary entry from: Dictionary of American History ALEUT ALEUT. The Aleuts (from the Russian word Aleuty ) consist of Near Island Aleuts...traditionally speak the Aleutic language, which has common roots in Proto-Eskimo-Aleut with the Inuit languages spoken throughout arctic Alaska, Canada, Greenland... Read more
	Alaska Book article from: Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names Alaska, USA A state with a name derived from the Aleut (a branch of the Inuit–Aleut family of languages) alakshak ‘mainland’. It was first discovered in 1741 by Vitus Bering † , a Dane leading an expedition for Peter I... Read more
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	Inuktitut Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition see Eskimo-Aleut . Read more
	Aleutian Islands Book article from: Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names Aleutian Islands, USA Named after the inhabitants of the islands, the Aleuts, whose name may be derived from the Russian aleaut ‘bald rock’. Read more

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