About this book

These poems are about Aleut words, Unangan tunun in the Aleut language, Unangam tunulix.

For this book, my main resources have been Aleut Grammar: Unangam Tunuganaan Achixaasix̂ by Knut Bergsland, and Aleut Dictionary: Unangam Tunudgusii compiled by Knut Bergsland. I have read these books for clues about the lives of Aleuts before the disruptions caused by the Russians and the Russian Orthodox Church. For that reason, I have largely avoided words that were borrowed from the Russian language. I am not a linguist nor an ethnographer, but as a poet I think I have constructed something from words that is objective and sympathetic.

Alternatively, consider this book as a story that I imagine of a culture that ancestral Aleuts once made, inspired by its words.

The Aleut words are first; the English words are only rough equivalents. I have preferred variants from the Eastern dialect.

The eastern islands of the Aleuts are adjacent to and can be seen as an extension of the Alaska Peninsula. The Aleutian islands and the peninsula are the result of the same geological processes. The state of Alaska is named from the Aleut word alaxsxix̂, meaning the mainland, which makes sense since Russian explorers were the first Europeans in Alaska and they arrived via the Aleutian Islands.

The image on the cover is my pen and pencil drawing based on a satellite photo of the town of Unga, on Unga Island, Alaska. This is the town where my mother’s father was born.

The language

Aleut has some sounds that are not in English, so here I try to describe them.

Aleut has no diphthong vowels, which are common in English. It has only six vowel sounds, three short (written with single letters, i, a, and u) and three long (written with double letters, ii, aa, and uu). In the table cells for each Aleut vowel, the format is “x [y] zee,” where the x is the Aleut vowel, [y] is the IPA symbol for its sound, and zee is a word pronounced in American English with the intended sound.

  Front Central Back
Closed ii [i] see i [ɨ] sit uu [u] soon
Mid     u [ʌ] suck
Open   aa [ä] father a [ɑ] fat

The vowels u and uu are pronounced with rounded lips. A vowel with a double letter is vocalized a bit longer than either of the vowels with a single letter. These are approximate sounds, closer to the Eastern dialect of Unangam Tunuu. In speech, they are affected by their contexts.

Of the consonants, only a few represent a different sound from English, in particular: d and q, and a few represent sounds that are not in English: hy, g, ĝ, x, .

d
voiced dental fricative like the th in father.
hy
voiceless y sound. It sounds something like an y and h pronounced together.
q
voiceless uvular stop, like k in kill, only pronounced farther back in the throat.
g
voiced velar fricative. Unlike the g in girl, the air is not stopped.
ĝ
voiced uvular fricative. It is like g but farther back in the throat.
x
voiceless velar fricative, like the ch in German ach.
voiceless uvular fricative, similar to x but farther back in the throat.

Sayings

Ancient Aleutian sayings can tell us about the people’s root culture. Here are Aleut sayings with their meanings in English followed by literal translations.

Alphabetical word list

aaliisix̂
landing, harbor, haven
aalulix
to laugh
aalux̂
ocean wave
adax̂
father
aĝaazachxizax̂
grace
aĝaazax̂
peace
Agaluuĝix̂
March, the second month of famine
agdachx̂idax̂
continuously passing
agiitalix
to accompany
agiitaqaan
the other
agiitudan
family
aguĝnax̂
sea urchin
agulix
to grow
alaxsxix̂
the mainland, Alaska
alaxsxiĝilix
to hunt land animals inland
Anulgilax̂
January, the month of young cormorants
agux̂
beach exposed at low tide
ahmlalix
to overcome
alaĝux̂
sea, breakers, salt
alix̂
old man, hard rock
amilgix̂
voice
amilĝix̂
fishing place in the ocean
amix̂
healing plant
amlax̂
spring season
Amlim tugidaa
May, the month of spring
anax̂
mother, sheath of grass
anĝaĝilix
living being, human being, way of life
anĝix̂
breath, voice, soul
angusux̂
soapstone for making a seal-oil lamp
angux̂
oil lamp
an’gux̂
stake in the ground, star
aqaqlilix
to start coming, to approach
asaanguusx̂
family name
asax̂
name
asx̂aatul
to want to die
atxilix
to stop
axsux̂
prayer
axsux̂tix̂
big basket
ayagax̂;
wife, woman, female
ayagaĝasix̂;
basket
Chaĝaligim tugidaa
July, the month of seal pups
chaĝaligix̂
young seal, sea otter, or sea lion
chaĝax̂
hunting amulet, a small carved sea otter
chiĝanax̂
river
chiĝanamasikax̂
cat’s cradle
chix̂tax
rain
chinguudĝix̂
flower
chngatulix
to be hairy, shaggy
chngatux̂
sea otter
Chngulim tugidaa
October, the month of shedding
chugalix
to be complete, to have enough
chugilal
to be peaceful, to keep quiet
chulalix
to dress
chungux̂
bird down, bird nest, cradle, blanket
Hamilix
to heal, to be healed
hinan
growing plants
hinax̂
grass
hisix
to come out, to grow
idigalix
to be sweet
Iguuĝum tugidaa
June, the month of pulling out birds
iidnilix
to be sorry
ilaanux̂
near, out of
iiqyaĝilix
to swim like a duck
ilax̂talix
to love, to add to
inaqaadaam
alone
isxax̂
place where one lives
isx̂atix̂
grass bag
iqyax̂
kayak
kadaliix̂
ancestor
kadax̂
head or tip of a harpoon or paddle
Kaduuĝix̂
February, the first month of famine
Kiimadgim tugidaa
November, the month of fall
kiimadax
autumn
kimdux
rain
malixsix
to divine, to have a presentment
masxalix̂
to occur, to set in, to become
qaĝaduuxsix
to dance
qaĝaĝalix
to be loved
qaĝaĝilix
to feast, to party
qaĝalix
to be glad, to be grateful
qalix
to eat
qanax
winter
qanaxsix
to snow steadily
qaniix
snow
qax̂
fish
qugaadax̂
small spirit, amulet
qugax̂
shaman’s assistant spirit
quinganax̂
being cold
qunglux
the root of a plant
saakux̂
king eider
saagamax
eagle
saaqudax
summer
saaqudax̂
cow parsnip, wild celery
saĝdaĝalal
means of catching birds
Sadignam tugidaa
August, the month of fat seal pups
saĝalix
to sleep
Saĝasangulux
April, the month of little sleep
saĝdax̂s
to catch birds
sagimax̂
face
satimaalux̂
dance mask
sax
bird-skin parka
sax̂
bird, duck
sinigix̂
the inside of a person
slaaĝalix
to go outside
slachxizax̂
nice weather
slax̂
wind
tagiix̂
family, lineage, generation
tagix̂
bundle of grass
tagulix
to tie, bind, swaddle
tanadgusix̂
village
tanax̂
land, earth
tanĝix̂
island
taxsix
to gather, call together
tayaĝux̂
man, adult male
tix̂il
to tear or pluck out
tix̂lax̂
eagle
tugidax̂
moon
Tugidiigamax
December, the main month
tugiyax̂
month
txin
himself, itself
uknadax
out there on the sea
una
seaside
unangan
spit, channel, part of a whole
unangax̂
person
uĝnaasaqax̂
warmed (sheltered)
Ugnam tugidaa
September, the month of the skinny mammals
Ulaĝilix
to have a home, to have a ring around it
Ulax̂
home
-ulux
negation
usuganulux
not every
uyminalix
to be humorous, healthy, vigorous

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The author

Tom Sharp, self portrait

Tom Sharp is a Native American of Aleut heritage, a member of Seldovia Village Tribe. He is the author of numerous books, including Spectacles: A Sampler of Poems and Prose, Taurean Horn Press (ISBN 0-931552-10-9), a novel, Hans and the Clock (ISBN 979-8580172484), The book of science, SciFi (ISBN 979-8694935210), Things People Do (ISBN 979-8687425568), The book of beliefs (ISBN 979-8683553593), The I Ching (ISBN 979-8573510620), Images (ISBN 979-8577560515), Aleut Artifacts (ISBN 979-8575608998), and First Nations (ISBN 979-8682924769).

Tom Sharp’s initials