ALEUT: a language of USA

The following is the entry for this language as it appeared in the 14th edition (2000).
It was superseded by the corresponding entry in the 15th edition (2005). See also the corresponding entry in the current edition of Ethnologue.

SIL code: ALW

ISO 639-2: ale

Population	300 speakers in USA out of 2,000 in the ethnic group (1995 M. Krauss). Population total both countries 305.
Region	Western Aleut on Atka Island (Aleutian Chain) and Commander Islands (Russia); Eastern Aleut on eastern Aleutian Islands, Pribilofs, and Alaskan Peninsula. Also spoken in Russia (Asia).
Dialects	WESTERN ALEUT (ATKAN, ATKA, ATTUAN, UNANGANY, UNANGAN), EASTERN ALEUT (UNALASKAN, PRIBILOF ALEUT).
Classification	Eskimo-Aleut, Aleut.
Comments	All but 4 speakers can speak English well. Many school texts have been produced. Copper Island Aleut is a mixed Aleut-Russian language, or pidgin, spoken on Mednyj Island. Dictionary. Grammar. Finite verb morphology, kinship terms, acculturational words and some adverbs come from Russian; nonfinite verb morphology, and most of the lexicon and structure come from Aleut. Bible portions 1840-1903.

Also spoken in:

Russia (Asia)

Language name	ALEUT
Population	5 speakers of Bering Island Atkan (1995 M. Krauss).
Alternate names	UNANGANY, UNANGAN, UNANGHAN
Dialects	BERINGOV (BERING, ATKAN).
Comments	Bilingualism in Russian. All speakers of Bering Island Atkan are 60 years old and older (1995 M. Krauss). Aleut is taught in school until the fourth grade. Most ethnic group members in Russia speak Russian as mother tongue. From 1820 to 1840 dozens of Aleut families were brought from various islands to the Komandor Islands. Until the 1960s there were two villages on Bering and Medny islands. From the 1950s to the 1980s children were sent by the state to boarding schools. Dictionary. Grammar. Christian. Bible portions 1840-1903. See main entry under USA.