Alaskan Russian, known locally as Old Russian, is a dialect of
Russian, influenced by
Eskimo–Aleut languages
The Eskaleut (), Eskimo–Aleut or Inuit–Yupik–Unangan languages are a language family native to the northern portions of the North American continent and a small part of northeastern Asia. Languages in the family are indigenous to parts of w ...
, spoken by
Alaskan Creoles. Today it is prevalent on
Kodiak Island
Kodiak Island (Alutiiq: ''Qikertaq''), is a large island on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, separated from the Alaska mainland by the Shelikof Strait. The largest island in the Kodiak Archipelago, Kodiak Island is the second larges ...
and in
Ninilchik
Ninilchik (russian: Нинильчик) (Denaʼina language, Dena'ina: ''Niqnalchint'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, 2010 c ...
(
Kenai Peninsula
The Kenai Peninsula ( Dena'ina: ''Yaghenen'') is a large peninsula jutting from the coast of Southcentral Alaska. The name Kenai (, ) is derived from the word "Kenaitze" or "Kenaitze Indian Tribe", the name of the Native Athabascan Alaskan tribe ...
), Alaska; it has been isolated from other varieties of Russian for over a century.
Kodiak Russian, was natively spoken on
Afognak Strait until the
Great Alaskan earthquake
The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, occurred at 5:36 PM AKST on Good Friday, March 27. and tsunami of 1964. It is now moribund, spoken by only a handful of elderly people, and virtually undocumented.
Ninilchik Russian is better studied and more vibrant; it developed from the
Russian colonial settlement of Ninilchik in 1847.
Russian language's most isolated dialect found in Alaska.
''Russia Beyond'', 2013 May 13.
(with dictionary)
Vocabulary
Ninilchik Russian vocabulary is clearly Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
with a few borrowings from English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and Alaskan native languages.
Here are some examples of Alaskan Russian from the village of Ninilchik:
Éta moy dom. ‘This is my house’.
Aná óchin krasíwaya. ‘She is very pretty’.
Aná nas lúbit. ‘She loves us’.
Éta moy mush. ‘This is my husband’.
Bózhi moy! ‘My God!’.
On moy brat. ‘He is my brother’.
U miné nimnóshka Rúskay krof. ‘I have a little Russian blood’.
References
{{Russian language
languages of Alaska
Russian-based pidgins and creoles
Russian dialects
Slavic languages spoken in North America