Cultural Change in the Aleutian Islands:
Contact with Another Culture

A 6th Grade Social Studies Unit

The Aleut words in this book can be pronounced correctly if you follow a few rules of pronunciation. These are:

1. Each letter has a specific sound. Letters like "q" and "x", which we do not use much in English, are said differently in Aleut. Look at the key which follows for clues on how to pronounce them.

2. Every Aleut word places the stress on the next-to-last syllable. For instance, the word "Unangan" stresses the second syllable, "an", since it is the next-to-last syllable.

3. You will find below a key to help you pronounce those sounds which are not made in English speech.

a - pronounced like "a" in "father"
b - pronounced like a hard "g" (as in "gather") but made farther back in the mouth.
i - pronounced like "ee" in "feet"
q - sounds similar to a "k" but it is pronounced with the very back part of the tongue and soft palate. If you can't make the sound say "k".
x - sounds like a German "ch" in "ich". It is a soft sound made by almost touching the back of the tongue to the soft palate, then blowing softly out. If you can't pronounce it, say "k".
x - very similar to "x" above, but produced farther back in the mouth. If you can't pronounce it, say "k"

ACUPUNCTURE the practice of piercing parts of the body with needles to treat disease or ease pain.
Aleuts the original inhabitants of the Aleutian Islands.
AMERICAN PERIOD the portion of Alaskan history after the United States purchase of Alaska (1867).
Amulet something worn on the body because of its supposed magic power to protect against injury or evil.
ANCESTOR a person from whom one is descended, especially anyone earlier in a family line than a grandparent.
ARCHIPELAGO a group or chain of many islands.
ATLATL a South American Indian word for a throwing board, used by Aleuts to project darts when hunting sea mammals or birds from a bidarki.
AWL a small, pointed tool used for making holes in wood, leather, etc.
BAIDAR (bî' dar) a large open skin-covered boat of the Aleuts similar to the Eskimo umiak.
BARABARA (Bə rä bə ra)a traditional style semi-subterranean sod house which, in pre-contact days, might house several families. 
BIDARKI (also baidarka) (bə där kë)the Russian word for iqax or kayak. This is currently the most commonly used term for the vessel. Also the term by which chitons are called in the Aleutians.
BLADDER a bag of tissue in the bodies of many animals which can be inflated to receive or hold liquids.
CHAIN a series of islands, arranged in a chain-like line.
CHITON (kït' n) a small oval-shaped mollusk with a shell of eight overlapping plates covering its back.
CLERGYMAN a minister, priest, rabbi, etc.
CONTACT a meeting, as between two groups of people.
CREMATE to burn up, especially to burn a body to ashes.
CULTURE SHOCK the reaction people have when faced with another culture which changes their day-to-day lives.
CZAR the title held by Russian emperors before 1917.
DEITY a god or goddess.
DEPRIVATION the state of being without things which are normally part of one's life.
ECONOMY a system of producing, distributing, and consuming wealth.
ENDANGER to expose to danger, loss, or harm; to be near extinction.
EVACUATION the removal of people from a place, often to protect Them.
EXTINCT no longer in existence; having no living descendent.
FASTED went without food.
HIEROMONK a monk who has also been ordained as a priest.
ICON an image or picture of Jesus, Mary, a saint, etc.; to be held sacred.
INTERNMENT a confinement within a defined area.
INTERTIDAL the shore zone from the low tide mark to the high tide mark.
IQAX (ë' qäx - similar to ë' käk in English) the Aleut word for a kayak.
KAMLEIKA (kam lï' kə ) a gut waterproof parka, used especially when hunting from a bidarki.
LAXATIVE making the bowels loose and relieving constipation.
LITERACY ability to read and write.
MATRILINEAL a system of descent or inheritance from mother to child, rather than from father to child.
MONETARY having to do with money.
MONKSHOOD a plant with a purple flower which grows in the Aleutians and in other parts of Alaska. The root is poisonous.
MONOPOLY an exclusive privilege of engaging in certain businesses; granted by a ruler or monarch.
OKHOTSK a town on the coast of Siberia from which the early Russian traders sailed on their way to Alaska.
PARTITIONED divided into parts.
PELT the skin of a fur-bearing animal.
PENINSULA a land area projecting out into the water.
PRE-CONTACT the time in Alaska history before Alaska Natives met, or had contact with Europeans; in the Aleutians, before 1741.
QUGA BIX (qöö gä gix, like koo gä gik) Aleut word for shaman.
RETALIATE to pay back injury for injury.
ROOKERY a breeding place; a place where baby animals are born (especially birds, seals, penguins, etc.)
RUSSIAN ORTHODOXY the state religion of the Russians from the 11th century until 1917.
RUSSIAN PERIOD the period in Alaskan history when Russia claimed sovereignty over the territory; from 1741 to 1867.
SCENARIO an outline for a series of events.
SCORES sets of twenty. One score is twenty.
SERF a person bound to his master's land and transferred with it to a new owner.
SHAMAN (sha' mən) a priest or medicine man.
SITE location or scene.
SUGPIAQ (Söög pë äk) (Alutiiq: ə loo tik) the Eskimo language traditionally spoken by Kodiak, Prince William Sound, and Alaska Peninsula Natives, designated Aleuts by the Russians.
TOYON based on a Russian word, used now to mean leader or chief. The Aleut words are "agnakax" and "tukux".
UNANGAN (öön äng' gən) (EASTERN DIALECT) UNANGAS (WESTERN DIALECT) the Aleuts' name for themselves.
VENINIINOV (Ven ya mën' off) A Russian Orthodox priest who stayed in the Aleutians from 1824 - 1834, respected among the Aleuts and known for, among other things, helping to write the Aleut language for the first time.
VERST a measure of distance. One verst equals approximately 2/3 mile.
WHETSTONE a stone for sharpening knives or other edged tools.

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