Editing Eyak language

{{Short description|Extinct Na-Dené language of US}}
{{refimprove|date=January 2018}}<!--many paragraphs are not cited-->
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Eyak
| nativename       = 
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|ath|ʔiːjaːq|}}
| states           = [[United States]]
| region           = [[Cordova, Alaska]]
| ethnicity        = [[Eyak people|Eyak]]
| extinct          = January 21, 2008, with the death of [[Marie Smith Jones]]
| familycolor      = Na-Dené
| fam1             = [[Dene-Yeniseian languages|Dené-Yeniseian]]?
| fam2             = [[Na-Dene languages|Na-Dené]]
| fam3             = [[Athabaskan languages|Athabaskan]]–Eyak
| script           = [[Latin script|Latin]]
| nation           = {{flag|Alaska}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/04/21/305688602/alaska-oks-bill-making-native-languages-official|title = Alaska OKs Bill Making Native Languages Official|newspaper = NPR|date = 21 April 2014|last1 = Chappell|first1 = Bill}}</ref>
| iso3             = eya
| linglist         = eya.html
| glotto           = eyak1241
| glottorefname    = Eyak
| map              = Eyak lang.png
| mapcaption       = Pre-contact distribution of Eyak
| notice           = IPA
| revived          = early 2010s
| speakers2        = [[second language|L2]]: 1 fluent ([[Guillaume Leduey]])
}}

'''Eyak''' is an extinct [[Na-Dené languages|Na-Dené language]], historically spoken by the [[Eyak people]], indigenous to south-central [[Alaska]], near the mouth of the [[Copper River (Alaska)|Copper River]]. The name Eyak comes from a [[Chugach Sugpiaq]] name ({{lang|ems|Igya'aq}}) for an Eyak village at the mouth of the Eyak River.<ref name="Krausseyakhistory">Michael E. Krauss 2006.[http://ccil.org/~cowan/temp/43.2.krauss.pdf A history of Eyak language documentation and study: Fredericæ de Laguna in Memoriam] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130831023534/http://ccil.org/~cowan/temp/43.2.krauss.pdf |date=2013-08-31 }}. ''Arctic Anthropology'' 43 (2): 172-217</ref> 

The closest relatives of Eyak are the [[Athabaskan languages]]. The Eyak–Athabaskan group forms a basic division of the Na-Dené language family, the other being [[Tlingit language|Tlingit]].

Numerous Tlingit place names along the Gulf Coast are derived from names in Eyak; they have obscure or even nonsensical meanings in Tlingit, but oral tradition has maintained many Eyak etymologies. The existence of Eyak-derived Tlingit names along most of the coast towards southeast Alaska is strong evidence that the prehistoric range of Eyak was once far greater than it was at the time of European contact. This confirms both Tlingit and Eyak oral histories of migration throughout the region.

==Current status and revival==
The last surviving native speaker was [[Marie Smith Jones]] (May 14, 1918&nbsp;– January 21, 2008)<ref>[https://archive.today/20120729204845/http://www.adn.com/189/story/290580.html ADN.com]</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7206411.stm | work=BBC News | title=Last Alaska language speaker dies | date=January 24, 2008}}</ref><ref>
"[http://www.slate.com/id/2182949 How Do You Learn a Dead Language?]", Christine Cyr, ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'', January 28, 2008</ref> of [[Cordova, Alaska|Cordova]].<ref>John McWhorter,"No Tears For Dead Tongues"[https://www.forbes.com/2008/02/21/language-death-english-tech-cx_jm_language_sp08_0221death.html], [[Forbes]],2/21/2008 @ 6:00PM.</ref>

The spread of [[English language|English]] and suppression of aboriginal languages are not the only reasons for the decline of the Eyak language. The northward migration of the [[Tlingit|Tlingit people]] around [[Yakutat, Alaska|Yakutat]] in precontact times encouraged the use of [[Tlingit language|Tlingit]] rather than Eyak along much of the [[Pacific Coast]] of Alaska. Eyak was also under pressure from its neighbors to the west, the [[Alutiiq]] people of [[Prince William Sound]], as well as some pressure from the people of the Copper River valley. Eyak and Tlingit culture began to merge along the Gulf Coast, and a number of Eyak-speaking groups were absorbed by the Gulf Coast Tlingit populations. This resulted in the replacement of Eyak by Tlingit among most of the mixed groups after a few generations, as reported in Tlingit oral histories of the area.

===Revival===
In June 2010, the ''[[Anchorage Daily News]]'' published an article about [[Guillaume Leduey]], a French college student with an unexpected connection to the Eyak language. Beginning at age 12, he had taught himself Eyak, utilizing print and audio instructional materials he obtained from the [[Alaska Native Language Center]]. During that time, he never traveled to Alaska or conversed with Marie Smith Jones, the last native speaker.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hopkins|first=Kyle|title=Extinct Alaska Native language interests French student|url=http://www.adn.com/2010/06/27/1343777/unlikely-passion-may-save-eyak.html|access-date=15 July 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610140310/http://www.adn.com/2010/06/27/1343777/unlikely-passion-may-save-eyak.html|archive-date=10 June 2011}}</ref>

The month that the article was published, he traveled to Alaska and met with Dr. [[Michael E. Krauss|Michael Krauss]], a noted linguist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Dr. Krauss assisted Leduey with proper Eyak phonological pronunciation and assigned further instruction in grammar and morphology—including morphemic analyses of traditional Eyak stories.

In June 2011, Leduey returned to Alaska to facilitate Eyak language workshops in Anchorage and Cordova. He is now regarded as a fluent speaker, translator, and instructor of Eyak.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gibbins|first=Jennifer|title=Preserving Alaska Native culture|url=http://www.thecordovatimes.com/article/1125preserving_alaska_native_culture|access-date=15 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327162901/http://www.thecordovatimes.com//article/1125preserving_alaska_native_culture|archive-date=27 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Despite his fluency, Eyak remains classified as "dormant" as there are no native speakers. On the [[Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale]] (EGIDS) Eyak is graded a 9 (dormant); the language serves as a reminder of heritage identity for an ethnic community, but no one has more than symbolic proficiency.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ethnologue |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/eya}}</ref> Currently, Leduey provides instruction and curriculum assistance to the [https://web.archive.org/web/20140301154401/http://www.eyakpeople.com/project Eyak Language Project] from France.

The Eyak Preservation Council received an Alaska Humanities Forum Grant that enabled them to start a website devoted to the preservation of the Eyak Language. Other funding supports the annual Eyak Culture Camp every August in Cordova. The Project provides countless language resources including immersion workshops, an online dictionary with audio samples, and a set of eLearning lessons, among others.

In June 2014, the Eyak Language Revitalization Project announced an online program called "dAXunhyuuga'", which means "the words of the people."<ref>{{Cite web
| last = Hintze
| first = Heather
| title = Program seeks to revitalize extinct Eyak language
| work = KTVA CBS 11
| access-date = 2014-06-28
| date = 2014-06-25
| url = http://www.ktva.com/program-seeks-to-revitalize-extinct-eyak-language-474/
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140705070042/http://www.ktva.com/program-seeks-to-revitalize-extinct-eyak-language-474/
| archive-date = 2014-07-05
| url-status = dead
}}</ref>

==Language family==
{{main|Na-Dene languages}}
Eyak is a part of the Eyak-Athabaskan language family and [[Na-Dene languages|Na-Dené]] larger grouping, which includes Eyak-Athabaskan and [[Tlingit language|Tlingit]] with a controversial but possible inclusion of [[Haida language|Haida]]. The [[Athabaskan languages|Athabaskan family]] covers three distinct geographic areas, forming three subgroups: [[Northern Athabaskan languages|Northern Athabaskan]] in Alaska and the Yukon; [[Pacific Coast Athabaskan languages|Pacific Coast Athabaskan]] in California and Oregon; and [[Southern Athabaskan languages|Southern Athabaskan]], also called Apache, spoken mainly in the American Southwest, which includes [[Navajo language|Navajo]]. There has been extensive comparative reconstruction of a Proto-Athabaskan-Eyak (PAE). A recent proposal of a [[Dené–Yeniseian languages|Dené–Yeniseian]] stock has been widely well received by linguists, linking the Dené languages to the [[Yeniseian languages]] of central Siberia. If it proves correct, it will be the first validated genetic link between Old and New World languages. Far less accepted is a possible [[Dené–Caucasian languages|Dené–Caucasian]] stock that has been pursued for decades.

==Phonology==
The following charts are based on the material in Krauss (1965); [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] equivalents are shown in square brackets. The orthography used by Krauss is also used by the Eyak people. An alternative version uses {{angbr|ə ł x̣ g̣}} instead of {{angbr|A L X G}} for {{IPA|/ə ɬ χ q/}}, and {{angbr|j č š c cʼ}} instead of {{angbr|dj ch sh ts tsʼ}} for {{IPA|/t͡ʃ  t͡ʃʱ ʃ t͡s t͡sʼ/}} respectively. 

===Consonants===
{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|-
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | 
! rowspan="2" | [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="3" | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Palato-alveolar consonant|Palato-<br>alveolar]]
! colspan="2" | [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! {{small|plain}}|| {{small|[[sibilant]]}} || {{small|[[Lateral consonant|lateral]]}}
! {{small|plain}} || {{small|[[Labialization|labial]]}}
|-
! rowspan="3" | [[Stop consonant|Stop]]
! {{small|[[Aspirated consonant|unaspirated]]}}
| {{IPA link|b}} {{angbr|b}}{{efn|name=bŋ}}
| {{IPA link|t}} {{angbr|d}}
| {{IPA link|ts}} {{angbr|dz}}
| {{IPA link|tɬ}} {{angbr|dl}}
| {{IPA link|tʃ}} {{angbr|dj}}
| {{IPA link|k}} {{angbr|g}}
| {{IPA link|kʷ}} {{angbr|gw}}
| {{IPA link|q}} {{angbr|G}}
| 
|-
! {{small|[[Aspirated consonant|aspirated]]}}
| 
| {{IPA link|tʰ}} {{angbr|t}}
| {{IPA link|tsʰ}} {{angbr|ts}}
| {{IPA link|tɬʰ}} {{angbr|tl}}
| {{IPA link|tʃʰ}} {{angbr|ch}}
| {{IPA link|kʰ}} {{angbr|k}}
| 
| {{IPA link|qʰ}} {{angbr|q}}
| 
|-
! {{small|[[Ejective consonant|ejective]]}}
| 
| {{IPA link|tʼ}} {{angbr|t’}}
| {{IPA link|tsʼ}} {{angbr|ts’}}
| {{IPA link|tɬʼ}} {{angbr|tl’}}
| {{IPA link|tʃʼ}} {{angbr|ch’}}
| {{IPA link|kʼ}} {{angbr|k’}}
| 
| {{IPA link|qʼ}} {{angbr|q’}}
| {{IPA link|ʔ}} {{angbr|'}}
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Fricative]]
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|s}} {{angbr|s}}
| {{IPA link|ɬ}} {{angbr|L}}
| {{IPA link|ʃ}} {{angbr|sh}}
| {{IPA link|x}} {{angbr|x}}
| {{IPA link|xʷ}} {{angbr|xw}}
| {{IPA link|χ}} {{angbr|X}}
| {{IPA link|h}} {{angbr|h}}
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Sonorant]]
| {{IPA link|m}} {{angbr|m}}{{efn|name=mn|The nasals [n] and [m] occur in loanwords; in native words, Krauss (1965) suggests that they can be interpreted as /l/ and /w/ (respectively) followed by a nasalized vowel.}}
| {{IPA link|n}} {{angbr|n}}{{efn|name=mn}}
| 
| {{IPA link|l}} {{angbr|l}}
| {{IPA link|j}} {{angbr|y}}
| {{IPA link|ŋ}} {{angbr|ŋ}}{{efn|name=bŋ|/b/ and /ŋ/ occur only in loanwords.}}
| {{IPA link|w}} {{angbr|w}}
| 
| 
|}
{{notelist}}

Aspirated stops contrast with unaspirated stops only before vowels.

All consonants may be found stem-initially, except /h/, which is interpreted as zero. /h/ has the allophone [h] only word-initially or directly following a vowel.

===Vowels===
Eyak has five vowel qualities /ɪ e a ə ʊ/, three of which also distinguish duration, [[nasalization]], [[creaky voice]] (i.e. glottalization), and [[breathy voice]] (‘aspiration’ in Krauss's terminology). The vowel {{IPAslink|ə}} only occurs as short and in [[modal voice]], without nasalization. {{IPAslink|a}} can also vary between {{IPAblink|a}} or {{IPAblink|ɔ}}, and {{IPAslink|e}} can vary between {{IPAblink|e}}, {{IPAblink|ɛ}}, or {{IPAblink|æ}}. Breathy voice vowels are all short {{IPA|/ɪ̤ e̤ a̤ ʊ̤/}}, although most of them can also be nasalized {{IPA|/ɪ̤̃ ã̤ ʊ̤̃/}}.
:{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!
! colspan="2" | [[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan="2" | [[Central vowel|Central]]
! colspan="2" | [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
!
!'''Oral'''
!'''Nasal'''
!'''Oral'''
!'''Nasal'''
!'''Oral'''
!'''Nasal'''
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPAlink|ɪ}} ɪː ɪ̰ ɪ̰ː ɪ̤ 
|ɪ̃ ɪ̃ː ɪ̰̃ ɪ̰̃ː ɪ̤̃
|
|
| {{IPAlink|ʊ}} ʊː ʊ̰ ʊ̰ː ʊ̤
|ʊ̃ ʊ̃ː ʊ̰̃ ʊ̰̃ː ʊ̤̃
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| eː ḛ ḛː e̤
|
| {{IPAlink|ə}} 
|
|
|
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|
|
| aː a̰ a̰ː a̤
|ã ãː ã̰ ã̰ː
|
|
|}

==== Writing vowels in Eyak ====
In the system developed to represent Eyak in writing, long vowels are represented by characters following the basic vowel: a colon <:> for long vowels, an apostrophe < ’> for glottalized (or creaky voice) vowels, an <h> for breathy voiced (“aspirated”) vowels and an <n> for nasalized vowels. 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! ''‘Unmodified’ (modal, oral)''!! ''Glottal (creaky voice)''!! ''‘Aspirated’ (breathy voice)''!! ''Long''!! ''Glottal long''!! ''Glottal nasal''!! ''‘Aspirated’ nasal''!! ''Long nasalized''!! ''Long glottalized nasal''
|-
| i
| i’
| ih
| i:
| i:’
| in’
| inh
| i:n
| i:n’ 	
|-
| rowspan="2" | A
| e’
| eh
| e:
| e:’	
|
|
|
|
|-
| a’
| ah
| a:
| a:’
| an’
| anh
| a:n
| a:n’ 	
|-
| u
| u’
| uh
| u:
| u:’
| un’	
| unh	
| u:n	
| u:n’ 	
|}

===Suprasegmentals===
All [[Syllable|syllables]] begin with an onset, so that no two vowels may occur consecutively. Only vowels can be the nuclei of syllables. Stems are [[Syllable weight|heavy syllables]], whereas affixes tend to be light. 

Unlike many of the [[Athabascan languages]] to which it is related, Eyak is not [[Tone (linguistics)|tonal]]. It does not use variations in fundamental frequency (i.e. ‘pitch accents’) to convey contrast. [[Stress (linguistics)|Lexical stress]] usually falls on stems and/or [[Syllable weight|heavy syllables]]. In sequences of heavy syllables, the stress falls on the penultimate syllable, as in ''qʼahdiʼlah'' /qʼa̤ˈtɪ̰la̤/ “goodbye”.

==Morphology==
Eyak is an [[Agglutinative language|agglutinative]], [[Polysynthetic language|polysynthetic]] language.

===Nouns===
With few exceptions, Eyak nouns are morphophonemically invariable. Kinship and anatomical stems are the only noun stems that may take pronominal possessive prefixes, which are as follow:
* First person singular: ''si- (siya:q’e’'', "my aunt [mother's sister]")
* Second person singular: ''’i-'' (''’ita:’'', "your (sg.) father")
* Third person singular and plural: ''’u-''
* First person plural: ''qa:-''
* Second person plural: ''lAX-''
* [[Indefinite pronoun|Indefinite]]: ''k’u-''
* [[Reciprocal pronoun|Reciprocal]]: ''’Ad-''

===Preverbals===

Preverbals in Eyak are the category of words made up of [[preverb]]als and [[Preposition and postposition|postpositions]]. The two are grouped together because one morpheme may often be used as the stem in both categories. Preverbals are individual words that occur in conjunction with the verb. These combinations may almost be said to form [[lexeme]]s, especially due to the fact that preverbals are rarely if ever used in isolation in natural speech. Preverbals are nearly always [[Bound morpheme|unbound]] and are phonologically separate from the verb, contrasting with the corresponding class in Athabaskan which may be [[Incorporation (linguistics)|incorporated]] or not. One preverbal is most common, but combinations of two are equally possible, as in ''’uya’ ’Adq’Ach’ k’udAdAGu’'' "hot water bottle" (in it onto self something/someone is kept warm). There are more than 100 Eyak basic preverbal morphemes.

Postpositions relate directly to an object outside of the verb. Current analysis by Krauss has been phonological rather than semantic, but there is at least one semantically grouped category of postpositions to consider, that of comparatives. This grouping includes P-'''ga’''' "like P", P-'''’u’X''' "less than P", and P-'''lAX''' "more than P" where P is any postpositional phrase. Eyak lacks conjunctions and many postpositions assume a similar function, creating [[Dependent clause|subordinate clauses]]. These postpositions attach to the verb, the most common example being -'''da:X''' "and" or "if, when".

===Verbs===
Eyak [[Word stem|verb stems]] take many affixes: there are nine [[prefix]] positions before the verb (many of which may be subdivided) and four [[suffix]] positions after. All positions may be filled with zero, except the stem, which can be filled by any of several hundred morphemes but not zero.

====Affix position====
# Object
## Direct object: '''xu''' (1 sg.), '''’i''' (2 sg.), ø~'''A''' (3 sg. and pl.), '''lAXi:''' (2 pl.), '''’Ad'''('''A''')~'''’Ad'''('''u''') ([[Reflexive pronoun|reflexive]]), '''’i'''~'''’i(dA)''' (indeterminate)
## Indefinite subject or object: '''k’u’'''
##* The indeterminate is used where there is no specific object (such as in intransitive verbs), while the indefinite is used where there is a specific but unspecified subject or object. 
## Mark of [[Transitivity (grammar)|semitransitive]]: '''’'''~''':'''
# [[Tense–aspect–mood|Tense/aspect/mood]] A ([[Inchoative aspect|inceptive imperfect]]): '''qu’'''~'''qa’'''~'''qe’'''~'''qi’''' 
# '''’i:lih''' ~ ''':lih'''
#* This position is filled only in a few verbs of thought or emotion, such as '''ilih'''
# Plurality emphasizer: '''qA''' (subject ''and'' object)
# Classificatory (nominal) and thematic (verbal) qualifiers: the most variable and characteristically Eyak affix position. '''gu''', '''XA''', '''lAXA''', '''dA''', '''yA''', and '''lA''' may occur singly, the rest occur in combinations of two or three. 
## '''GA, gu'''
## '''XA'''
## '''qi:''', '''lAXA''', '''ti:''', '''ku:n''', '''k’ush''', '''tsin''', '''tsi:'''
## '''dA''', '''yA'''
## '''lA'''~''':n'''
#* Only in position C. do the morphemes have specified meaning, and only nominally, for example: '''lAXA''', "berry-like, ball-like, eye" or '''qi:''' + '''dA''' "foot". The other morphemes have unlimited, much broader meanings, but tend to concentrate in certain areas. They may be nominal classificatory or verbal thematic. 
#** '''gu'''+'''lA''' is nominally classificatory and refers to liquid or viscous matter; when '''gu''' appears by itself it refers nominally to basket-roots, thread, or hair, (but not rope), as well as thematically with -'''L'''-'''qu''', "chase". 
#** '''XA'''+'''dA''' may nominally refer to matches or logs (but not sticks) or to clouds, among others. '''dA''' alone thematically refers to an unusually broad selection including but not limited to hunger, sleds, arrows, noises (only certain types), and non-solid round objects (including eggs, severed heads, and hearts). 
#** This is a very limited sampling of the breadth of the meanings of the possible morphemes in position 5. 
# Tense/aspect/mood B1: '''GA''', ø ~ '''A''', ''':''' ~ '''A'''
# Subject: '''xw''' (1 sg.), ø ~ '''y'''('''i''') (2 sg.), '''lAX''' (2 pl.), ø (all else)
# Tense/aspect/mood B2: ''sA ~ s'' ([[Perfective aspect|perfective]]), ('''y''')'''i''' ~ ø (inconclusive function)
# [[Voice (grammar)|Verb voice]] classifier: ø, '''dA'''~'''di''', '''L''', '''LA'''~'''Li'''
# Verb stem

# [[Derivation (linguistics)|Derivational]]: '''g''' ([[Habitual aspect|habitual action]]), '''X''' ~ ø ([[Continuous and progressive aspects|progressive]])
# [[Grammatical aspect|Aspectival]]: '''L''' ([[Perfective aspect|perfective]]); Derivational: '''k’''' (customary)
# [[Affirmative and negative|Negative]]: '''G'''
# Human subject or object of third person: '''inh''' (sg.), '''inu:''' (pl.); non-human object of [[Imperative mood|imperative]]: '''uh'''

An artificial but grammatical example presents near-maximum affixal positions filled: '''dik’ lAXi:qAqi’dAxsLXa’Xch’gLG''' "I did not tickle your (plural, emphatically) feet." This gives:
* '''dik’''', negative particle
* Prefix position 1: '''lAXi:''', direct object, you pl. 
* Position 4: '''qA''', emphasizing plurality
* Positions 5C & D: '''qi’''' + '''dA''', pertaining to feet
* Position 6: ø, negative active perfective 
* Position 7: '''x''', 1st pers. sg. subject
* Position 8: '''s''', perfective
* Position 9: '''L'''
* Stem: '''Xa’Xch’''', tickle
* Suffix position 1: '''g''', repetitive
* Position 2: '''L''', perfective
* Position 3: '''G''', negative

====Tense, mood, and aspect====

There are two moods, [[Optative mood|optative]] and [[Imperative mood|imperative]], and two aspects, [[Perfective aspect|perfective]] and [[Imperfective aspect|imperfective]]. Verbs may be [[Inchoative aspect|inceptive]], 'active,' or 'neuter', such that the possibilities are as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! !! Inceptive !! Active !! Neuter
|-
! Perfective
| is doing, is becoming || did, became || is
|-
! Imperfective
| will do, will become || is doing || is
|-
! Optative
| let it do, let it become || let it do || let it become
|-
! Imperative
| let it do!, let it become! || let it do! || let it be!
|}

Morphemes in prefix position 2 modify the inceptive imperfective; in position 6 the perfective, optative, and imperative in inceptive, active and neuter; in position 8 the inceptive optative, active perfective and optative, and neuter perfective, imperfective, optative, and imperative; in suffix position 2 the inceptive, active, and neuter perfective; and in suffix position 3, negativity.

There are also three [[Derivation (linguistics)|derivational]] modes, a repetitive, a customary, and a progressive. The infinitive takes approximately the same form as the imperative, with some variation.

==Syntax==
The majority of the Eyak corpus is narrative, with very little spontaneous conversation (and that only when embedded in the narratives). There is a better understanding therefore of the syntax of Eyak narrative style and performance than of natural speech. The basic word order of Eyak is [[Subject–object–verb|subject-object-verb]], or SOV, as in "''Johnny ’uyAqa’ts’ sALxut’L''" "Johnny shot his (own) hand." Relatively few sentences, however, follow this exact pattern; it is far more common to find SV or OV. The full word order of a transitive sentence is I S O <nowiki>[[C P] V]</nowiki>:
*I, introductory sector: consists of two parts, a connective (e.g. 'and so,' 'then,' etc.) and one or more adverbs, especially temporal and spatial adverbs. 
*S, subject
*O, object
*V, verb sector: includes two subsectors in addition to the verb. 
**C, complement subsector: in Eyak syntax a complement is a noun or noun phrase (e.g. not a demonstrative pronoun) and does not have the same meaning as the usual use of 'complement' in ordinary syntax. This is due to traditional classifications of Eyak. 
**P, preverbal subsector: includes preverbals (preverbs and postpositions) and pronouns.

The subject and object categories can consist of a [[noun]], a [[noun phrase]], or a [[demonstrative]] phrase. All constituents may be filled by zero, excepting the verb.

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Hund |first=Andrew |entry=Eyak |year=2004 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Arctic |publisher=Taylor and Francis |isbn=1-57958-436-5}}
* {{cite web |last=Krauss |first=Michael E. |year=1965 |url=https://www.uaf.edu/anla/record.php?identifier=CA961K1965b |title=Eyak: a preliminary report |website=Alaska Native Language Archive |publisher=University of Alaska, Fairbanks}} 
* {{cite book |editor-last=Krauss |editor-first=Michael E. |year=1982 |title=In Honor of Eyak: The Art of Anna Nelson Harry |location=Fairbanks |publisher=Alaska Native Language Center |isbn=0-933769-03-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Krauss |first=Michael E. |year=2004 |chapter=Athabaskan tone |pages=51–136 |editor-first=Sharon |editor-last=Hargus |editor-first2=Keren |editor-last2=Rice |title=Athabaskan Prosody |series=Current Issues in Linguistic Theory |volume=269 |location=Amsterdam |publisher=John Benjamins |isbn=90-272-4783-8}} Based on an unpublished manuscript dated 1979.
* {{cite book |last1=Krauss |first1=Michael E. |first2=Jeff |last2=Leer |title=Athabaskan, Eyak, and Tlingit Sonorants |year=1981 |publisher=Alaska Native Language Center |isbn=0-933769-35-0}}
*{{cite magazine |magazine=New Yorker |date=June 6, 2005 |title=Last Words, A Language Dies |last=Kolbert |first=Elizabeth |author-link=Elizabeth Kolbert}}
{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last1=Krauss |first1=Michael E. |last2=Baetscher |first2=Kevin |last3=Holton |first3=Gary |title=A Grammar of Eyak |location=Berlin, Boston |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |date=2025 |doi=10.1515/9783110756470}}

== External links ==
* [http://eyakpeople.com/ dAXunhyuu Eyak Language Project]
* [http://www.uaf.edu/anla/collections/eyak/about/ Overview of Eyak Language] at the Alaska Native Language Archive
* [http://www.nveyak.com Native Village of Eyak] (official homepage of the Tribe)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224759/http://www.omniglot.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=550 An Eyak speaker]
* [http://www.uaf.edu/anlc Alaska Native Language Center]
* [http://www.asna.ca/alaska/research/slovar.pdf#page=20 Wrangell's 1839 Comparative Word-List of Alaskan languages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119085022/http://www.asna.ca/alaska/research/slovar.pdf#page=20 |date=2012-11-19 }} (includes Eyak)
* [http://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/response.cgi?root=new100&morpho=0&basename=new100\nde\eya&limit=-1 Eyak basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7206411.stm BBC News article] about death of last native speaker, with her picture. (Article date January 24, 2008).
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100115224558/http://redzone.org/index.php/eyak_preservation_council Eyak Preservation Council]
* [http://multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/issues/1993/03/mm0393_09.html From Stewards to Shareholders: Eyaks Face Extinction] (interview).
* [http://www.eyakcorporation.com The Eyak Corporation] ([[Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act|ANSCA]] Corporation)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110610140310/http://www.adn.com/2010/06/27/1343777/unlikely-passion-may-save-eyak.html Extinct Alaska Native language draws French student's interest]
* [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704499604575407862950503190?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Lifestyle_5 "In Alaska, a Frenchman Fights to Revive the Eyak's Dead Tongue"] Jim Carlton, ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', 10 August 2010

{{Languages of Alaska}}
{{North American languages}}

[[Category:Extinct languages of North America]]
[[Category:Indigenous languages of the Pacific Northwest Coast]]
[[Category:Indigenous languages of Alaska]]
[[Category:Na-Dene languages]]
[[Category:Non-tonal languages in tonal families]]
[[Category:Northern Northwest Coast Sprachbund (North America)]]
[[Category:Northwest Coast Sprachbund (North America)]]
[[Category:2008 disestablishments in Alaska]]
[[Category:Languages extinct in the 2000s]]
[[Category:Eyak]]