Yugtun script
Encyclopedia
The Yugtun or Alaska script is a syllabary
invented around the year 1900 by Uyaquk
to write the Yugtun dialect
of Central Alaskan Yup'ik
. Uyaquk, who was monolingual in Yup'ik, initially used indigenous pictogram
s as a form of proto-writing that served as a mnemonic in preaching the Bible. However, when he realized that this did not allow him to reproduce the exact words of a passage the way the Latin alphabet
did for English-speaking missionaries, he and his assistants developed it until it became a full syllabary. Although Uyaquk never learned English or the Latin alphabet, he was influenced by both. The syllable kut, for example, resembles the cursive form of the English word good.
Syllabary
A syllabary is a set of written symbols that represent syllables, which make up words. In a syllabary, there is no systematic similarity between the symbols which represent syllables with the same consonant or vowel...
invented around the year 1900 by Uyaquk
Uyaquk
Uyaquq was a Yupik Moravian missionary and linguistic genius who went from being an illiterate adult to inventing a series of writing systems for his native language and then producing translations of the Bible and other religious works in a period of five years.Uyaquk was born in into a family of...
to write the Yugtun dialect
Yugtun
Yugtun is a dialect of Central Alaskan Yup'ik spoken in Central Alaska. A syllabic script, now referred to as the Yugtun script, was invented in the early 1900s by Uyaquk to write the language....
of Central Alaskan Yup'ik
Central Alaskan Yup'ik language
Central Alaskan Yup'ik or just Yup'ik is a Yupik language of the Eskimo language family, in turn a member of the Eskimo–Aleut language group, spoken in western and southwestern Alaska. Both in ethnic population and in number of speakers, Central Alaskan Yup'ik is the largest of the languages...
. Uyaquk, who was monolingual in Yup'ik, initially used indigenous pictogram
Pictogram
A pictograph, also called pictogram or pictogramme is an ideogram that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and graphic systems in which the characters are to considerable extent pictorial in appearance.Pictography is a...
s as a form of proto-writing that served as a mnemonic in preaching the Bible. However, when he realized that this did not allow him to reproduce the exact words of a passage the way the Latin alphabet
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
did for English-speaking missionaries, he and his assistants developed it until it became a full syllabary. Although Uyaquk never learned English or the Latin alphabet, he was influenced by both. The syllable kut, for example, resembles the cursive form of the English word good.