Basic Alutiiq Grammar

People who are especially interested in learning the Alutiiq language may wonder "What's next?" after learning the letter sounds. This section helps you go further into the basics of Alutiiq grammar, beginning with mechanics of the language like identifying syllables and number endings, and finishing with an introduction to sentences. In order to create sentences in Alutiiq, you must understand noun and verb stems, and how to add suffixes to those stems. You can not simply look up words in the dictionary and string them together create a phrase or sentence.

Alutiiq is a very suffix-based language. Suffixes are added to Alutiiq stems to create meaning and put subjects, objects, and verbs into the same "mood." To say what you want to say in Alutiiq, you must know how to use suffixes. But, if you ask an Elder about "suffixes," "postbases," or the rules of "joining types," as they are spoken of in books, they probably will not be familiar with these terms. However, they will know all the rules by heart, as they have simply grown up speaking this way. For example, you may not know the difference between the "subject," "predicate," and "object" in an English sentence, but you can speak English without a problem. The rules for proper sentence construction are ingrained in your subconscious. This is the way it is for a fluent Alutiiq speaker.

The lessons below will bring you closer to creating simple sentences in Alutiiq, but they will not teach you to speak Alutiiq. It is good to learn about Alutiiq grammatical rules, but the best way to learn how to speak is from a person. Until you have a chance to work with a speaker, the following lessons will give you a good overview of Alutiiq grammar.

Compiled from Dr. Jeff Leer's Classroom Grammar of Koniag Alutiiq, Kodiak Island Dialect and A Conversational Dictionary of Kodiak Alutiiq, P.H. Knecht's Alutiiq Hypercard Lesson and Alutiiq Language (Sugt'stun) Lessons, with input from various Native speakers and Jeff Leer.