Languages of Alaska

Alaska is one of the most linguistically diverse parts of the United States. Besides English and Russian-derived words left from the colonial era, the state is home to 20 Alaska Native languages that were made official state languages in 2014. They belong to the Eskimo-Aleut and Na-Dené families, plus the language isolates Haida and Tsimshian, and most are now endangered. English is the language of about 86 percent of Alaskans at home, while Alaska Native languages are spoken by about 5 percent [1][2].

The Language Families

Alaska’s Native languages fall into a small number of families. The Eskimo-Aleut family includes Iñupiaq in the north and northwest, Central Alaskan Yup’ik and its Cup’ig dialect in the southwest, Siberian Yupik on St. Lawrence Island, Alutiiq on the Kodiak Archipelago and the Alaska Peninsula, and Unangax̂ (Aleut) in the Aleutian Islands. The Na-Dené family includes Tlingit, Eyak and the Athabaskan languages of the Interior and Southcentral regions. Haida and Tsimshian, spoken in Southeast Alaska, are each classified separately [1].

The 20 Official Languages

In 2014 the Alaska Legislature passed House Bill 216, which took effect in 2015 and recognizes 20 Alaska Native languages as official state languages alongside English. They are Iñupiaq, Siberian Yupik, Central Alaskan Yup’ik, Alutiiq, Unangax̂, Dena’ina, Deg Xinag, Holikachuk, Koyukon, Upper Kuskokwim, Gwich’in, Tanana, Upper Tanana, Tanacross, Hän, Ahtna, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian [1]. The law is symbolic in important respects: it does not require government documents or actions to be printed or recorded in these languages. A separate measure, House Concurrent Resolution 19, recognized a linguistic emergency, a phrase that drew some debate before it passed [1].

How Many People Speak Them?

Estimates from the Alaska Native Language Preservation and Advisory Council show how uneven the situation is. Central Alaskan Yup’ik is the strongest language, with an estimated 2,500 to 7,500 highly proficient speakers, followed by Iñupiaq with 500 to 1,500 and St. Lawrence Island Yupik with 400 to 750. Gwich’in has about 200, Koyukon 50 to 200, Alutiiq about 80, Aleut 40 to 80, Upper Kuskokwim about 40, Tlingit about 50 and Ahtna about 25. At the other extreme, Dena’ina, Haida and Tsimshian have only a handful of highly proficient speakers, Deg Xinag and Hän have two each, and Eyak and Holikachuk have none, although a small number of people have learned Eyak as a second language [1].

A Language Landscape in Decline

By the time Alaska became a state in 1959, only 20 Native languages were still spoken in the state, a sharp drop from the many languages in use before European contact. Many of them are now on the brink of extinction or already extinct, and the languages with the largest communities, such as Yup’ik, are the exceptions rather than the rule [1]. Linguist Michael E. Krauss described the 1960s and 1970s as a transitional period in which interest in these languages began to revive [1].

Historical Pressures

During the Russian colonial period, Russian words for new goods entered several languages, such as kofe for coffee and chay for tea, but the Native languages stayed dominant. After the arrival of missionary Sheldon Jackson in 1877, an English-only policy was introduced in schools and legal and political systems, with punishments for violations, and the Alaska Voter’s Literacy Act of 1924 required an English literacy test to vote. The English-only policy was struck down as unconstitutional in 2002 [1].

Writing and Documentation

Many of these languages had no written form before contact with outsiders. Moravian missionaries adapted a writing system for Yup’ik in the late nineteenth century, and Unangam Tunuu was written in Cyrillic from 1829 and in Latin script from 1870 [2][3]. Today stories are recorded in the speaker’s own language and written in both English and the language’s alphabet, and dictionaries and grammars have been produced for many languages [1].

Revitalization

The Alaska Native Language Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks works with about 20 languages, recording them and transcribing the recordings into dictionaries and grammar books. Villages offer classes to re-teach languages, and the university offers courses [1]. Other efforts include programs at Sealaska Heritage Institute and the University of Alaska Southeast for Tlingit, the Nikaitchuat Iȷisaġviat immersion school in Kotzebue for Iñupiaq, and the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association’s Unangam Tunuu program [2][3][4].

Edna Ahgeak MacLean’s Iñupiaq-English dictionary of 2014, with more than 19,000 entries, is one of the largest products of this work [4].

Languages and Identity

For Alaska Native peoples, language is closely tied to identity, and groups have historically been defined in large part by the language they speak. The state’s official recognition has been welcomed as a step toward raising public awareness, and communities continue to teach children, record elders and create new materials so that the languages can be carried into the future [1][5].

Place Names and Everyday Life

Alaska Native languages are visible across the state in place names, from Denali and Tanana to Kodiak and Sitka. Many communities now use dual-language signs, greetings and school programs, and public broadcasters and Native corporations have supported language classes and recordings. Because the number of fluent elders is shrinking, documentation projects focus on recording conversations, stories and place-name knowledge while speakers are still able to take part [1][5].

Younger learners increasingly study these languages as second languages through immersion nests, university courses and online lessons. Educators describe the work as a long-term effort: a language becomes secure again only when children use it at home as well as in class, which is why many programs involve whole families and village councils rather than schools alone [1][4].

FAQs

How many official languages does Alaska have? Alaska has 21 official languages in total: English and 20 Alaska Native languages recognized by a 2014 law that took effect in 2015.

What is the most spoken Alaska Native language? Central Alaskan Yup’ik, with an estimated 2,500 to 7,500 highly proficient speakers.

Does Alaska have language families? Yes. Alaska Native languages belong to the Eskimo-Aleut and Na-Dené families, plus Haida and Tsimshian.

Which Alaska Native language has no first-language speakers left? Eyak has no highly proficient first-language speakers, although a small number of people have learned it as a second language.

What does the Alaska Native Language Center do? It documents and teaches Alaska Native languages from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Sources

1. Wikipedia: Alaska Native languages
2. Wikipedia: Yupik peoples
3. Wikipedia: Aleut
4. Wikipedia: Iñupiat
5. Wikipedia: Alaska Natives

Editorially reviewed by Specialty Digest Editorial TeamLast reviewed November 11, 2026Researched and drafted with AI assistanceReport an issue