Eyak Language Project

Eyak Language Project
When the Eyak language (Na-Dene) lost its last native speaker in 2008, the Eyak Preservation Council, Eyak Corporation of Alaska, and Alaska's Humanities Forum lent financial support to the creation of the Eyak Language Project, a language revitalization effort that incorporates the efforts of Michael Krauss, Professor Emeritus, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Guillaume Leduey (a Frenchman who learned Eyak online in France), and Eyak tribal members in a process that intends to achieve revitalization through three objectives.

The first goal of the Eyak Language Project is to utilize Dr. Krauss' knowledge of Eyak (he did linguistic work with the last native speakers, and it proficient) to record the words that Eyak people want to learn and keep "alive." To achieve this, the Eyak Language Project surveyed Eyak tribal members' desires for words and consulted Krauss. Secondly, the Project created the WOW (Word of the Week) system, whereby audio/visual material from the last native speaker is used to teach important, daily-use words. So far, the Project created 52 WOW lessons. And, finally, in 2005 the Eyak Language Project created the "Language Survival Kit" with the support of a grant from the Administration for Native Americans. The Survival Kit contains 5 multimedia DVDs with lessons on the writing system, the grammar, and how to use the technical dictionary. More than 30,000 paper documents were scanned and archived on data discs. In addition, the entire original dictionary and text collection created by Dr. Krauss was electronically replicated. Only 15 of these highly expensive kits were produced, and they were offered to universities, libraries, museums, non-profit indigenous language learning organizations, and interested individuals (for example, the Alaska Native Language Center and the Alaska Native Language Archive).

Links for the Eyak Language Project
Eyak Language Project website

Eyak Language Project Facebook