Itelmen language
| Itelmen | |
|---|---|
| Western Kamchadal | |
| итэнмэн Itənmən | |
| Native to | Russia |
| Region | Kamchatka Peninsula |
| Ethnicity | Itelmens |
|
Native speakers
|
82 (2010 census) |
|
Chukotko-Kamchatkan
|
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | itel1242 |
Itelmen (autonym: itənmən) or Western Itelmen, formerly known as Western Kamchadal, is a language of the Chukotko-Kamchatkan family spoken on the western coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. Fewer than a hundred native speakers, mostly elderly, in a few settlements in the southwest of Koryak Autonomous Okrug, remained in 1993. The 2002 Census counted 3,180 ethnic Itelmen, virtually all of whom are now monolingual in Russian. However, there are attempts to revive the language, and it is being taught in a number of schools in the region.
(Western) Itelmen is the only surviving Kamchatkan language. It has two dialects, Sedanka and Xajrjuzovo (Ukä).
Originally the Kamchatkan languages were spoken throughout Kamchatka and possibly also in the northern Kuril Islands. Vladimir Atlasov, who annexed Kamchatka and established military bases in the region, estimated in 1697 that there were about 20,000 ethnic Itelmens. The explorer Stepan Krasheninnikov, who gave the first detailed description of the Itelmen language and culture, identified the three main dialects, but explained that all Itelmens could understand each other.
From the time of Atlasov, Russian fur traders began to settle in the region. There were frequent clashes between Cossacks and Itelmens, who rebelled against Russian domination. Many Itelmen were forcibly converted to Christianity, and by the early nineteenth century all Itelmen were forced to adopt Russian names. Intermarriage with Russian settlers led to the development of a creole known as Kamchadal, traces of which remain in the Russian dialect now spoken in Kamchatka.
During the Soviet era the process of assimilation intensified, as Itelmen communities were moved by force and children were sent to boarding schools where they were required to speak Russian. By the end of the 1930s Russian was the medium of instruction in all schools, and children grew up speaking Russian as their main language.
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Wikipedia