Tulugaq

Well, it’s the end of the semester, and I’m trying to finish up papers as soon as possible. Mostly so that I can put more time into preparing for my summer fieldwork! I’ll be working with a Malimiut dialect Iñupiaq speaker again, and if I’m lucky, more than one consultant this time. Looking forward to it, although I have a list of questions as long as my arm. So many topics to explore, so little time.

While digging around online this evening, though, I ran into a lovely little distraction: Project Jukebox at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. I’ve seen some of the sites before but hadn’t realized they were part of a larger project. About half of them are collections of oral history recordings. All the ones I saw were in mp3 format, so not the best for phonetic work, but valuable for many other reasons, of course (both culturally and linguistically). And almost all of them have transcripts, too. Bonus!

North Slope Iñupiaq: Marvin Peter Photo Album Project

North Slope Iñupiaq: Chipp-Ikpikpuk and Meade Rivers Oral History Project

Gwich’in: Gileech’agarohookhyaa Shro’ (Don’t Forget the Past)

Cup’iq: Nunivak Island

Koyukon Athabaskan: Tanana Tribal Council

Central Alaskan Yup’ik: Yupiit School District Project Jukebox

Some Yup’ik, some Alutiiq (I think? I saw more than one language mentioned, but please correct me if I’m wrong.): Katmai National Park

Of course, my Iñupiaq being as poor as it is, I don’t have a prayer of understanding anything in the Iñupiaq recordings, but I can try, right? What a wonderful resource to have at our fingertips.