Which language is most used (Bethel, Barrow: home, school, live)

[ladyscorpian14]

I'm going to betaking alaska native languages 1 and wanted to know from this list which is most used and know

1. central yup'ik
2.siberian yup'ik
3.tingit, inupiaq
4. haida- eyak

Any help would be great

[d99]

In Alaska, English!

Your forgetting Inupiat!

In Barrow where I lived they spoke Inupiat, but damn near 100% speak English.

Go to the UAF website and email some of the professors.

In any major city in Alaska the lingua franca will always be English.

And not every bush city is a native city. Nome is not a native city, neither is Prudhoe Bay.

[mal_flisk]

Aleut is also still spoken, but as the previous poster said, English is still the lingua franca of the land.

[Blueberry]

I'd hazard a guess that of the four mentioned, Central Yup'ik is the best known because it's spread over a wider region with thousands of native speakers. Most Yup'iks speak the language within the home although they also have a good grasp of English; many don't learn English until they go to school. There is a concerted effort to keep this language alive; there is even an immersion school in Bethel.

I just don't see the other languages having such a large population base. Furthermore, from what I understand, the other native languages are the second language, with English being the first (even in the home).