Mood Marking in Unangam Tunuu

Abstract

Unangam Tunuu has been recorded since the early days of contact in the mid 1700s; it is the sole representative of the 'Aleut' branch in the Eskimo-Aleut language family, and though it shares certain features with Yupik, Inuktitut and other Eskimo languages, it is distinct and employs a host of unique strategies to convey meaning. In this paper I will give an overview of the language, Unangam Tunuu, and background of the Indigenous people who speak it. I will also give a brief overview of the grammatical category of mood, discuss how mood is traditionally understood to function in European languages, and how it is represented in Unangam Tunuu. I will argue that the category of mood in Unangam Tunuu and the markers which have been glossed as such show many irregularities from what has been traditionally considered mood, and argue that this category needs to be critically re-examined. I will also suggest elicitation plans to assist in testing for mood-marking, specifically the indicative, as well as subjunctive-like or irrealis inflections.