Eskimo language
1
8.1
- noun
- /ˈɛskɪmoʊ ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/
- Offensive
:
lenguas esquimales (ofensivo)
- Many young people are learning the Eskimo languages today.
Examples
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The Eskimo language has contributed words to the English vocabulary, such as "kayak" and "igloo".
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Researchers have documented ancient legends preserved in the Eskimo language.
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The Eskimo language includes several dialects spoken across Alaska, Canada, and Greenland.
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The Eskimo language family includes Inuit and Yupik.
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Many indigenous peoples in the Arctic regions still speak their traditional Eskimo language today.
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Learning the Eskimo language can help preserve the cultural heritage of the Inuit people.
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The Eskimo language family includes several dialects, such as Inuit and Yupik.
Synonyms
A family of languages spoken in the Arctic regions of North America and Siberia, like Inuit and Aleut
A group of related languages including Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut spoken in Arctic North America and Siberia
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward noun + noun composition: knowing 'Eskimo' (the indigenous Arctic peoples) and 'language' (a system of speech) lets a learner infer it refers to the language(s) spoken by Eskimo people. This compositional pattern is cross-linguistically common and requires no idiomatic knowledge, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will grasp the meaning.
Etymology
Eskimo language comes from the word Eskimo, which other nearby groups used for the Arctic people; one popular story says that word meant 'people who use snowshoes', a clear image of people moving across the snow. So Eskimo language simply meant 'the language of those Arctic people'.