Alaskan Vocabulary

Every once in a while I get asked about Alaska and some of the terms I use to describe things in my blog. This post will be the first part of several on Alaskan terms, events, or places.

Alaska is unique in every way . . . it even has its own vocabulary. As Alaskans, we offer you a guide to some of the words and phrases, ancient and recent, known only to those who inhabit Alaska. Study these terms and you just might convince the locals that you are a true sourdough.

Outside: Anywhere outside Alaska but generally means the continental 48 states. When a local goes on vacation, they are headed "Outside".

Eskimo Ice Cream: The fat of a Seal or Caribou is whipped to a creamy texture and mixed with chopped meat or berries. Yummy.

Muktuk: An Eskimo delicacy consisting of the skin and attached layer of whale blubber. It can be eaten dried or cooked, but usually prepared raw.

Muskeg: Swamp or bog composed of layers of decomposing plant life. Often found in tundra regions.

Termination Dust: The construction workers during the building boom in the 1940's called the snowfall each year termination dust because it meant the end of their jobs would be terminated for the season. Now, it is used to refer to the first snowfall signaling the end of the summer season.

Cheechako: The Alaskan term for someone who is new to the country. A "tenderfoot" or "green horn".

Denali: Literally, means the "High One" or the "Great One”. Denali is the name given to the massive peak also known Outside as Mt. McKinley, by the Athabascan Native People. Congress officially changed the name of Mt. McKinley National Park to Denali National Park in the Alaskan Lands Act in 1980.

Sourdough: The name originally came from the Gold Rush of 1898 era when prospectors and other wanderers carried a lump of fermented starter dough for making bread in pouch around their neck. The fermented dough was kept close the body, to stay warm. A sourdough pouch hanging around a miner's neck was a clear sign of experience in survival. So, the term came to be associated with an old timer or someone who has been in the North Country a long time.

Lower 48: Alaskans refer to the continental United States as the lower 48.

Combat Fishing: Alaska features the most salmon rich fishing streams in the world. Opening day is so eagerly anticipated that hundreds of anglers will line the banks of the river, shoulder to shoulder, casting for fish. The trick is to actually hook a salmon and not a fellow salmon fisherman. The most popular place to ‘combat fish’ is the Kenai River in South Central Alaska where tourists, locals, and bears all vie for the tasty treat of salmon.

Tundra: The word comes from the Finnish word meaning barren or treeless land. Most of the Tundra exist on the planet exist in the Northern Hemisphere in a belt along the Arctic Ocean. This is where ANWAR is located and the ‘greenies’ conspire to keep it “pristine” not allowing the vast oil reserves to be reached allowing for lower fuel prices.

Mukluks: Mukluks are a soft boot made of caribou or sealskin and typically worn by the Eskimo.

Noseeums: Tiny winged insects (a form of small gnat) that is nearly invisible. The bug packs a nasty bite slightly less bothersome than a bear chewing your leg off.

Bunny Boots: Also known as Mukluks, a soft boot made of reindeer or sealskin.

More to follow . . .

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