Ok, here are the different terms for snow, and their different connotations:
aniu - A Norton Sound (NS) dialect term. Also creates the NS stem
aniu- "to snow."
apun - Another NS dialect term.
qanikcaq - It seems to come from the word
qanuk "snowflake." It is the General Central Yup'ik (GCY) term.
So the first two are specific to a certian Yup'ik dialect, where as the last is used in a broader linguistic area. Other then that, there are no other differences.
I should probably also note the Jacobson has graciously uploaded a digital copy of his updated two volume dictionary online at the U of A's
Alaska Native Language Archive. I'm still working off the older one volume edition
(though I probably will pick up a copy of the new one eventually). I can try to drum up a direct link later if you want.
I really love the folktales - they're so imaginative and blunt, and often either really dark or really hilarious (or both). Though most of the stories in my collections seem to come more from Greenland or eastern Canada rather than Alaska.
Yes, indeed. The folktales of various native peoples are quite facinating to me as well. The idea of reading them in the original languages was a driving force in my interest in studying both some Eskimo-Aleut languages, and other Native American languages in general. That and the rich history of the tribes.
I have a bit of a collect of folktales myself. Mostly in Mohawk, Lakota, Lushootseed, Tlingit, Aleut, Iñupiaq, and Yup'ik.
Phew, that Jacobson book is huge! That must be a useful thing to have.
Believe me, it is.
It's not for the faint of heart, as it is quite grammar heavy, and quite intense. However, it is the single best volume on Yup'ik in English, bar none. If you don't have a copy and are truly interested in learning Yup'ik, I recommend you pick up a copy if you can.