Why do words for meat and fish have different meanings in different Eskimo-Aleut languages?

In the Eskimo-Aleut languages, variations in vocabulary—such as words for "meat" and "fish"—arise primarily because different groups have historically lived under distinct environmental conditions.1

For instance, the word that signifies "meat" in Inuit and certain Yupik languages across Greenland and Siberia is used to mean "fish" in regions south of Norton Sound and within Unangam Tunuu. Such linguistic shifts reflect the local particularities of the environments in which these populations developed. Additionally, the practice of word taboo has influenced vocabulary changes, where certain terms are replaced by descriptive phrases to avoid using forbidden words.1