In 2008, Nunavut’s legislature passed the Official Languages Act, Inuit Language Protection Act, and Education Act. These pieces of legislation stress the permanent and primary role of the Inuit language within all sectors of Nunavut life, including a completely bilingual K-12 education system by 2019.
Through simultaneous English translation, I listened as delegates discussed foreseeable challenges to meeting the requirements set forth in the legislation. The idea of choosing a single Inuktitut dialect to speed the production of printed material was highlighted. Nunavut is enormous and great dialectical differences can exist between its 25 communities. Nunavummiut use four different words for ‘thank you,’ for example.
According to the 2006 Canadian census, 64% of Inuit in Nunavut reported being able to speak the Inuit language well enough to carry on a conversation, an 8% decline from the 1996 census which found 72% spoke the language conversationally.
To make matters more complicated, five communities in western Nunavut speak the Inuinnaqtun dialect, which like Inupiatun is severely endangered. In these communities, English not Inuinnaqtun is the first language of young people, whereas in the east, many individuals in their early twenties grew up speaking only Inuktitut. Inuktitut is written in a syllabic alphabet; Inuinnaqtun is not. This has made territory-wide efforts to revive and promote language use uneven and awkward, as language strength and dialect can differ significantly between villages.
The Inuit language is now an official language within Nunavut Territory, along with English and French – Canada’s two official languages. The Inuit Language Protection Act will enforce this fact beginning in 2013, by which time businesses are expected to have Inuit language signs, translated materials, and hired staff who speak the language.
The Inuit language is now an official language within Nunavut Territory, along with English and French – Canada’s two official languages. The Inuit Language Protection Act will enforce this fact beginning in 2013, by which time businesses are expected to have Inuit language signs, translated materials, and hired staff who speak the language.
The hope is that these laws will help honor the fact that Inuit are the majority in Nunavut, and that their mother tongue is an inseparable part of who they are. Speaking with Nunavut Language Commissioner Alexina Kublu of Igloolik, it is well understood that when it comes to language issues, many people simply have other priorities.
“The concerns of the average person are so grassroots that it’s sometimes hard for them to think about esoteric situations,” Kublu said. “Where are their children going to get food from? That is a reality, and the use of languages is just a day to day thing that you don’t think about.”
Kublu’s office is responsible for enforcing the language rights included in the Official Language Act and Protection Act for Nunavummiut. It is the body that people can appeal to, whether they speak French, English, or the Inuit language, to report violations of their language rights.
“With the Inuit Language Protection Act, we’re trying to make the language of the work place Inuktitut,” Kublu said.
A lesson can be drawn from these efforts, and it is that diversity within a dying language is not necessarily a good thing, that cooperation is critical. In Alaska, efforts for language revival, when they happen, are also complicated. Nunavummiut are fortunate to have a federally funded government carrying out language programs, rather than separate tribes, regional corporations, and academic institutions that contribute piecemeal to Inupiatun revival.
In northern Alaska, where Inupiatun dialectical differences are tiny and communities are (compared to Canada) close together, disunity does not make sense in a race against time that we do not have to lose but, through inaction, could easily lose. If I learned anything from the South Baffin roundtable, it was that cooperation across dialects and organizations gets work done.
“The concerns of the average person are so grassroots that it’s sometimes hard for them to think about esoteric situations,” Kublu said. “Where are their children going to get food from? That is a reality, and the use of languages is just a day to day thing that you don’t think about.”
Kublu’s office is responsible for enforcing the language rights included in the Official Language Act and Protection Act for Nunavummiut. It is the body that people can appeal to, whether they speak French, English, or the Inuit language, to report violations of their language rights.
“With the Inuit Language Protection Act, we’re trying to make the language of the work place Inuktitut,” Kublu said.
A lesson can be drawn from these efforts, and it is that diversity within a dying language is not necessarily a good thing, that cooperation is critical. In Alaska, efforts for language revival, when they happen, are also complicated. Nunavummiut are fortunate to have a federally funded government carrying out language programs, rather than separate tribes, regional corporations, and academic institutions that contribute piecemeal to Inupiatun revival.
In northern Alaska, where Inupiatun dialectical differences are tiny and communities are (compared to Canada) close together, disunity does not make sense in a race against time that we do not have to lose but, through inaction, could easily lose. If I learned anything from the South Baffin roundtable, it was that cooperation across dialects and organizations gets work done.
Similar cooperation is urgently needed between the Northwest and North Slope Boroughs to pool resources and ideas, as well as to formulate a working strategy to create living language speakers in communities. Corporate assets supplementing the work of an Inupiatun working group; IRAs, city governments, and school districts – working together – could assist in executing the goals of such a working group. A standard Inupiatun dialect for classroom materials and other publications could save time, money, and reach more people quickly.
These ideas may seem unrealistic, expensive, or naive, but ideas are always the first step. In 1971, Nunavut was an idea – a topic of conversation between seven Inuit leaders sitting in a conference room outside Toronto. It is now a reality.
In regions where Inupiat are the majority, Inupiatun learning should not have to be a hidden, unmotivated, individual effort. It needs to be brought back to the forefront of public life, as it once was for hundreds of generations.
These ideas may seem unrealistic, expensive, or naive, but ideas are always the first step. In 1971, Nunavut was an idea – a topic of conversation between seven Inuit leaders sitting in a conference room outside Toronto. It is now a reality.
In regions where Inupiat are the majority, Inupiatun learning should not have to be a hidden, unmotivated, individual effort. It needs to be brought back to the forefront of public life, as it once was for hundreds of generations.
