Inuktun
Encyclopedia
Inuktun is the language of approximately 1000 indigenous Inughuit
, inhabiting the world's northernmost settlements in Qaanaaq
and the surrounding villages in northwestern Greenland
. All speakers of Inuktun also speak Standard West Greenlandic and many also speak Danish
and a few also English
. Apart from the town of Qaanaaq, Inuktun is also spoken in the villages of Muriuhaq, Hiurapaluk
, Qikiqtat, Qikiqtarhuaq, Havighivik
(names given in Inuktun). The language was first described by the explorers Knud Rasmussen and Peter Freuchen
who travelled through northern Greenland in the early twentieth century and established a trading post at Dundas
in 1910. Inuktun does not have its own orthography
and is not taught in schools. However, most of the inhabitants of Qaanaaq and the surrounding villages use Inuktun in their everyday communication.
The language is an Eskimo–Aleut language and dialectologically
it is in between the Greenlandic Kalaallisut and the Canadian Inuktitut
. The Polar Inuit were the last to cross from Canada
into Greenland
and they may have arrived as late as in the eighteenth century. The language differs from Kalaallisut by substituting Kalaallisut /s/ with an h-sound often pronounced like a palatal fricative
as in German
ich. Inuktun also allows more consonant combinations than Kalaallisut and has some minor grammatical and lexical differences.
(double) forms:, , , , and /ɴ/ () (a uvular nasal).
Inughuit
The Inughuit or Polar Eskimos are the northernmost group of Inuit, and the world's northernmost people. They were first contacted by European peoples by the expedition led by Sir John Ross in 1818; Ross dubbed them "Arctic Highlanders"...
, inhabiting the world's northernmost settlements in Qaanaaq
Qaanaaq
Qaanaaq is the main town in the northern part of the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is one of the northernmost towns in the world. The inhabitants of Qaanaaq speak the West Greenlandic language and many also speak Inuktun. The town has a population of 626 as of 2010...
and the surrounding villages in northwestern Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
. All speakers of Inuktun also speak Standard West Greenlandic and many also speak Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
and a few also English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Apart from the town of Qaanaaq, Inuktun is also spoken in the villages of Muriuhaq, Hiurapaluk
Siorapaluk
Siorapaluk is a settlement in the Qaanaaq area of the Qaasuitsup municipality, in northern Greenland and is one of the world's northernmost inhabited settlements. It has a population of 68 speaking the Inuktun language of the Polar Inuit as well as Standard West Greenlandic...
, Qikiqtat, Qikiqtarhuaq, Havighivik
Savissivik
Savissivik is a settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality, in northern Greenland...
(names given in Inuktun). The language was first described by the explorers Knud Rasmussen and Peter Freuchen
Peter Freuchen
Peter Freuchen, born Lorenz Peter Elfred Freuchen was a Danish explorer, author, journalist and anthropologist.-Biography:...
who travelled through northern Greenland in the early twentieth century and established a trading post at Dundas
Pituffik
Pituffik is a former settlement in northern Greenland, located at the current site of the American Thule Air Base. The former inhabitants were relocated to the present-day town of Qaanaaq...
in 1910. Inuktun does not have its own orthography
Orthography
The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography...
and is not taught in schools. However, most of the inhabitants of Qaanaaq and the surrounding villages use Inuktun in their everyday communication.
The language is an Eskimo–Aleut language and dialectologically
Dialectology
Dialectology is the scientific study of linguistic dialect, a sub-field of sociolinguistics. It studies variations in language based primarily on geographic distribution and their associated features...
it is in between the Greenlandic Kalaallisut and the Canadian Inuktitut
Inuktitut
Inuktitut or Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, Eastern Canadian Inuit language is the name of some of the Inuit languages spoken in Canada...
. The Polar Inuit were the last to cross from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
into Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
and they may have arrived as late as in the eighteenth century. The language differs from Kalaallisut by substituting Kalaallisut /s/ with an h-sound often pronounced like a palatal fricative
Palatal fricative
A palatal fricative is a type of fricative consonant that is also a palatal consonant, i.e. pronounced with the body of the tongue in contact with the hard palate...
as in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
ich. Inuktun also allows more consonant combinations than Kalaallisut and has some minor grammatical and lexical differences.
Vowels
| Front Front vowel A front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far in front as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also... |
Central Central vowel A central vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a central vowel is that the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel... |
Back Back vowel A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark... |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Close Close vowel A close vowel is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.This term is prescribed by the... |
i | u | |
| Open Open vowel An open vowel is defined as a vowel sound in which the tongue is positioned as far as possible from the roof of the mouth. Open vowels are sometimes also called low vowels in reference to the low position of the tongue... |
a | ||
Consonants
Apart from the simple consonants given below, there are also 5 consonants which exist only in geminateGemination
In phonetics, gemination happens when a spoken consonant is pronounced for an audibly longer period of time than a short consonant. Gemination is distinct from stress and may appear independently of it....
(double) forms:
| Labial Labial consonant Labial consonants are consonants in which one or both lips are the active articulator. This precludes linguolabials, in which the tip of the tongue reaches for the posterior side of the upper lip and which are considered coronals... |
Alveolar Alveolar consonant Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli of the superior teeth... |
Palatal Palatal consonant Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate... |
Velar Velar consonant Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum).... |
Uvular Uvular consonant Uvulars are consonants articulated with the back of the tongue against or near the uvula, that is, further back in the mouth than velar consonants. Uvulars may be plosives, fricatives, nasal stops, trills, or approximants, though the IPA does not provide a separate symbol for the approximant, and... |
Glottal Glottal consonant Glottal consonants, also called laryngeal consonants, are consonants articulated with the glottis. Many phoneticians consider them, or at least the so-called fricative, to be transitional states of the glottis without a point of articulation as other consonants have; in fact, some do not consider... |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive Stop consonant In phonetics, a plosive, also known as an occlusive or an oral stop, is a stop consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases. The occlusion may be done with the tongue , lips , and &... |
/p/ | /t/ | /k/ | /q/ | ||
| Fricative Fricative consonant Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German , the final consonant of Bach; or... |
/v/ | /ɣ/ | /h/ | |||
| Nasal Nasal consonant A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :... |
/m/ | /n/ | /ŋ/ | |||
| Approximant Approximant consonant Approximants are speech sounds that involve the articulators approaching each other but not narrowly enough or with enough articulatory precision to create turbulent airflow. Therefore, approximants fall between fricatives, which do produce a turbulent airstream, and vowels, which produce no... |
/l/ | /j/ | /ʁ/ | |||
External links
- Pax Leonard, Stephen. "Scientist lives with Arctic Innuguit for a year to document and help save disappearing language." The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
.