Inuinnaqtun

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Inuinnaqtun Inuktitut, Kangiryuarmiutun
Spoken in:	Canada (Nunavut and Northwest Territories)
Total speakers:	approximately 2,000
Language family:	Inuit
Official status
Official language in:	Nunavut and Northwest Territories (Canada)
Regulated by:	Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
Language codes
ISO 639-1:	`iu`
ISO 639-2:	`iku`
ISO 639-3:	`ikt`
Communities where Inuinnaqtun is spoken
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.

Inuinnaqtun is an indigenous language of Canada. It is related very closely to Inuktitut, and many people believe that Inuinnaqtun is only a dialect of Inuktitut. The governments of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut recognise Inuinnaqtun as an official language in addition to Inuktitut. ^[1]

Inuinnaqtun is used primarily in the communities of Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk in the western Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut. To a smaller extent it is also spoken in Gjoa Haven, Nunavut. Outside of Nunavut it is spoken in the hamlet of Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, where it is called Kangiryuarmiutun. It is written using the Latin alphabet.

[edit] References

^ Northwest Territories Official Languages Act, 1988 (as amended 1988, 1991-1992, 2003)

[edit] Further reading

Harnum, Betty, Janet McGrath, and Margo Kadlun. Inuinnaqtun Lessons Phase 1 : Copper Dialect of the Inuit Language. Cambridge Bay, N.W.T.: Kitikmeot Inuit Association, 1982.
Harper, Kenn. Current Status of Writing Systems for Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun and Inuvialuktun. [Yellowknife, N.W.T.]: Northwest Territories, Culture and Communications, 1992.
Inuinnaqtun English Dictionary. Cambridge Bay, Nunavut: Nunavut Arctic College, 1996.