Inuvialuk language

Inuvialuktun
Inuktitut, Siglitun, Uummarmiutun, Kangiryuarmiutun
Spoken in	Canada (Northwest Territories)
Ethnicity	Inuvialuk people
Native speakers	(4,000 cited 1981) 36,000 together with Eastern Canadian Inuktitut (2006)
Language family	Eskimo–Aleut Eskimo Inuit Inuvialuktun
Official status
Official language in	Northwest Territories (Canada)
Regulated by	Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
Language codes
ISO 639-1	iu
ISO 639-2	iku
ISO 639-3	ikt

Inuvialuktun, or Western Canadian Inuit language, Western Canadian Inuktitut, Western Canadian Inuktun comprises three Inuit dialects spoken in the northern Northwest Territories by those Canadian Inuit who call themselves Inuvialuk (plural Inuvialuit).

Inuvialuktun is spoken by the Inuit of the Mackenzie River delta in the Northwest Territories, Banks Island, part of Victoria Island and the Arctic Ocean coast of the Northwest Territories – the lands of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. The government of the Northwest Territories considers Inuvialuktun distinct from the Inuktitut spoken in Nunavut.

Inuvialuktun is one of the eleven official languages of the Northwest Territories. It is written using a Latin alphabet and has no tradition of Inuktitut syllabics. Rather than a coherent language, Inuvialuktun is a politically motivated grouping of three quite distinct and separate dialects.

Before the 20th century, the Inuvialuit Settlement Region was primarily inhabited by Siglit Inuit who spoke the Siglitun dialect, but in the second half of the 19th century, their numbers were dramatically reduced by the introduction of new diseases. Inuit from Alaska moved into traditionally Siglit areas in the 1910s and 20s, enticed in part by renewed demand for furs from the Hudson's Bay Company. These Inuit are called Uummarmiut – which means people of the green trees – in reference to their settlements near the tree line. Originally, there was an intense dislike between the Siglit and the Uummarmiut, but these differences have faded over the years, and the two communities are thoroughly intermixed these days.

Dialects

Distribution of Inuit language variants across the Arctic. The Inuvialuk dialects are spoken across northern Canada west of Hudson Bay; here they are purple, khaki, green, and light blue.

The Inuvialuktun dialects are seriously endangered, as English has in recent years become the common language of the community. Surveys of Inuktitut usage in the NWT vary, but all agree that usage is not vigorous. According to the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre, only some 10% of the roughly 4,000 Inuvialuit speak any form of Inuktitut, and only some 4% use it at home. Statistics Canada's 2001 Census report is only slightly better, reporting 765 self-identified Inuktitut speakers out of a self-reported Inuvialuit population of 3,905. Considering the large number of non-Inuit living in Inuvialuit areas and the lack of a single common dialect among the already reduced number of speakers, the future of the Inuit language in the NWT appears bleak.

From east to west, the dialects are:

• North Baffin^{[citation needed]} (Qikiqtaaluk uannangani) is spoken on the northern part of Baffin Island, at Iglulik and the adjacent part of the Melville Peninsula, and in Inuit communities in the far north of Nunavut, like Resolute and Grise Fiord. This dialect is the one heard in the film Atanarjuat: the Fast Runner. The South Baffin dialect is (East) Inuktitut.
• Aivilingmiutut^{[citation needed]} is spoken in the area traditionally known as Aivilik: Southampton Island and Repulse Bay in Kivalliq, and part of the Melville Peninsula in the Qikiqtaaluk Region. This area was settled by Inuit after the disappearance of the Sadlermiut in the late 19th and early 20th century. Some linguists consider it too close to North Baffin to merit separate treatment.
• Kivallirmiutut^{[citation needed]} is spoken in the Kivalliq Region down to the Manitoba border, south of Natsilingmiutut (next).
• Natsilingmiutut consists of 3 subdialects: Natsilik, Arviligjuaq, Utkuhiksalik. Because it is spoken in Nunavut, it is often counted as Inuktitut.
• Inuinnaqtun is transitional with Inuktitut, and is sometimes classified as Inuktitut. It consists of 4 subdialects: Kangiryuarmiutun, Coppermine, Bathurst, Cambridge. The Kangiryuarmiutun subdialect is spoken in the small community of Ulukhaktok. Essentially the same as Natsilingmiutut, and also often counted as Inuktitut.
• Siglitun: Until the 1980s, it was believed that the Siglitun dialect was extinct, but it is still spoken by people in Paulatuk, Sachs Harbour and Tuktoyaktuk.

In addition, Uummarmiutun, the dialect of the Uummarmiut which is essentially identical to the Inupiatun dialect spoken in Alaska and so considered an Iñupiaq language, has conventionally been grouped with Inuvialuktun because it's spoken in Canada. Uummarmiutun is found in the communities of Inuvik and Aklavik.

Inuvialuktun phrases

English	Inuvialuktun	pronunciation
Hello	Atitu	/atitu/
Good Bye	Ilaannilu/Qakugulu	/ilaːnilu/ / /qakuɡulu/
Thank you	Quyanainni	/qujanainni/
You are welcome	Amiunniin	/amiunniːn/
How are you?	Qanuq itpin?	/qanuq itpin/
I am fine	Nakuyumi/Nakuyumi assi	/nakujumi assi/
Good morning	Ublaami	/ublaːmi/
Yes	Ii	/iː/
No	Naaggai	/naːɡɡai/
Cold! Brrr!	Alaappa!	/alaːppa/
*Gasp* (an expression used when alarmed or fearful)	Alii	/aliː/
See you later	Anaqanaallu	/anaqanaːllu/
Wow/Awesome	Aqqali	/aqqali/
Listen!	Ata!	/ata/
See you, too	Ilaanniptauq	/ilaːnniptauq/
It is like this	Imaaniittuaq	/imaːniːttuaq/
Like this	Imanna	/imanna/
Whose?	Kia?	/kia/
Who is this?	Kina una?	/kina una/
Where?	Nani?/Naung?/Sumi?	/nani/ / /nauŋ/ / /sumi/
Where are you from?	Nakinngaaqpin?/Sumiutauvin?	/nakiŋŋaqpin/ / /sumiutauvin/}
How much does it cost?	Qanuq akitutigivaa?	/qanuq akitutiɡivaː/
How old is he/she?	Qanuq ukiuqtutigiva?	/qanuq ukiututiɡiva/
What do you call it?	Qanuq taivakpiung?	/qanuq taivakpiuŋ/
What is the time?	Sumukpaung?	/sumukpauŋ/
What for?	Suksaq?	/suksaq/
Why? Or how come?	Suuq?	/suːq/
What?	Suva?/Suna?	/suva/~/suna/
Doesn't matter/It is ok	Sunngittuq	/suŋŋittuq/
What are you doing?	Suvin?	/suvin/
It can't be helped! Too bad.	Qanurviituq!	/qanuʁviːtuq/
in fact, actually	Nutim	[nutim]
Do it again!	Pipsaarung!	[pipsaːʁuŋ]
Go ahead and do it	Piung	[piuŋ]
It is cold out!	Qiqauniqtuaq	/qiqauniqtuaq/
Christmas	Qitchirvik	/qittʃiʁviq/
Candy	Uqummiaqataaq	[/uqummiaqataːq/
Play music	Atuqtuuyaqtuaq	/atuqtuːjaqtuaq/
Drum dancing	Qilaun/Qilausiyaqtuaq	/qilaun/ / /qilausijaqtuaq/
Church	Angaadjuvik	/aŋaːdjuvik/
Bell	Aviluraun	/aviluʁaun/
Jewels	Savaqutit	/savaqutit/
Eskimo ice cream	Akutuq	/akutaq/
That's all!	Taima!	/taima/

Siglitun Inuvialuktun snow terms	English meaning
Apiqaun	first snow layer in autumn that stays
Apusiqqaun	first fall of snow
Aqiuyaq	small, fresh snowdrift
Masak	waterlogged snow
Mauyaa	deep, soft snow
Minguliruqtuaq	blowing wet snow
Piangnaq	good snow conditions for sledge travel

Preservation

English has in recent years become the common language of the Inuvialuit. Surveys of Inuktitut usage in the NWT vary, but all agree that usage is not vigorous. According to the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre, only some 10% of the roughly 4,000 Inuvialuit speak any dialect of Inuvialuktun, and only some 4% use it at home. [1] Statistics Canada's 2001 Census reports 765 self-identified Inuvialuktun speakers out of a self-reported Inuvialuit population of 3,905.

With only a few hundred speakers and already divided into diverse dialects, Inuvialuktun's future appears bleak.

Phonology

Main article: Inuit phonology

Further reading

• Harper, Kenn. Current Status of Writing Systems for Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun and Inuvialuktun. [Yellowknife, N.W.T.]: Northwest Territories, Culture and Communications, 1992.

External links

• Inuvialuit Regional Corporation – Language