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Greenlandic Language (Kalaallisut, West Greenland Inuit)

Language: Greenlandic or Kalaallisut is an Eskimo-Aleut language spoken on the arctic island of Greenland. Kalaallisut is one of a chain of related languages spoken by the Inuit people who live in the far northern regions of Canada, Alaska and Greenland. There is disagreement about whether to call the different Inuit varieties separate languages, or dialects of a single language. Greenlandic Inuit and Alaskan Inupiaq are so different that speakers cannot understand each other at all, which would classify them as separate languages; however, both can mostly understand a speaker of Canadian Inukitut, which would make them dialects. This is a point the Inuit themselves do not generally care about since there is no separate word for "dialect" in their languages!

The Greenlandic Inuit language is spoken by more than 50,000 people in Greenland, although many of them are bilingual in Danish (Greenland is a territory which still belongs to Denmark, although it has autonomy in many matters.) Kalaallisut is the official national language of Greenland and is taught in schools as well as spoken in Inuit homes-- nearly the entire population of Greenland is fluent in Kalaallisut. It is a highly polysynthetic agglutinating language, using long words with many suffixes. It has predominantly SOV word order.

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Names: In their own language, Greenlanders call themselves Inuit, which means "people" (the singular, Inuk, means "person," and Inuktitut means "Inuk language.") To distinguish themselves from other neighboring Inuit communities, Greenland natives use the tribal name Kalaallit, and their language is called Kalaallisut (meaning Kalaalit language.) The Kalallisut language is also known by the Danish name Grönlandsk, the English name West Greenlandic, and the Cree name Eskimo. (Although the word "Eskimos" was commonly used by Greenlandic people in the past, it is not preferred today by some Kalaalit people, especially the younger generation.) There are two smaller dialects of Greenlandic Inuit which are also spoken on Greenland today, Inuktun (also known as Inughuit, North Greenlandic, Thule Inuit, or Polar Eskimo) and Tunumiisut (also known as Tunumiit or East Greenlandic.) However, these two dialects are usually grouped together with Kalaalisut/West Greenlandic because of their shared Greenlandic identity as well as the speakers' ability to understand each other.



Kalaallisut Language
Kalaallisut language samples and resources.

Greenlandic Culture and History
Information and links about the Greenlandic tribes past and present.

Inuit Legends
Introduction to traditional Inuit mythology.


Kalaallisut Language Resources

Our Online Kalaallisut Materials

Greenlandic Words
     List of vocabulary words in the Kalaallisut language.
Greenland Animals:
     Picture dictionary of animal words in the Kalaallisut language.
Greenlandic Alphabet:
     Pronunciation guide to the Kalaallisut language.

Kalaallisut Dictionaries and Language Books for Sale
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A Grammar of Kalaallisut * West Greenlandic, An Essential Grammar
    Kalaallisut language learning books available for sale online.
Comparative Eskimo Dictionary
    Linguistic book on the Eskimo-Aleut language family, including Kalaallisut.
Local Knowledge: Living Resources and Natural Assets in Greenland
    Interesting autobiography and history of Greenland by a Kalaaleq elder, in Inuit with English translation.
The Number Story * Am I Small?
    Children's books in the Kalaallisut language.

Kalaallisut Language Lessons and Linguistic Descriptions

Eskimo Language Communities * Inuit Language Map:
    Maps showing where in North America the different Inuit languages and dialects are spoken.
Omniglot: Greenlandic:
    Profile of the Greenlandic language including a phonological inventory, orthography and a text.
Greenlandic Language Lessons * Learn to Speak Greenlandic:
    Online Kalaallisut language lessons.
Freelang Greenlandic Dictionary:
     Free downloadable vocabulary file of West Greenlandic.
Introduction to Greenlandic Language * Different Dialects of Greenlandic:
    YouTube videos of Greenlanders speaking in Kalaallisut.
Greenlandic Inuktitut Language * Greenlandic Inuktitut Phonology * Greenlandic Inuktitut Grammar:
    Scanned-in Greenland Inuktitut language materials as part of the Rosetta Project.
Greenlandic/Kalaallisut Language Tree:
    Theories about Kalaallisut language relationships compiled by Linguist List.
Kalaallisut:
    Encyclopedia articles on the Kalaallisut language.

Literature and Texts in the Kalaallisut/Greenlandic Language

Sermitsiaq AG: * Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa:
    National newspaper and radio station of Greenland, with online Kalaallit-language news archives.
Kalaallisut texts:
    Collection of children's stories, myths, and literature in the Kalaallisut language.
Earth Day poems: Aqqaluk Lynge:
    Native Kalaallisut poetry with English translations.
Erinarsuutit:
    Videos of contemporary songs with Greenlandic lyrics.
Human Rights: Greenlandic:
    The Universal Declaration of Human Rights translated into Kalaallisut.
Greenlandic Kalaallisut: Words of Life: * Greenlandic Inuktitut Bible Translator:
    Translations of Bible stories into the Greenlandic Inuktitut language.

Kalaallisut Proper Names

Indigenous Names of Greenland:
    Map of Inuit villages and other locations in Greenland.
Greenlandic Names:
    Interesting article discussing the origins of Inuit personal names.

Greenlandic Linguistics Studies

A List of Greenlandic Affixes:
    Online book about Kalaallisut prefixes and suffixes (PDF format.)
Noun Incorporation in Greenlandic * Marking of Past Time in Kalaallisut * West Greenlandic Antipassive:
    Research papers about Kalaallisut syntax and morphology.
Vowel Allophony in West Greenlandic:
    Research papers about Kalaallisut phonology.
West Greenlandic Language Structures * East Greenlandic * South Greenlandic:
    Greenland Inuit linguistic profiles and academic bibliographies.

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Links, References, and Additional Information

Endangered Languages Project: Kalaallisut:
Bibliography of Kalaallisut language resources.
Wikipedia: Inuit:
Encyclopedia articles on the Inuit languages.
Det Grønlandske Sprog * Grønlandsk-Dansk Ordbog * Sprog i Grønland:
Information on the Kalaallisut language in Danish.
Greenlandic Resources:
Inuktitut links.



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