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Inuktitut (Eskimo/Inuit Language)

Inuktitut is a member of the Eskimo-Aleut language family which is spoken across the entire northern span of North America, forming what is called a linguistic chain--each Inuktitut dialect is easily mutually intelligible with its neighbors, but not with dialects further away. For practical purposes, linguistic chains are treated as a single language, and so the Alaskan dialects Inupiaq and Inupiatun, the Eastern and Western Inuktitut languages of Canada, and Greenlandic are all classified together. The Cree word "Eskimo" is considered a little offensive by some Inuit today, but other Inuit people continue to refer to themselves as Eskimos.

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Inuktitut Language
Inuktitut language samples and resources.

Inuit Tribe Culture and History
Information and links about the Inuit people past and present.

Inuit Legends
Introduction to the mythology of the Inuits.



Inuktitut Language Resources

Our Inuktitut Language Materials

Inuktitut Vocabulary
     List of vocabulary words in the Inuktitut language.
Inuit Animal Words:
    Picture glossary of animal words in the Inupiaq language.

Inuktitut Language Lessons and Linguistic Descriptions

Inuit Cultural Online Resource: Inuktitut Greetings:
     Inuit language learning podcast teaching kids how to say "hello" in Inuktitut.
Inuktitut Tusaalanga:
     Language lessons, vocabulary, and audio recordings to help students learn the five Inuktitut dialects of Nunavut.
First Nations Language Groups at the Time of European Contact:
    Linguistic map of Canada showing where different Inuit languages are spoken.
Kobuk Junior Dictionary
     Online lexicon of Iñupiaq from the Alaska Native Knowledge Network.
Inuktitut Translations
     Five English-Inuktitut glossaries.
Inuktitut Syllabary * Inuktitut Syllabarium * Iñupiaq Alphabet:
    Inupiaq Orthography * Greenlandic Eskimo * Inuvialuktun Orthography:
    Introduction to Inuit writing systems, with sample texts.
Valence and affix ordering in Inupiatun
     Linguistics article about Inupiatun verb forms.
Inuktitut Syllabic Fonts:
     Several Windows fonts for writing Inuktitut syllabics.
Freelang Inuktitut Dictionary: * Freelang Greenlandic Dictionary:
     Free downloadable wordlists from two Inuit languages.
Native America Calling: Inupiaq:
    Audio files of a Native Alaskan man speaking words and phrases in the Inupiaq language.
Eskimo Words for Snow * Inuit Snow Words * Eskimo Snow Words * Inuit Words for Snow and Ice
     Articles about the oft-stated canard that Inuktitut has 50 or 100 different words for snow.
Inuktitut Audio Samples * Kids' Stop: Inuktitut Language
     Sound files of the spoken Inuktitut language.
Eastern Canadian Inuit Language * Inuktitut Orthography * Eastern Canadian Inuit Orthography * Inuktitut Pronunciation
    Inuktitut Phonology * Eastern Canadian Inuit Syntax * Inuktitut Linguistic Description:
    Scanned-in Eastern Canadian Inuktitut language materials from the Rosetta Project.
Greenlandic Inuktitut Language * Greenlandic Inuktitut Phonology * Greenlandic Inuktitut Grammar:
    Scanned-in Greenland Inuktitut language materials from the Rosetta Project.
North Alaskan Inupiat Language * Northwest Alaskan Inupiatun * Alaskan Eskimo Language Map
    Inupiat Orthography: * Inupiatun Pronunciation * Inupiat Numbers:
    Scanned-in Inupiatun language materials from the Rosetta Project.
Comparative Yupik and Inuit:
    Essay describing the Yupik and Inuit languages, with a linguistic map.
Eastern Canadian Inuktitut Language Tree * Western Canadian Inuktitut Language Tree * North Alaska Inupiaq Language Tree
    Seward Peninsula Inupiaq Language Tree * Kalaallisut Language Tree:
    Theories about Inuit language relationships compiled by Linguist List.
West Greenlandic Language Structures * East Greenlandic Language Structures * South Greenlandic Language Structures * Labrador Inuktitut Language Structures
    Salluit Inuktitut Language Structures * Rankin Inlet Inuktitut Language Structures * Kangiryuarmiut Eskimo Language Structures * Iñupiaq Language Structures:
    Inuktitut linguistic profiles and academic bibliographies.
*Eskimo Vocabulary:
    Early 20th-century wordlists of three Inuit dialects.
Alaska Native Language Center: Inupiaq:
    Profile of the Alaskan Inupiaq and their language.

Literature and Texts in the Inuktitut Language

Silent Night:
    Inuktitut translation of the Christmas song.
Human Rights: Inuktitut: * Human Rights: Greenlandic:
    Translation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights into Inuit languages.
Inuvialutun Language Plaque
     Canadian human rights tribute written in Inuvialutun.
Inuit Prayers * Inupiat Prayers * Lord's Prayer in Copper Inuktitut * Lord's Prayer in Inupiaq * Language Museum: Inuktitut:
    Translations of Christian prayers into the Inuit languages.
The Tower of Babel in Inuktitut * Greenlandic Inuktitut Bible Translation * Genesis in Inuktitut * Inuktitut Bible Verses:
    Eastern Canadian Inuktitut Genesis * Eastern Inuit Bible Verses: Bible passages in the Eskimo languages.

Inuktitut Language Preservation and Usage

Greenlandic/Kalaallisut * Eastern Canadian Inuktitut * Western Canadian Inuktitut * North Alaskan Inupiat * Northwest Alaska Inupiatun
    Demographic information about the Inuit languages from the Ethnologue of Languages.

Inuktitut Proper Names

Nunavut Place Names
    Map of Nunavut labeled with traditional Inuktitut names and their meanings.
Canadian Inuit Names * Inupiaq Name Page:
     Chart of place names in Inuit languages.

Inuktitut Dictionaries, Audio Tapes and Language Resources
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Comparative Eskimo Dictionary
     Yupik/Aleut/Inuktitut dictionary for sale.
Finding My Talk:
     Documentary about language loss and revival among the Inuit, Tlingit, Mohawk, and Cree.

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Additional Resources, Links, and References

  Wikipedia: Inuit:
  Encyclopedia articles on the Inuit languages.
   Lengua Inuit * Lenguas Inuit * Les langues esquimaux:
   Information about the Inuit languages in Spanish and French.
Eskimo Language Learning:
Bibliography of Inuit and Yup'ik language learning resources.



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