- Inuktitut writing
The
Inuktitut language is written in different ways in different places. InGreenland ,Alaska ,Labrador , theInuvik Region of theNorthwest Territories and in the western part of the Kitikmeot Region ofNunavut , it is written with theLatin alphabet . In most of Nunavut and in theNunavik region ofQuebec , Inuktitut is written using a special writing system calledInuktitut syllabics .Because the Inuktitut language is a continuum of only partially intercomprehensible dialects, the language varies a great deal across the
Arctic . Split up into different political divisions and different churches reflecting the arrival of various missionary groups, Inuktitut writing systems can vary a great deal.The first efforts to write Inuktitut came from Moravian missionaries in Greenland and Labrador in the mid-18th century. In the 1870s,
Edmund Peck , an Anglican missionary adapted the Cree syllabary to Inuktitut. Other missionaries, and later linguists in the employ of the Canadian and American governments, adapted the Latin alphabet to the dialects of theMackenzie River delta, the western Arctic islands and Alaska.At present, Inuktitut syllabics enjoy official status in Nunavut alongside the Latin alphabet. They are also used officially in Quebec. In Greenland, Greenlandic is written with the Latin alphabet and the syllabic alphabet is not used.
External links
* [http://www.omniglot.com/writing/inuktitut.htm Inuktitut alphabet at Omniglot]
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