From: The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples/Aboriginals: Inuit/
According to 1991 census data, 24,995 Canadian residents had an Inuit dialect (Inuktitut, Labrador Inuttut, Inuvialuktun, and so on) as their first language. They accounted for 69 percent of the 36,215 individuals who identified themselves as Inuit. Their language thus was in a much better shape than many other Canadian aboriginal speech forms, although its relative importance varied from region to region. In Quebec and the Northwest Territories, 94 percent and 81 percent respectively of all local Inuit still spoke or understood an Inuit dialect, but this was the case with only 25 percent of the Newfoundland-Labrador Arctic natives and with 17 percent of those residing in the rest of Canada.
Within Inuit nunaat proper, the percentage of speakers again varied considerably. The native language was stronger in Arctic Quebec (where 99 percent of all Inuit had Inuktitut as their first language), the Baffin region (96 percent), and Keewatin (95 percent) than in the Kitikmeot (70 percent) and Inuvialuit (25 percent) regions of the Northwest Territories. It was rather weak in northern Labrador, where about 50 percent of the local Inuit still understood Inuttut. In short, the future of the Inuit language appears relatively secure in Arctic Quebec and the eastern Territories but in jeopardy in Labrador and the western Territories.
The decline of Inuttut and Inuvialuktun in Labrador and the west is confirmed by statistics on home language. In 1991 only 7 percent of the Inuvialuktun speakers habitually used their mother tongue at home. In the Kitikmeot region, this was the case with some 40 percent of those speaking the Inuinnaqtun and Natsilingmiutut dialects, while in Labrador only about 30 percent of all Inuttut speakers used the language in daily life. By contrast, 77 percent of the Keewatin speakers and 91 percent of those living in Arctic Quebec and the Baffin region still claimed Inuktitut as their usual home language.
Everywhere in the Arctic, it is English that tends to replace the native speech form, either as mother tongue or home language. In 1991, 27.5 percent of all Canadian Inuit still spoke only Inuktitut, but this percentage had decreased markedly since 1981, when 47 percent of the Arctic natives were unilingual. English is the prefered second language of the Inuit, although in Arctic Quebec, 9 percent of the aboriginal population spoke French (and another 5 percent French and English) in 1991.
As already mentioned, most Inuit speakers can read and write their language in one of the orthographies introduced by the missionaries during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In recent decades, the regional aboriginal associations have devised standard versions of these writing systems. They include the Labrador Inuit Standard Epellation System (based on the Moravian alphabetical orthography), the Inuit Cultural Institute Standard Syllabary (with Arctic Quebec, Baffin, and Keewatin variants), the Inuvialuit Orthography (in the Roman alphabet), and a poorly standardized alphabetical rendering of the Inuinnaqtun dialect.
Literacy in Inuktitut is reflected in the emergence of an Arctic Canadian literature, which mostly appears in periodicals. Apart from a few novels in Inuktitut, such as Markoosie’s Harpoon of the Hunter (1969) and Salome Mitiarjuk Nappaaluk’s Sanaaq (the name of the leading character; written in 1953 but not published until 1984), this literature mainly consists of autobiographies, descriptions of the traditional culture, and books for children. Contemporary authors include Emile Imaroittok, Alootook Ipellie, Michael Kusugaq, and Taamusi Qumaq. Several Inuit writers, such as Minnie A. Freeman, also publish in English.
Between 1940 and 1984, seventy-four Inuktitut/English or, in Quebec, Inuktitut/English/French newspapers, magazines, and newsletters were published in Canada. About thirty of them – along with two or three new titles – were still in circulation in 1992. These periodicals include community papers, the most prominent of which is the bilingual Nunatsiaq News (News of the Northwest Territories; Iqaluit, 1972–), newsletters from various aboriginal and government organizations, and religious, social, or cultural magazines. Within this last category, a few titles stand out: Inuktitut (Like the Inuit; Ottawa, 1959–), originally published by the federal Department of Indian Affairs but now under the responsibility of Inuit Tapirisat of Canada (the national Inuit organization); Isumasi (Your Thoughts; Rankin Inlet, 1990–), the Inuit Cultural Institute’s magazine; Tumivut (Our Footprints; Montreal, 1991–), published by Arctic Quebec’s Avataq Cultural Institute; and Kinatuinamut ilingajuk (Intended for Everyone; Nain, 1972–), an information bulletin published out of Labrador.
Since 1960, the written media have felt the competition of radio, originally broadcast on short wave by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s northern service but now available from over forty Arctic community stations. These are fed from three sources: CBC national programming; regional stations in Iqaluit, Inuvik, or elsewhere; and local production. The two last sources make wide use of Inuktitut and put the emphasis on local information. The community stations thus play an important part in fostering Inuit identity.
By contrast, television speaks mainly English and its northern content is not as conspicuous as that of radio. TV has been available since 1972, but at first many communities – including all Arctic Quebec villages – refused to receive the satellite signal because of its alleged lack of relevance in the Inuit context. By 1984, however, television was in use everywhere in the Arctic, and in many locations up to a dozen channels were available. Only a small part of the programming (about an hour a day) was in Inuktitut and/or had northern content. Most of it was produced by the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation and Taqramiut Nipingat and was broadcast by CBC North.
In 1992 an educational network, Northern Canada Television (TVNC), started broadcasting in the north. It now offers between three and six hours daily of Inuktitut production. This, combined with CBC North’s Inuit programs, makes some seven hours of aboriginal television available on most days. The menu includes interviews, reporting, talks on traditional culture, local sports, and a few productions for children. Television is widely watched by the Inuit – although not as much as during the first few years after its introduction – and, when asked about their preferences, most spectators cite southern (often American) productions rather than programs in Inuktitut.
The electronic media thus play an ambivalent role in the Canadian Arctic. While community radio clearly fosters native identity, television does not and indeed has the potential to destroy Inuit values, language, and culture.
