Canada and the world
 |
| Discover where Canadians have made a difference across our globe. |
|
 |
|
Inuktitut 101
Class is now in session within Nunavut and beyond
by Chris Mason
Inuktitut is spoken throughout Nunavut, but the language has been all
but invisible in most other regions of Canada.
A recent revival of interest, however, within colleges and universities
in central and eastern Canada, is giving Inuktitut experts hope that
use of the language is increasing outside Nunavut. “We’re
really seeing a lot of growth in Inuktitut courses being offered in Canadian
universities,” says Alana Johns, a linguistics professor at the
University of Toronto.
The movement began following the creation of the territory of Nunavut in
1999. Johns says the territory gives Inuit living in Canada an individual
identity. As well, “People are becoming more aware of Inuit culture
and so there’s more interest in the language.”
Johns and other Inuktitut linguists say they aren’t worried about
the language’s survival within Nunavut. According to the 2001 census,
70 percent of Canada’s Inuit population speak Inuktitut. And enrollment
in Inuktitut programs offered by two Nunavut-based institutions — the
Kativik School Board and Nunavut Arctic College — has increased 34
percent since 1999, from an average of 112 students during the previous
five years to 150 registrants for the 2003-2004 school year.
With half of Canada’s 45,000 Inuit living in Nunavut, however,
the language’s presence is slim in other regions of the country.
The experts agree it is important for Inuktitut to establish a presence
in as many areas of Canada as possible. Such a broad network would potentially
increase the number of Inuktitut speakers across the country, but, more
important, it would allow Inuit living outside Nunavut the opportunity
to maintain their native language skills.
Still, the territory’s birth has unquestionably raised Inuktitut’s
profile. Nine post-secondary institutions in Canada offer some form of
Inuktitut language training, many of these courses in programs created
since 1999.
Montreal and Ottawa are home to some well-developed Inuktitut programs.
Both cities have large, well-organized Inuit populations. This makes it
easier to find instructors, which is the greatest challenge in establishing
Inuktitut courses outside Nunavut, according to Janet McGrath. McGrath
taught Inuktitut at Carleton University, which started offering courses
in 2001.
McGill University has gone a step further than many of the others. Since
1975, it has worked in partnership with the Kativik School Board and Nunavut
Arctic College. Beyond offering courses, the university sends students
to Nunavut to learn the language and become immersed in Inuit culture.
Another Quebec school has an even older claim: Laval University has been
offering courses in Inuktitut since 1972, with an average of 12 students
taking the courses, which are offered every two years. “It is Laval
that has the strongest Inuktitut connection,” says Jonathan Dewer,
a spokesperson with Nunavut’s Office of the Languages Commissioner.
The list goes on: Memorial University in Newfoundland, St. Mary’s
University in Nova Scotia and the Avataq Cultural Institute in Nunavut
all offer Inuktitut courses. West of Ontario there is still only one: the
University of Manitoba.
The experts note that, as encouraging as it is to see the growing interest
in Inuktitut, the priority is ensuring the language’s survival among
the Inuit population. “It is maybe even more important that Inuit
are studying Inuktitut,” says Martha Crago, a professor in McGill’s
school of communication sciences and disorders.
And although Johns is optimistic about what she sees happening at the
various schools, she sees the movement as only a beginning. She offers
for comparison the options available to someone studying European languages
in university and says there should be more opportunities here for those
who wish to study a language whose roots lie within our borders. “We
definitely could be doing more in Canada about Inuktitut,” Johns
says.
top
|
