Language

At midnight on April 1, 1999, the linguistic map of Canada changed. At the stroke of the clock, Canada suddenly had a jurisdiction where the majority of its people spoke neither English nor French. Nunavut is the only jurisdiction in Canada where the majority of people speak Inuktitut or Inuinnaqtun.

In Nunavut, Inuktitut is written in both syllabics and roman orthography (the alphabet used to write languages like English and French). Inuinnaqtun-speakers tend to use only roman orthography in writing their dialect.

The Bathurst Mandate, which spells out the Government of Nunavut's long term goals, commits the government to establishing Inuktitut as its working language by 2020.

In Nunavut's Legislative Assembly and in government offices in many decentralized communities outside the capital, Inuktitut is already used extensively in the work of government. English, however, remains the predominant working language of the public service.

The government is presently working on identifying and developing initiatives that will help increase the use of Inuktitut as a working language. For many of the English-speaking employees in the public service who are hired from outside Nunavut, the government offers courses in Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun as a second language. These courses are widely available and employees are encouraged to enroll.

While English and Inuktitut are the main working languages of government, the Official Languages Act requires that services to the public be available in Inuinnaqtun and French as well.

Language Bureau

The Language Bureau is responsible for the development of new terminology for both Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun. It is located in Kugluktuk.

Translation Bureau

The Translation Bureau is responsible for providing the Government of Nunavut with translation services for Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English and French. It is located in Kugluktuk.

Language Initiatives- click here

Mascot naming contest click here

Inuktitut Computer Tools- click here