Every year, millions of children write their letters to Santa Claus, and address their envelopes to the North Pole. While many countries have designated “North Poles,” including a town in Alaska for the US, have you ever wondered what would happen if the letter actually reached the North Pole? What language would Santa or his elves speak?
While there are no communities at the moment living at the actual North Pole, we can assume that Santa would speak the language of his closest neighbors, Inuktitut. Spoken mostly in Labrador and Newfoundland, Canada, Inuktitut is actually a catch-all term for all of the Inuit languages of Canada. As with several indigenous languages across North America, while the language was originally only oral, it now officially recognizes both the Latin alphabet and a variation of the Cree syllabary from Horden and Watkins, the English missionaries. Although Edmund Peck widely promoted the use of the syllabary in Canada, including a translation of the Bible, a grammar, and a dictionary, it was not until 1976 that the Inuit Cultural Institute officially adopted the use of both writing systems.
The language itself features 15 consonants and 3 vowels, represented in the syllabary with the main symbol, followed by orientation and an attached symbol to represent vowel sounds. All 3 vowels contain short and long sounds, with long sounds Romanized as a double vowel. As a primarily oral language before European contact, the language was largely used to identify nature and natural features, in addition to traditional rituals and practices.
Since the original language revivals, the language has grown at a rapid pace; in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, it is considered one of the 4 official languages, and Inuktitut is now used to teach in K-12 schools in addition to cultural institutions offering classes. It is one of the rare indigenous languages to have a training program so teachers may prepare to teach both the language itself and other content in the language.
One interesting aspect of this revitalization effort has been how it has become standardized at a rapid pace compared to other languages. Due to the relative isolation of many communities, even as recently as 50 years ago, pronunciation and dialect evolved largely in isolation, and may have potentially hindered communication. However, thanks to efforts from cultural institutions, programs and shows from the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) in the language, and the availability of the Internet even in remote areas, Inuktitut has actually become easier to understand between groups, and has helped promote conservation of the language.
Although revitalization efforts have made great leaps and bounds, particularly since the 70s, speakers of Inuktitut have shown no desire to stop evolving and preserving. In 2019, the language finally received a standardized Romanization, to either replace or complement previous efforts. Even more impressively, in 2012, an Inuktitut Braille system was created by Tamara Kearney, which is now able to be machine translated. Both the Bible and the children’s story The Orphan and the Polar Bear are notable examples of books translated into Inuktitut Braille. As we move further into the Decade of Indigenous Languages, you will assuredly see more exciting progress and groundbreaking achievements from our neighbors in the far north.
Further Reading:
https://omniglot.com/writing/inuktitut.htm
https://tusaalanga.ca/node/2502