Inuit language(s)
Interpreting official language legislation in Nunavut
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25071/2564-2855.43Keywords:
language policy, Nunavut, Inuktut, equal authenticityAbstract
This paper examines the relevant legislation which establishes the official languages of Nunavut, a multilingual subnational unit of Canada, and discusses issues in the interpretation of said legislation. The main issues identified are the definition of “Inuit Language” and the authority afforded to acts in “Inuit.” The Official Languages Act (2008) and the Inuit Language Protection Act (2008) establish and define the three official languages of Nunavut as English, French, and “Inuit Language.” I argue that the legislation, though recognizing Inuit cultural views of themselves as one people speaking one language, also accounts for the varying mutual intelligibilities between Inuit “dialects.” Importantly, there are provisions in the legislation which allow for the legislature to afford translations in the “Inuit Language” equal status to the English and French drafts. This is novel in a country predicated on equivalence and sameness of English and French and is deserving of further inquiry
References
Daveluy, M., & Ferguson, J. (2009). Scripted urbanity in the Canadian North. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, 19(1), 78–100. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-1395.2009.01020.x
Dorais, L.-J. (1990). The Canadian Inuit and their language. In D. R. F. Collins (Ed.), Arctic languages: An awakening (pp. 185–289). Paris: UNESCO.
Leung, J. H. C. (2013). Cross-jurisdiction appropriation of the equal authenticity principle. The Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law, 45(2), 209–226. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07329113.2013.772463
Leung, J. H. C. (2019). Shallow equality and symbolic jurisprudence in multilingual legal orders. Oxford University Press.
Lévesque, F. (2014). Revisiting Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit: Inuit knowledge, culture, language, and values in Nunavut institutions since 1999. Études/Inuit/Studies, 38(1–2), 115–136. https://doi.org/10.7202/1028856ar
Loukacheva, N. (2007). The Arctic promise: Legal and political autonomy of Greenland and Nunavut. University of Toronto Press.
Patrick, D., Murasugi, K., & Palluq-Cloutier, J. (2017). Standardization of Inuit languages in Canada. In P. Lane, J. Costa, & H. De Korne (Eds.), Standardizing minority languages (pp. 135–153). Routledge.
Statistics Canada. (2023). Census in brief: Indigenous languages across Canada: Census of population, 2021 [Report]. https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/as-sa/98-200-x/2021012/98-200-x2021012-eng.pdf
Strong, W. (2019, July 1). ‘Talk to me in Inuktut’: Old word nothing new, says Inuit language organization. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/inuktut-prompts-correction-requests-1.5153188
Sullivan, R. (2004). The challenges of interpreting multilingual, multijural legislation. Brooklyn Journal of International Law, 29, 986–1066.
Timpson, A. M. (2009). Rethinking the administration of government: Inuit representation, culture and language in the Nunavut public service. In A. M. Timpson (Ed.), First Nations, first thoughts: The impact of Indigenous thought in Canada (pp. 199–228). UBC Press.
Tulloch, S., & Hust, V. (2003). An analysis of language provisions in the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. In G. Duhaime & N. Bernard (Eds.), Arctic economic development and self-government (pp. 283–296). GETIC, Université Laval.
Uqausivut- The Comprehensive Plan pursuant to the Official Languages Act and the Inuit Language Protection Act 2012-2016. (n.d.). Government of Nunavut. https://www.gov.nu.ca/sites/default/files/documents/2022-01/2012-10-30-uqausivut_final_en-2.pdf
Your linguistic rights. (n.d.). Office of the Languages Commissioner of Nunavut. https://langcom.nu.ca/investigation-process/your-linguistic-rights
Inuit Language Protection Act, S.Nu. 2008, c. 17.
Official Languages Act, S.Nu. 2008, c. 10.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Griffin Cahill
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material
Under the following terms:
-
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
-
NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
