In Nunavut, 65 percent of the population identify Inuktut as their mother tongue. This means that Nunavut is the only jurisdiction in Canada with a homogeneous public majority language that is not one of the two official languages of Canada — French and English. Nunavut is the only jurisdiction in the Americas where the public majority speak a pre-European language. Our experience has shown the private sector is often more proactive and responsive in providing Inuktut language support. Bill Gates and Microsoft, in a partnership with Pirurvik Centre, worked on developing Inuktut language software. Inhabit Media has published a wide variety of Inuktut language books. An Inuktut syllabics app already exists on the iPhone which allows us to write in Inuktut. Social media can support the resurgence of Inuit cultural pride by developing culturally significant emojis such as inuksuit and uluit
Actions and Commitments
Call to Action # 14: Language and Culture (13-17)
Microsoft Inuktut language software support
July 9, 2018Return to Previous Page
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