Advocates hopeful new Inuinnaqtun dictionary app can help revitalize the language

The creators behind the new Inuinnaqtundictionary app hopeNunavummiutcan feel more comfortable about speaking the language through using the app.

The Cambridge Bay-based Kitikmeot Heritage Society, also known as Pitquhirnikkut Ilihautiniq or PI, launched the free mobile app late last month.

Only 495 people in Canada declared Inuinnaqtun their mother tongue in the 2021 census. Most speakers are inwestern Arctic communities.

That's a statistic Emily Angulalik, executive director of PI, hopes to change.

"Inuinnaqtun should be spoken and understood by all. We are a sister dialect of Inuktitut, but we're such a small portion of the Inuit world," she said.

"The majority of our youth are silent speakers, and might not be able to pronounce the words or converse."

The app includes thousands of words and phrases in Inuinnaqtun, in both written and audio forms, which Angulalik said could help people work on their speaking skills.

Lyndsey Friesen, PI's philanthropy and communications manager, said they chose an app rather than a physical dictionary because of its accessibility.

"They're automatically updated ... so instead of having to buy a new dictionary every time additions are added, we are able to give people updates," she said.

The app has been three years in the making, with elders and language experts contributing their knowledge through a series of workshops.

The project received $600,000 in funding from Polar Knowledge Canada, ArcticNet's Inuit Nunangat Research Program, the Government of Nunavut, and the federal government's First Nations and Inuit Cultural Education Centres Program.

Safe spaces to learn Inuinnaqtun

Like many young Inuinnaqtun learners, Sarah Olayok Jancke can find it daunting trying to achieve fluency in the language.

As the social and cultural development director of the Kitikmeot Inuit Association,she wants to create safe spaces for people to feel empowered to learn and speak the language, and she sees the app as a promising development.

"Many of us are passive language holders. Many do understand a lot [of Inuinnaqtun], but the confidence to speak takes a little bit more support," she said.

The Kitikmeot Inuit Association has a goal of getting communities in the region mostly bilingual within the next two generations, or the next 30 to 40 years. Jancke is optimistic that vision can become a reality.

"I think the pride that Inuit have today in ourselves and in our culture and our language is really shifting," Jancke said.

Growing up with parents who didn't speak English, being able to speak and share the Inuinnaqtun language has always been an important cause to Angulalik.

"I always believe that language and culture go hand in hand," she said.

"It takes time but if you want to learn it, if [that drive] is within you, then you'll be able to grasp it and fly with it. That's my dream."