Nunavut begins 2-week celebration of traditional language

The Nunavut LanguageCommissioner is calling on people in the territory to make a special effort to speak, teach or learn Inuktut which is a single term used to refer to both theInuinnaqtun and Inuktitut languages together.

This week marks the start of a celebration of language calledUqausirmut Quviasuutiqarniq. Every year, the Nunavut government marks two weeks dedicated to celebrating and discussing the importance of Inuktut.

"Making an effort to speakit consistently,not mixing it up with English, and not switching it up to English if at all possible," says Nunavut Languages Commissioner Sandra Inutiq. "Just to bring an awareness that language usecan shift very rapidly."

The language celebrations include a three-day conference in Iqaluit next weekwhere participants will talk about connections between language, identity and culture.