Inuit Language and Language Policies in Nunavut
Nunavut is Canada's largest and northernmost territory, and the latest of all of Canada's Territories to be established. The Inuit fought for linguistic rights and national autonomy, resulting in Nunavut's separation from the Northwest Territories. The Inuit are the largest indigenous population group in this region and the Inuit language is the mother tongue of most people.
However, Inuktitut was at a disadvantage to the official languages of Canada, that is English and French. And it was not until the late 20th and early 21st centuries that Inuktitut language rights were gradually secured. Though French, English, and Inuktitut are all official languages in Nunavut nowadays, this paper focuses on the development and practice of the Inuktitut language, as well as related language policies.
A review of developments of language policy across Canada can help us better understand the language situation in Nunavut. In the late 18th century, Canada began a policy of aboriginal assimilation. Indigenous people were not given the same rights as other Canadians unless they give up their own culture and language and adopt Canadian culture. Assimilation policies for Inuit began after World War II. The government abolished the last Inuktitut-language schools and mandated monolingual education in 1949. And by 1970, 100% of school-age children were enrolled in federal or Residential schools, where the only language of instruction was English (Dorais 265). As a direct result of the monolingual English policy, Inuit mother tongue education was disrupted and the survival of the Inuit language was at stake.
It took over three decades for monolingual policy to change. In 1982, the Canadian Constitution made English and French Official languages of Canada, signified the end of monolingualism. The amendment to the Official Language Act was passed in 1988, and the Multiculturalism Act was passed in the same year, which meant that all languages in Canada, including Inuit, would be protected by law. At the same time, the Northwest Territories passed the Official Language Act, which established English, French and nine other languages, including Inuit, as the official languages of the Northwest Territories. However, due to the numerous amount of official languages, the linguistic rights of Inuit could not be effectively guaranteed. In 1999, Nunavut was separated from the Northwest Territories and passed the Territory's Official Language Act in 2008, making Inuit, English and French the official languages of Nunavut. The history of language and ethnic policy reveals that the Inuit language has been severely suppressed for a long time, and the protection of the Inuit language is only just beginning.
Although Inuktitut is one of the official languages of Nunavut and the most spoken language, the development of Inuktitut is concerning. Canada Census data shows that Nunavut's population grew by 12.7 per cent between 2011 and 2016, while the proportion of the Inuit population declined slightly to 84.9 per cent. In 2016, native Inuit speakers made up 65.3% of Nunavut residents, down from 71.7% in 2001. The gap between the number of Inuit and the number of native speakers means that Inuit has not transmitted as a mother tongue to 23.4% of the Inuit people. In 2016, the percentage of Nunavut people who spoke English increased from 86.7 percent in 2001 to 94.1 percent. 82.3% of the Inuit people were bilingual. This development is peculiar, since English is no longer the only official language and the vast majority of Nunavut people speak Inuit, yet as the report reveals, Inuktitut "is shifting from the main language to the secondary language." (statcan)
Timpson points out that while Inuit's language right is protected, the official language policy
is problematic because it protects and maintains the statues of both English and French in areas where neither is a first language in this aera. In addition, due to long-standing monolingual policy in the past, English is still the dominant language in government, education, and business communication.
In fact, before 2008, Inuktitut speakers had to depend on their relatives or interpreters to access basic services like checking into a hotel, visiting a pharmacy, or calling emergency services. However, there were limited services available in their native language, and no legal provisions existed to mandate their provision.
In 2008, Nunavut introduced its own Official Language Act and passed the Inuit Language Protection Act, which helped improve the situation. The protection act focuses on the workplace, on education and government. In terms of public services, government agencies and territorial institution must provide Inuktitut-language services and treat Inuktitut-speaker employees equally.
In terms of education, parents have the right to have their children educated in the Inuit language.
In 2017, new regulations were passed to further promote the use of the Inuit language in public.
The new regulations require all private businesses and government offices in Nunavut to provide services and communications in Inuit, unless they operate throughout the whole Canada, in which case they must provide services in both languages. The law covers public signs, posters, advertisements, invoices and estimates, as well as customer and hospitality services. However, it is worth noting that the decree does not propose that any person or institution that does not comply with the provisions of the legislation will be fined. In addition, as Matthew Clark, president of the Iqaluit Chamber of Commerce, points out, “translation service is expensive, and getting new signage is expensive”(cbc). Without the resources to help, and without the warning of fines, it is doubtful that private companies will comply with the law to provide Inuit translations. The law promises to protect the Inuit language, but it may be hard to put into practice. In addition to the relevant provisions for the public, the Act establishes an Inuit Language Authority to oversee the use and promotion of the Inuit language and regulates the responsibility of the Commissioners of Official Languages to take all measures to promote the Inuit language and culture to the best of their ability.
The original Education Act promised to provide bilingual education in Inuktut and English to all grade levels by the 2019-2020 school year. However, recent amendments to the law have changed that. The updated law only requires the implementation of an Inuit language course, starting as early as 2026 for Grade 4 and as late as 2039 for Grade 12. This means that it will take until 2039 for all students to have Inuktut taught as a first language. James Eetoolook, the acting president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the land-claims organization representing the territory's Inuit, believes that the new legislation fails to protect Inuit language rights. He argues that "This constitutes cultural genocide." NTI even filed a statement of claim in 2021 against the Government of Nunavut, stating that the government discriminates against Inuit students by not providing enough education in Inuktut.
In general, the situation of the Inuit language has improved over the last century under the relevant legislation, but the situation is still very precarious. On the one hand, despite a number of efforts, the English language is still dominant and the percentage of English speakers is increasing.
On the other hand, the protection of the Inuit language is not in place. The laws and regulations had made promises but no measures have been taken to ensure the implementation of the law, and changes in the education law have also hindered the education of the Inuit language.
