Are ITK and CBC killing the Inuit language?

I have been quite frustrated with some Inuit organizations killing the Inuktitut language.

One of the most visible is a poster ITK has posted in some nursing stations and other public places. The title of this poster is, “Ajungijjutigijavut isaanujujtivut” which I believe was meant to say “Ajungijjutigijavut inuujunnarutivut.”

This error is the most correct part of that poster unless the message was “Creenuit” (combination of Cree and Inuit language). If I were the president of such an organization and had worked so hard to promote Inuktitut and the preservation of Inuktitut language both in written and oral format, I would be totally embarrassed even to show my face in public, coming from a national Inuit organization that appears not to even care if Inuktitut is preserved or not.

I do happen to know the president and I do know that this was not intentional.

There are other culprits, such as CBC, which has been known to grossly mispronounce or not even come close to the proper word needed. Such language deterioration of such words or suffixes is what is the norm today, such as “Tuit” in words like “Uqaqtuit.”

Most of the Inuktitut that I was familiar with prior to CBC lingo were suffixes such as “tut, tunn” which are plural indicators and depend on which region you come from. Other such words are like “quqiuti, aulausilirijikkut, unnuksak’kut,” which I believe should have been “qukiuti, aulausirijiit and unnusakkut” and many others that I do not care to mention.

The only reason I am picking on ITK is because it is our national Inuit organization. This does not mean that the other organizations and agencies that serve the Inuit majority in Nunavut are any better.

Most times I can stand idly by when it is a personal letter, but when it comes to public notices and other documents that are posted for public information, the first and foremost of consideration should be our children and their descendants to come.

If we can stop just protesting about the preservation of Inuktitut and actually start doing something about it by first making sure that we proofread before posting to the public, we may have a better success in saving the Inuktitut language. In short, start at home (meaning our very own organizations) and help each other out.

Appitaq Enuaraq
Pond Inlet