Greenlandic spell-checker launched

Oqaasileriffik, the Greenland Language Secretariat, last week launched the first version of Kukkuniiaat, a Greenlandic spellchecker and hyphenation tool, which can be used in Microsoft Word and other programs in Office.

Kukkuniiaat will function as a platform for the development of future language tools in Greenlandic, says the language secretariat.

That’s because Kukkuniiaat is not a simple word list, but an advanced automat with built-in knowledge on word formation and grammar. It’s intended to become a foundation for projects in developing language technology tools.

“We rejoice in this important step in our work with the Greenlandic language, which will be crucial in the development of its status, in accordance with the current goals of the official language policy,” says a news release from the secretariat.

Kukkuniiaat can be downloaded for free from the secretariat’s home page www.oqaasileriffik.gl/kukkuniiaat as well as an updated lexicon lists and a document template which automatically will make Kalaallisut – Greenlandic the standard language when using Word.