Inuinnaqtun goes digital with launch of new dictionary app

Inuinnaqtun, an Inuit language spoken fluently by only a few hundred people across the Arctic, has gone digital with the launch of a mobile-based free dictionary app.

The app was envisioned by Cambridge Bay-based Kitikmeot Heritage Society, also known as Pitquhirnikkut Ilihautiniq or PI, which in Inuinnaqtun means “learning through culture.”

The software application launched in July. It includes a dictionary, a phrase book, and audio recordings with thousands of Inuinnaqtun words and phrases.

“Our vision is to preserve and promote more Inuinnaqtun revitalization amongst our youth and non-Inuinnaqtun speakers who would like to learn our beautiful language,” said Emily Angulalik, PI’s executive director and senior Inuinnaqtun language expert.

Users can search for Inuinnaqtun words in the app several ways, including by entering the first letter or English definition. It also includes a sound guide that allows the user to hear the root sound of a word.

PI has already received positive reaction from Inuinnaqtun speakers who are asking how to download and access the app, which is available for Android and Apple devices, said Angulalik.

The home page of the Inuinnaqtun Dictionary App allows users to search words by English definition and listen to audio recordings of root words. (Photo courtesy of Daniel Taro)

The preservation of Inuinnaqtun — which is spoken fluently by fewer than 500 people across Gjoa Haven, Kugluktuk and Cambridge Bay as well as Ulukhaktok in the Northwest Territories — has been a priority for PI over the past five years.

Inuinnaqtun is at risk of becoming extinct within two generations, the heritage society says on its website.

Since 2021, PI has received approximately $600,000 to support its long-term documentation of Inuinnaqtun terminology, part of which was used to develop the app. Sponsors include Polar Knowledge Canada, ArcticNet’s Inuit Nunangat Research Program, and the federal government’s First Nations and Inuit Cultural Education Centres Program.

The app’s software design was developed by a three-person team from Pinnguaq, a non-profit organization founded in Pangnirtung that co-designs educational content with residents living in remote, rural and Indigenous communities.

The process of turning PI’s vision of creating an accessible language tool into a reality took a year of back-and-forth communication with Pinnguaq, said Darren Keith, senior researcher at PI.

“We decided to go with an app instead of a webpage because people’s use of the internet in Cambridge Bay is through their personal smartphones,” said Keith, who was involved in the app’s creation.

“Another plus with the app’s design is that it allows people to use it offline and reference the dictionary while they’re out on the land.”

The app is rich with Inuinnaqtun terminology gathered from workshops with Cambridge Bay elders and knowledge holders paid by PI to document the language.

A regional committee of Inuinnaqtun experts called Inikhaliuqatigiit also contributed to uploading terms and voice pronunciation to the app.

“We are actively getting people together to make sure we are collecting as much as possible, with a focus on environmental terminology that describes the Inuinnaqtun landscape, from landforms to the climate,” said Keith, whose research interests include preservation of Inuit geographical knowledge.

The Inuinnaqtun dictionary app is an ongoing project for PI as words are still being added to the collection.

Unlike static print dictionaries, users only need to refresh the app to learn long-lost Inuinnaqtun terms and phrases.