Kivalliq, also known as ''Kivallirmiutut, Caribou Eskimo,'' or formerly as ''Keewatin'', is a dialect of

Eastern Canadian Inuktitut Inuktitut ( ; , syllabics ), also known as Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the North American tree line, including parts of the provinces of Newfoundland and La ...

which is spoken along the northwestern shores of

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

Location

The Kivalliq dialect is most commonly spoken in five Canadian communities:

Chesterfield Inlet Chesterfield Inlet (Inuit: ''Igluligaarjuk'')Issenman, Betty. ''Sinews of Survival: The living legacy of Inuit clothing''. UBC Press, 1997. pp252-254 is an inlet in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is an arm of northwestern Hudson Bay, an ...

, Baker Lake,

Rankin Inlet Rankin Inlet, which fronts to Hudson Bay, is an Inuit hamlet on the Kudlulik Peninsula in Nunavut, Canada. It is the largest hamlet and second-largest settlement in Nunavut after the territorial capital, Iqaluit. Rankin Inlet is the regional c ...

, Whale Cove, and

Arviat Arviat (, Inuktitut syllabics, syllabics: ᐊᕐᕕᐊᑦ; formerly called Eskimo Point until 1 June 1989) is a predominantly Inuit Hamlet (place)#Canada, hamlet located on the western shore of Hudson Bay in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut, Canada ...

. Baker Lake and Arviat are the only two communities in Canada that speak Kivalliq as the sole dialect of Inuktitut. Most speakers of Kivalliq are located in the Eastern Nunavut community of Arviat, with approximately 90% of the population speaking Kivalliq as their mother tongue.

Dialect group

Kivalliq dialect is part of the subgroup Keewatin, within the broader dialect group of Eastern Canadian Inuktitut.

Subdialects

Kivalliq has several

subdialect Subdialect (from Latin , "under", and Ancient Greek , ''diálektos'', "discourse") is a linguistic term designating a dialectological category between the levels of dialect and idiolect. Subdialects are basic subdivisions of a dialect. Subdialect ...

s: Qairnirmiut, Hauniqtuurmiut, Paallirmiut, and Ahiarmiut.

Writing system

Kivalliq uses

Inuktitut Syllabics Inuktitut syllabics (, or , ) is an abugida-type writing system used in Canada by the Inuktitut-speaking Inuit of the Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Nunavut and the Nunavik region of Quebec. In 1976, the Language Commission of ...

as a writing system. Syllabics is the most common

Inuktitut Inuktitut ( ; , Inuktitut syllabics, syllabics ), also known as Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the North American tree line, including parts of the provinces of ...

writing system across Nunavut and Nunavik. There is no uniform writing system in place for all dialects of Inuktitut, which can be explained by the sporadic introduction of missionaries to Nunavut in the 1800s. It is commonly accepted that Edmund Peck introduced Inuktitut Syllabics to the

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

, based on his travels as a missionary in Nunavut.

Language vitality status

According UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger, the Kivalliq dialect of Inuktitut is classified as vulnerable.

Government policy

The Government of Nunavut has made efforts to protect the use of Kivalliq under Canadian law with the Consolidation of Official Languages Act and the Indigenous Languages Act. Under the Consolidation of Official Languages Act, Inuktitut became an official language of Nunavut. The first official implementation of the Indigenous Languages Act occurred in 2019 with the Revitalizing and Strengthening Inuktitut in Nunavut Program, as a collaborative effort between The Government of Canada, the Government of Nunavut, and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated. Major revitalization efforts within this program include introducing a laddered approach to language education in Nunavut, such that language certification,

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

s, and

BEds A bed is a piece of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many be ...

can be achieved in Inuktitut language.

References

{{Eskimo-Aleut languages Inuit languages