Inuit language finds home on net (fwd)

phil cash cash cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU
Wed Nov 3 16:29:04 UTC 2004


Inuit language finds home on net

Inuktitut speakers will soon be able to have their say online as the
Canadian aboriginal language goes on the web.

Browser settings on normal computers have not supported the language to
date, but attavik.net has changed that.

It provides a content management system that allows native speakers to
write, manage documents and offer online payments in the Inuit
language.

It could prove a vital tool to keep the language alive in one of the
most remote communities on earth.

Vital link

Inuktitut is spoken by the Inuit people living in Nunavut, northern
Canada, which is an area two to three times the size of France.

An historic agreement signed with the Canadian government in 1999
allowed the communities living there independence to run their land how
they chose.

In this long-established society, the modern medium of the internet is
proving a breath of fresh air.

"There are 25 settlements, 30,000 people and no roads. It is a huge area
of land and the internet is tailor-made for these groups," said Oliver
Zielke, the chief executive of Web Networks, a non-profit organisation
based in Canada which provides web services for socially committed
groups.

Web Networks worked with the Piruvik Centre of Iqualuit, the capital of
Nunavut, to develop the system.

Reaching goals

"It was a big challenge to give the Inuit and Inuktitut speakers the
ability to have web pages published in their native language," said Mr
Zielke.

"A lot of people have older computers and limited ability to use
technology," he added.

With high-speed satellite net access planned for the region and the
website providing the easy-to-use tools to make publishing easy, that
is about to change.

"The worldwide web can seem like a foreign place to these people but now
they can be players in that world. The internet will eventually be one
of the basic tools that the Inuit people use," predicted Mr Zielke.

The technology behind attavik.net can be used for other syllabic
languages such as Cree, Oji-cree and Korean.

The government of Nunavut is committed to making Inuktitut its working
language.

"This type of development puts that goal within reach," said Eva Aariak,
Languages Commissioner for Nunavut.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/technology/3975645.stm
Published: 2004/11/03 09:08:49 GMT
© BBC MMIV



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