<div dir="ltr"><h1 class="gmail-headline" style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:33px;line-height:1.3;font-family:merriweather;vertical-align:baseline;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Too much English, not enough Inuktitut in Iqaluit, Nunavut MLA says</h1><p class="gmail-subhead" style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:"open sans";vertical-align:baseline;margin:5px 0px 20px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Minister says languages commissioner can impose fines on private businesses</p><div class="gmail-wp-caption gmail-alignnone" style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:10px;line-height:inherit;font-family:merriweather;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px;float:none;max-width:100%;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><a class="gmail-thumbnail" href="https://nunatsiaq.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/vut_lang_signs_1000.jpg" title="Too much English, not enough Inuktitut in Iqaluit, Nunavut MLA says" style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:black"><img width="1000" height="400" src="https://nunatsiaq.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/vut_lang_signs_1000.jpg" class="gmail-attachment-large gmail-size-large gmail-wp-post-image" alt="" style="box-sizing: inherit; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%; height: auto;"></a><p class="gmail-wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:inherit;border-width:0px 0px 1px;border-top-style:initial;border-right-style:initial;border-bottom-style:solid;border-left-style:initial;border-top-color:initial;border-right-color:initial;border-bottom-color:rgb(221,221,221);border-left-color:initial;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:14px;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:10px 0px 15px;color:rgb(85,85,85);line-height:1.6">For visitors to Iqaluit like Pangnirtung MLA Margaret Nakashuk, the English language enjoys widespread predominance over Inuktitut. (File photo)</p></div><p class="gmail-author" style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:merriweather;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0)">By <a href="https://nunatsiaq.com/author/jimbell/" style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:black;text-decoration-line:none"><span class="gmail-authorName" style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration-line:underline">Jim Bell</span></a></p><div class="gmail-sType" style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:10px;line-height:inherit;font-family:merriweather;vertical-align:baseline;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><p style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px">An apparent lack of Inuktitut-language service and signage in Iqaluit is a continuing “source of consternation,” Pangnirtung MLA Margaret Nakashuk said in the legislative assembly last week.</p><p style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px">“This is visible everywhere, when you arrive to Iqaluit or even in an airplane, we rarely hear Inuktitut being spoken or have bilingual workers. When I enter the terminal building, the first language I hear is English, although I feel Inuktitut should be the first language spoken,” Nakashuk said.</p><p style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px">She said this is her experience with many private businesses in Iqaluit that serve the public.</p><p style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px">“If I enter a taxi, most drivers can’t speak Inuktitut, and when I go to a hotel, there is no Inuk receptionist,” she said.</p><p style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px">She also said many Inuktitut signs contain spelling errors and that the “government is helping to deteriorate the language, as there seems to be no commitment to providing services in the Inuit language.”</p><p style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px">After being delayed twice, the sections of the Inuit Language Protection Act and the Official Languages Act that mandate the use of Inuktut for private sector organizations that serve the public <a href="https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/65674nunavut_language_laws_to_be_fully_in_force_by_july_9_says_minister/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:black">came into force on July 9, 2017</a>.</p><p style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px">To correct the situation, Nakashuk asked if non-compliant businesses can be fined.</p><p style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px">“Inuktitut should be first, and private businesses that can’t provide services in Inuktitut, can’t the government charge them a fine?” she said.</p><p style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px">David Joanasie, the minister of culture and heritage, said people in Nunavut may bring concerns to the Nunavut languages commissioner, who has the power to investigate complaints.</p><p style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px">“If they don’t follow the legislation, the languages commissioner can investigate as long as you inform the languages commissioner,” Joanasie said.</p><p style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px">In response to another question, Joanasie confirmed that the Government of Nunavut’s <a href="https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/65674new_inuktut_language_requirements_come_into_force_for_nunavut_organiza/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:black">Department of Culture and Heritage operates a program that offers grants of up to $5,000 to help private businesses</a> comply with their obligations under the Inuit Language Protection Act.</p><p style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px">That money is to help cover the cost of signage, translation and proofreading, and language training courses for employees.</p><p style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px">And in 2017, the GN also announced it would spend $1 million over five years to help organizations make the transition.</p><p style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px">Aggu MLA Paul Quassa also pressed Joanasie for answers on language policy, especially the relative prominence of Inuktitut compared with English.</p><p style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px">In public signs, Inuktitut should come first, but that doesn’t always happen, Quassa said.</p><p style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px">“I imagine the minister knows that within the majority of government offices, although I already spoke to this matter, the signage always has the English first, and then Inuktitut or French comes next, as if these buildings weren’t even in Nunavut,” Quassa said.</p><p style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px">He went on to say that Nunavut’s signage policies should be like those in Quebec, where French words are placed first and are larger than the English words.</p><p style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px">“That is what we need to do here in Nunavut because Inuit fought for Nunavut through their land claim. This is what Inuit wanted,” Quassa said.</p><p style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px">He also suggested that he’s getting impatient with the slow pace of linguistic change in Nunavut.</p><p style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px">“The government has to adhere to its own legislation and has to follow these requirements. When can we expect to see this? We’ve had Nunavut now for 20 years. When can we see this?” Quassa said.</p><p style="box-sizing:inherit;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:16.2px;line-height:1.61;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;margin:20px 0px;padding:0px">Joanasie replied by saying that the government would “look into the Quebec signage the member referenced and how they operate their linguistic publications.”</p></div><div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies                     <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone:  (215) 898-7475<br>Fax:  (215) 573-2138                                      <br><br>Email:  <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a>    <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div></div>