Latest news with #Inuinnaqtun
CBC
12-04-2025
- Science
- CBC
Students in Ulukhaktok, N.W.T., building app to preserve Inuinnaqtun language
'I'm hoping that it revitalizes [Inuinnaqtun], the speaking of it in our younger generation,' says elder Students at a school in Ulukhaktok, N.W.T., have teamed up with the British Columbia Institute of Technology to develop an app to help preserve the Inuinnaqtun language. An official language of both the N.W.T. and Nunavut, Inuinnaqtun is the primary Indigenous language spoken in Ulukhaktok and is also spoken in western Kitikmeot communities of Cambridge Bay, Kugluktuk and Gjoa Haven, Nunavut. But the small number of residents who speak it are growing older in both territories. In the N.W.T. alone, the territory said back in 2019 there were just 259 speakers. That's part of the reason it became a topic of conversation at a parent-teacher night at Helen Kalvak School. David Leitch, a teacher there, said parents and students wanted to do more with the language and together they came up with the idea last year to create a simple translation app. "As soon as we got into it, the kids had some pretty fantastic ideas about what they wanted to do, and one of the biggest ones was they wanted to capture the voices of their elders." Leitch said students started working on the project this year, and it quickly exceeded his capacity for programming – but there was a big breakthrough when they reached out to the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) for help. A group of students in a computer technology program there agreed to take the project on, said Leitch, and they're creating a large language model – a type of artificial intelligence – that's learning Inuinnaqtun now. The app is being called Echo of the North and once it's done, Leitch said it'll translate full sentences and will also feature recordings of elders speaking. When someone asks the app for a translation, it'll use that large language model to respond. Joanne Ogina, an elder in Ulukhaktok who has done some translations for the app, said she likes that it's preserving her language. She said Inuinnaqtun is rarely spoken, unless conversing with someone who is older. "I'm hoping that it revitalizes it, the speaking of it in our younger generation, because a lot of them rarely speak the language or even have a chance to hear it," she said. A lot more work to do Leitch said now that BCIT is helping out, students in Ulukhaktok are focusing their time on interviewing elders, recording their voices, and also uploading "every bit" of Inuinnaqtun to the internet so the AI program can learn it. "There's actually different dialects of Inuinnaqtun…. Depending on where you are or where you're from, where your family is from." To reflect those differences, Leitch said users will be able to flag a word in the app and add more information about how it's spelled or pronounced in another dialect – and those details will appear to users as well. Although students have been working hard on the project, Leitch said there's a long way yet to go. The artificial intelligence has learned the entire Inuinnaqtun dictionary but that means it can only translate word-for-word. "To really function, it's going to take months and years of our students and our community and elders putting the language, the sentences, the sentence structure, into the database [so] that the AI can learn the language well enough to translate it," said Leitch.
CBC
26-02-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Revitalization of two Inuktut dialects discussed in Nunavut legislature
Social Sharing Two Nunavut MLAs asked questions about the revitalization of Inuktut dialects at the territory's Legislative Assembly this week. On Tuesday, Kugluktuk MLA Bobby Anavilok asked for an update on resources being made available to learn Inuinnaqtun. He pointed to remarks made by former culture and heritage minister Joanna Quassa during budget deliberations two years ago, who said at the time the government was "shifting the focus of Inuinnaqtun translations to prioritize areas that are either likely to improve revitalization or directly support access to service." After quoting Quassa in both English and Inuinnaqtun, Anavilok said he believed the shift meant there would be emphasis on new resources to support people learning Inuinnaqtun. Premier P.J. Akeeagok, who is also the territory's minister of languages, recognized Anavilok's use of Inuinnaqtun in the assembly. He said funds have been set aside to improve programs and services for the language. "We are going to keep going forward with this," he said in Inuktitut. "We're also looking at filling the positions in Kugluktuk because that's where [we're] producing the new resources." About 495 people reported speaking Inuinnaqtun according to a census in 2021, with most speakers residing in western Arctic communities. Akeeagok said the territory is collaborating with the education department to provide programs and obtain funding to strengthen the language and its use. Anavilok also quoted a plan, tabled in 2018, to implement the Official Languages Act and the Inuit Language Protection Act in Nunavut. The plan, named Uqausivut 2.0, included developing "regional language plans that align with the [government of Nunavut] language planning process for each region, incorporating input from regional focus group consultations to ensure grassroots participation and local/regional relevance". When asked by Anavilok for an update on the western Kitikmeot language plan, Akeeagok said in English that Uqausivut 2.0 remains the government's "formal implementation plan" and that Inuinnaqtun is identified as a key area. The Netsilik dialect of Inuktut — Nattilingmiutut — was also brought up. Netsilik MLA Joseph Inagayuk Quqqiaq referenced an interview CBC News conducted with Taloyoak elder David Nanook. During the interview, Nanook advocated for the preservation of Inuktitut, but also raised the issue of English being spoken more than the Netsilik dialect. Quqqiaq asked how the Netsilik dialect is being promoted in schools in Taloyoak and Kugaaruk. Akeeagok said the education department is responsible for their curriculum, which does not focus on a specific dialect. Quqqiaq also brought up the government's Inuktut Language Incentive Policy, which recognizes five dialects. One of them is Nattilingmiutut, which is spoken in Quqqiaq's constituency's communities. "I have raised this issue many times in the house," Quqqiaq said. "I would like to take this opportunity to ask the new minister of languages for his position on this issue. "Can the Minister commit to … a callout for a Netsilingmiut-speaking translator with the hopes that the government of Nunavut's public service announcements can be available in the Netsilingmiut dialect?" Akeeagok said the department cannot "commit specifically to hiring someone with a specific dialect", but said there are other options available. "There are different grants and contributions available for providing Netsilingmiut specifically to the community, in particular to Taloyoak and Kugaaruk," Akeeagok said. "I'm aware that there's been submissions that are being reviewed in terms of the ability for the community or municipality to provide translation services specifically in [Netsilingmiut]." Akeeagok also promoted the interpreter-translator program at Nunavut Arctic College, which he says he's spoken about with Quqqiaq.
