The future of Inuktitut in the face of majority languages: Bilingualism or language shift?
Inuktitut, the Eskimo language spoken in Eastern Canada, is one of the few Canadian indigenous languages with a strong chance of long-term survival because over 90% of Inuit children still learn Inuktitut from birth. In this paper I review existing literature on bilingual Inuit children to explore t...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0142716407070282 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0142716407070282 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0142716407070282 2024-10-06T13:48:23+00:00 The future of Inuktitut in the face of majority languages: Bilingualism or language shift? ALLEN, SHANLEY 2007 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0142716407070282 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0142716407070282 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Applied Psycholinguistics volume 28, issue 3, page 515-536 ISSN 0142-7164 1469-1817 journal-article 2007 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0142716407070282 2024-09-11T04:04:13Z Inuktitut, the Eskimo language spoken in Eastern Canada, is one of the few Canadian indigenous languages with a strong chance of long-term survival because over 90% of Inuit children still learn Inuktitut from birth. In this paper I review existing literature on bilingual Inuit children to explore the prospects for the survival of Inuktitut given the increase in the use of English in these regions. Studies on code mixing and subject realization among simultaneous bilingual children ages 2–4 years show a strong foundation in Inuktitut, regardless of extensive exposure to English in the home. However, three studies of older Inuit children exposed to English through school reveal some stagnation in children's Inuktitut and increasing use of English with age, even in nonschool contexts. I conclude that current choices about language use at the personal, school, and societal levels will determine whether Inuit are able to reach and maintain stable bilingualism, or whether Inuktitut will decline significantly in favor of majority languages. Article in Journal/Newspaper eskimo* inuit inuktitut Cambridge University Press Canada Applied Psycholinguistics 28 3 515 536 |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
Inuktitut, the Eskimo language spoken in Eastern Canada, is one of the few Canadian indigenous languages with a strong chance of long-term survival because over 90% of Inuit children still learn Inuktitut from birth. In this paper I review existing literature on bilingual Inuit children to explore the prospects for the survival of Inuktitut given the increase in the use of English in these regions. Studies on code mixing and subject realization among simultaneous bilingual children ages 2–4 years show a strong foundation in Inuktitut, regardless of extensive exposure to English in the home. However, three studies of older Inuit children exposed to English through school reveal some stagnation in children's Inuktitut and increasing use of English with age, even in nonschool contexts. I conclude that current choices about language use at the personal, school, and societal levels will determine whether Inuit are able to reach and maintain stable bilingualism, or whether Inuktitut will decline significantly in favor of majority languages. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
ALLEN, SHANLEY |
spellingShingle |
ALLEN, SHANLEY The future of Inuktitut in the face of majority languages: Bilingualism or language shift? |
author_facet |
ALLEN, SHANLEY |
author_sort |
ALLEN, SHANLEY |
title |
The future of Inuktitut in the face of majority languages: Bilingualism or language shift? |
title_short |
The future of Inuktitut in the face of majority languages: Bilingualism or language shift? |
title_full |
The future of Inuktitut in the face of majority languages: Bilingualism or language shift? |
title_fullStr |
The future of Inuktitut in the face of majority languages: Bilingualism or language shift? |
title_full_unstemmed |
The future of Inuktitut in the face of majority languages: Bilingualism or language shift? |
title_sort |
future of inuktitut in the face of majority languages: bilingualism or language shift? |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2007 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0142716407070282 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0142716407070282 |
geographic |
Canada |
geographic_facet |
Canada |
genre |
eskimo* inuit inuktitut |
genre_facet |
eskimo* inuit inuktitut |
op_source |
Applied Psycholinguistics volume 28, issue 3, page 515-536 ISSN 0142-7164 1469-1817 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0142716407070282 |
container_title |
Applied Psycholinguistics |
container_volume |
28 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
515 |
op_container_end_page |
536 |
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1812176516506714112 |