Tangled Lines: What might it mean to take Indigenous languages seriously?

• Main Authors: Henitiuk, Valerie, Mahieu, Marc-Antoine
• Other Authors: Concordia University of Edmonton, Edmonton, Canada, Langues et civilisations à tradition orale (LACITO), Université Sorbonne Nouvelle - Paris 3-Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (Inalco)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (Inalco)
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2023
• Subjects: Indigenous translation; Inuktitut; Inuit literature; ethics; Markoosie Patsauq; [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences; inuit; inuktitut
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-04271103; https://hal.science/hal-04271103/document; https://hal.science/hal-04271103/file/Tangled%20Lines%20-%20What%20might%20it%20mean%20to%20take%20Indigenous%20languages%20seriously.pdf

This provocation opens up a dialogue on the need to treat Indigenous languages (and those who write in them) respectfully, in a manner fully informed by the discipline of translation studies. Using work on and with Inuit author Markoosie Patsauq as a case study, the authors discuss what motivated their own recent renditions and analysis of Uumajursiutik unaatuinnamut [Hunter with Harpoon/Chasseur au harpon] (Patsauq 2021). The article describes the current state of research into Inuktitut literary production and translation while detailing some of the main issues and challenges of Indigenous translation more broadly. It begins with an overview of the complex, multi-faceted nature of Indigeneity and closes with suggestions for new ways forward.