Bilingualism and Diglossia in the Canadian Eastern Arctic
In the Eastern Arctic the Inuktitut language is as strong as it has ever been in terms of public recognition. But there are some reasons for concern: code-switching, subtractive bilingualism, etc. This article addresses this apparent contradiction by explaining the current language situation as a li...
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The Arctic Institute of North America
1989
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ftunivcalgaryojs:oai:journalhosting.ucalgary.ca:article/64712 2023-05-15T14:19:13+02:00 Bilingualism and Diglossia in the Canadian Eastern Arctic Dorais, Louis-Jaques 1989-01-01 application/pdf https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64712 eng eng The Arctic Institute of North America https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64712/48626 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64712 ARCTIC; Vol. 42 No. 3 (1989): September: 189–298; 199-207 1923-1245 0004-0843 Bilingualism Education English language French language Inuit Inuit languages Nunavik Québec Nunavut info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion research-article 1989 ftunivcalgaryojs 2022-03-22T21:21:53Z In the Eastern Arctic the Inuktitut language is as strong as it has ever been in terms of public recognition. But there are some reasons for concern: code-switching, subtractive bilingualism, etc. This article addresses this apparent contradiction by explaining the current language situation as a linguistic conflict. The social history of the Arctic has induced a basic inequality between English, the dominant speech form, and Inuktitut. This situation, called diglossia, entails a gradual loss of the native language among the younger generations. The study of a sample of Inuit students shows that Inuktitut is still the preferred language for addressing one's parents, but it is much less so, especially in the Baffin region, with siblings and friends. It is argued that only a change in the social and political conditions of the Inuit could reverse this trend.Key words: Inuktitut, language (Inuit), bilingualism, diglossia, Eastern Arctic Mots clés: inuktitut, langue (inuit), bilinguisme, diglossie, Arctique de l’est Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Arctique* Baffin inuit inuktitut Nunavut Nunavik University of Calgary Journal Hosting Arctic Nunavik Nunavut ARCTIC 42 3 |
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University of Calgary Journal Hosting |
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Bilingualism Education English language French language Inuit Inuit languages Nunavik Québec Nunavut |
spellingShingle |
Bilingualism Education English language French language Inuit Inuit languages Nunavik Québec Nunavut Dorais, Louis-Jaques Bilingualism and Diglossia in the Canadian Eastern Arctic |
topic_facet |
Bilingualism Education English language French language Inuit Inuit languages Nunavik Québec Nunavut |
description |
In the Eastern Arctic the Inuktitut language is as strong as it has ever been in terms of public recognition. But there are some reasons for concern: code-switching, subtractive bilingualism, etc. This article addresses this apparent contradiction by explaining the current language situation as a linguistic conflict. The social history of the Arctic has induced a basic inequality between English, the dominant speech form, and Inuktitut. This situation, called diglossia, entails a gradual loss of the native language among the younger generations. The study of a sample of Inuit students shows that Inuktitut is still the preferred language for addressing one's parents, but it is much less so, especially in the Baffin region, with siblings and friends. It is argued that only a change in the social and political conditions of the Inuit could reverse this trend.Key words: Inuktitut, language (Inuit), bilingualism, diglossia, Eastern Arctic Mots clés: inuktitut, langue (inuit), bilinguisme, diglossie, Arctique de l’est |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Dorais, Louis-Jaques |
author_facet |
Dorais, Louis-Jaques |
author_sort |
Dorais, Louis-Jaques |
title |
Bilingualism and Diglossia in the Canadian Eastern Arctic |
title_short |
Bilingualism and Diglossia in the Canadian Eastern Arctic |
title_full |
Bilingualism and Diglossia in the Canadian Eastern Arctic |
title_fullStr |
Bilingualism and Diglossia in the Canadian Eastern Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Bilingualism and Diglossia in the Canadian Eastern Arctic |
title_sort |
bilingualism and diglossia in the canadian eastern arctic |
publisher |
The Arctic Institute of North America |
publishDate |
1989 |
url |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64712 |
geographic |
Arctic Nunavik Nunavut |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Nunavik Nunavut |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Arctique* Baffin inuit inuktitut Nunavut Nunavik |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Arctique* Baffin inuit inuktitut Nunavut Nunavik |
op_source |
ARCTIC; Vol. 42 No. 3 (1989): September: 189–298; 199-207 1923-1245 0004-0843 |
op_relation |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64712/48626 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64712 |
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