In Defence of a Standard Phonemic Spelling in Roman Letters for the Canadian Eskimo Language

Discusses the syllabic system adapted from Rev. James Evans' Cree syllabics to Eskimo use by Rev. E.J. Peck about 1885, and still used by the majority of Canadian Eskimos. The alphabet of the dominant culture however, has advantages for rendering aboriginal speech to writing; Soviet experiments...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ARCTIC
Main Author: Gagné, Raymond C.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: The Arctic Institute of North America 1959
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/66775
Description
Summary:Discusses the syllabic system adapted from Rev. James Evans' Cree syllabics to Eskimo use by Rev. E.J. Peck about 1885, and still used by the majority of Canadian Eskimos. The alphabet of the dominant culture however, has advantages for rendering aboriginal speech to writing; Soviet experiments with Asiatic Eskimos are cited. A gradual change from the syllabary to the roman alphabet adapted to Eskimo phonology is advocated. Benefits of a writing system in common with Greenlanders are cited. Several Eskimo alphabetic systems already established among Eskimos in Canada are discussed, each has certain inadequacies. Development of a new standard orthography is required; over- or under-differentiation of Eskimo phonemes, now current, should be eliminated.