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Inuktitut syllabics#Table

{{short description|Abugida-type writing system used in Canada}}

{{Infobox writing system

|name = Inuktitut syllabics

|type = Abugida

|time = 1870s–present

|languages = Inuktitut

|fam1 = Canadian Aboriginal syllabics

|fam2 = Cree syllabics

|children =

|unicode = Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics, U+1400–167F ([http://unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1400.pdf chart])

|iso15924 = Cans

|sample = Inuktitut.png

|imagesize = 300

|caption = Inuktitut syllabary. Extra characters with dots represent long vowels; When romanised, the vowel is duplicated.

}}

{{Contains special characters|Canadian}}

File:IqaluitStop.jpg in Nunavut displaying text in both Inuktitut syllabics and the English Latin alphabet. The Inuktitut {{lang|iu|ᓄᖅᑲᕆᑦ}} transliterates as {{Transliteration|iu|nuqqarit}}.]]

Inuktitut syllabics ({{langx|iu|ᖃᓂᐅᔮᖅᐸᐃᑦ|qaniujaaqpait}},{{Cite web|url=https://tusaalanga.ca/node/2505|title=Writing the Inuit Language |website=Inuktut Tusaalanga |access-date=2019-07-02 |publisher=Pirurvik |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250119195149/https://tusaalanga.ca/node/2505 |archive-date=19 Jan 2025 |url-status=live}} or {{lang|iu|ᑎᑎᕋᐅᓯᖅ ᓄᑖᖅ}}, {{Transliteration|iu|titirausiq nutaaq}}) is an abugida-type writing system used in Canada by the Inuktitut-speaking Inuit of the territory of Nunavut and the Nunavik region of Quebec. In 1976, the Language Commission of the Inuit Cultural Institute made it the co-official script for the Inuit languages, along with the Latin script.

The name {{Transliteration|iu|qaniujaaqpait}} {{IPA|iu|qaniujaːqpaˈit|}} derives from the root {{Transliteration|iu|qaniq}}, meaning "mouth". The alternative, Latin-based writing system is named Inuit languages#Writing ({{lang|iu|ᖃᓕᐅᔮᖅᐸᐃᑦ}}), and it derives from {{Transliteration|iu|qaliit}}, a word describing the markings or the grain in rocks. {{Transliteration|iu|Titirausiq nutaaq}} {{IPA|iu|titiʁauˈsiq nuˈtaːq|}} meaning "new writing system" is to be seen in contrast to {{Transliteration|iu|titirausiit nutaunngittut}} ({{lang|iu|ᑎᑎᕋᐅᓰᑦ ᓄᑕᐅᓐᖏᑦᑐᑦ}}), the "old syllabics" used before the reforms of 1976.{{cite book|author=Lorraine E. Brandson|title=Carved from the land: the Eskimo Museum collection|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bHkIAQAAMAAJ&q=qaliit|year=1994|publisher=Diocese of Churchill–Hudson Bay|isbn=978-0-9693266-1-8|page=81}}

Inuktitut is one variation on Canadian Aboriginal syllabics, and can be digitally encoded using the Unicode standard. The Unicode block for Inuktitut characters is called Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

History

The first efforts to write Inuktitut came from Moravian missionaries in Greenland and Labrador in the mid-19th century using Latin script. The first book printed in Inuktitut using Cree script was an 8-page pamphlet known as Selections from the Gospels in the dialect of the Inuit of Little Whale River ({{lang|iu|ᒋᓴᓯᑊ ᐅᑲᐤᓯᐣᑭᐟ}}, "Jesus' words"),{{cite web|url=https://thediscoverblog.com/2015/06/11/aboriginal-syllabic-scripts|title=Aboriginal syllabic scripts|date=June 11, 2015|publisher=Library and Archives Canada Blog}} printed by John Horden in 1855–56 at Moose Factory for Edwin Arthur Watkins to use among the Inuit at Fort George. In November 1865, Horden and Watkins met in London under Henry Venn's direction to adapt Cree syllabics to the Inuktitut language.{{Cite web|url=https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/65674taissumani_aug._10/|title=The First Inuktitut Language Conference|last=Harper|first=Kenn|date=2012-08-10|website=Nunatsiaq News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129153557/https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/65674taissumani_aug._10/|archive-date=2018-11-29}} In the 1870s, Edmund Peck, another Anglican missionary, started printing according to that standard. Other missionaries, and later linguists in the employ of the Canadian and American governments, adapted the Latin alphabet to the dialects of the Mackenzie River delta, the western Arctic islands and Alaska.

Table

{{more citations needed|section|date=December 2023}}

The Inuktitut script ({{Transliteration|iu|titirausiq nutaaq}}) is commonly presented as a syllabary. The dots on the letters in the table mark long vowels; in the Latin transcription, the vowel is doubled.{{efn-ua|{{harvnb|Tusâlanga - Syllabics}}: "Vowel sounds are often lengthened (drawn out) in Inuktitut. These sounds are represented by a dot that is placed above the syllabic character. In qaliujaaqpait (roman orthography), these sounds are represented by double vowels."}} For geminate consonants, the final consonant symbol is placed before the CV syllabic, for instance -kku-, -nnu- are rendered ᒃᑯ and ᓐᓄ respectively.

:Note: An image of the chart is also available.

class="wikitable" style="display: inline-table;"

|+ Inuktitut syllabary{{cite web |title=Syllabics (qaniujaaqpait) |url=https://tusaalanga.ca/node/2506 |website=Inuktut Tusâlanga |publisher=Pirurvik |access-date=4 November 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241104181149/https://tusaalanga.ca/node/2506 |archive-date=2024-11-04 |language=en |url-status=live |ref={{harvid|Tusâlanga - Syllabics}}}}{{cite web |title=Inuktitut Resources § Qaniujaaqpait Syllabics |url=https://www.ece.gov.nt.ca/en/inuktitut#qaniujaaqpait-syllabics |website=Education, Culture and Employment |publisher=Government of the Northwest Territories |access-date=4 November 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241104200538/https://www.ece.gov.nt.ca/en/inuktitut |archive-date=2024-11-04 |language=en |url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Inuktitut Syllabics |url=https://nunavik-ice.com/en/c/inuktitut-en/inuktitut-syllabics/# |website=Nunavik-IcE |publisher=Kativik School Board |access-date=4 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519091038/https://nunavik-ice.com/en/c/inuktitut-en/inuktitut-syllabics/# |archive-date=2024-05-19 |language=en-CA |url-status=live}}{{nobold|{{Additional citation needed|date=November 2024 |reason=Some rows in this table are not covered by the existing sources.}}}}

! colspan="11" | Vowel (IPA)

! colspan="3" rowspan="2" | Final (no vowel)

colspan="2" | {{IPA|/{{IPA link|a}}{{IPA link|i}}/}}{{efn|Found in Nunavik ({{lang|iu|ᓄᓇᕕᒃ}})}}

! colspan="3" | {{IPAslink|i}}

! colspan="3" | {{IPAslink|u}}

! colspan="3" | {{IPAslink|a}}

ShortTrans.

! Short

LongTrans.

! Short

LongTrans.

! Short

LongTrans.

!  

Trans.IPA
ᐁai

| ᐃ

ᐄi

| ᐅ

ᐆu

| ᐊ

ᐋa

| {{n/a}}

{{n/a}}

| {{n/a}}

ᐯpai

| ᐱ

ᐲpi

| ᐳ

ᐴpu

| ᐸ

ᐹpa

| ᑉ

p

| {{IPAslink|p}}

ᑌtai

| ᑎ

ᑏti

| ᑐ

ᑑtu

| ᑕ

ᑖta

| ᑦ

t

| {{IPAslink|t}}

ᑫkai

| ᑭ

ᑮki

| ᑯ

ᑰku

| ᑲ

ᑳka

| ᒃ

k

| {{IPAslink|k}}

ᕴhai

| ᕵ

ᕶhi

| ᕷ

ᕸhu

| ᕹ

ᕺha

| ᕻ

h{{efn|Found in Nunavik ({{lang|iu|ᓄᓇᕕᒃ}})}}

| {{IPAslink|h}}

ᒉgai

| ᒋ

ᒌgi

| ᒍ

ᒎgu

| ᒐ

ᒑga

| ᒡ

g

| {{IPAslink|ɡ}} - {{IPAslink|ɣ}}

ᒣmai

| ᒥ

ᒦmi

| ᒧ

ᒨmu

| ᒪ

ᒫma

| ᒻ

m

| {{IPAslink|m}}

ᓀnai

| ᓂ

ᓃni

| ᓄ

ᓅnu

| ᓇ

ᓈna

| ᓐ

n

| {{IPAslink|n}}

ᓭsai

| ᓯ

ᓰsi/hi

| ᓱ

ᓲsu/hu

| ᓴ

ᓵsa/ha

| ᔅ

s/h{{efn|s in eastern Nunavut but h in western Nunavut}}

| {{IPAslink|s}} - {{IPAslink|h}}

  

| 𑪶

𑪷ši

| 𑪸

𑪹šu

| 𑪺

𑪻ša

|  

š{{efn|Found in Natsilingmiutut ({{lang|iu|ᓇᑦᓯᖕᒥᐅᑐᑦ}})}}

| {{IPAslink|ʂ}}

  

| 𑪰

𑪱hi

| 𑪲

𑪳hu

| 𑪴

𑪵ha

|  

h{{efn|Found in Natsilingmiutut ({{lang|iu|ᓇᑦᓯᖕᒥᐅᑐᑦ}})}}

| {{IPAslink|h}}

ᓓlai

| ᓕ

ᓖli

| ᓗ

ᓘlu

| ᓚ

ᓛla

| ᓪ

l

| {{IPAslink|l}}

ᔦjai

| ᔨ

ᔩji

| ᔪ

ᔫju

| ᔭ

ᔮja

| ᔾ

j

| {{IPAslink|j}}

ᑦᔦjjai

| ᑦᔨ

ᑦᔩjji

| ᑦᔪ

ᑦᔫjju

| ᑦᔭ

ᑦᔮjja

| ᑦᔾ

jj

| {{IPA|/{{IPA link|j}}{{IPA link|ː}}/}}

  

| ᖨ

ᖩři

| ᖪ

ᖫřu

| ᖬ

ᖭřa

| ᖮ

ř{{efn|Found in Natsilingmiutut ({{lang|iu|ᓇᑦᓯᖕᒥᐅᑐᑦ}})}}

| {{IPAslink|ɟ}}

ᕓvai

| ᕕ

ᕖvi

| ᕗ

ᕘvu

| ᕙ

ᕚva

| ᕝ

v

| {{IPAslink|v}}

ᕂrai

| ᕆ

ᕇri

| ᕈ

ᕉru

| ᕋ

ᕌra

| ᕐ

r

| {{IPAslink|ʁ}}

ᙯqai

| ᕿ

ᖀqi

| ᖁ

ᖂqu

| ᖃ

ᖄqa

| ᖅ

q

| {{IPAslink|q}}

ᖅᑫqqai

| ᖅᑭ

ᖅᑮqqi

| ᖅᑯ

ᖅᑰqqu

| ᖅᑲ

ᖅᑳqqa

| ᖅᒃ

qq{{efn|Found in Nunavut ({{lang|iu|ᓄᓇᕗᑦ}}){{efn-ua|{{harvnb|Tusâlanga - Syllabics}}: "Another tricky character is a double q sound. In Nunavut, this sound is written: ᖅᑭ qqi, ᖅᑯ qqu, ᖅᑲ qqa"}}}}

| {{IPA|/{{IPA link|q}}{{IPA link|ː}}/}}

ᙰngai

| ᖏ

ᖐngi

| ᖑ

ᖒngu

| ᖓ

ᖔnga

| ᖕ{{efn|ᖕ is a ᓐᒡ ligature in most areas but a ᓐᒃ ligature in Nunavik{{cite web |last1=King |first1=Kevin |title=Inuktut Syllabics – Fonts Knowledge |url=https://fonts.google.com/knowledge/the_canadian_syllabics/inuktut_syllabics |website=Google Fonts |publisher=Google |access-date=24 December 2023 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231224023111/https://fonts.google.com/knowledge/the_canadian_syllabics/inuktut_syllabics |archive-date=24 December 2023 |language=en |url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Canadian Native Languages (Version 1.2) |url=https://tiro.com/Ross/Canadian_Native_Languages_V1.2.pdf |publisher=Tiro Typeworks |access-date=24 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221225135659/https://tiro.com/Ross/Canadian_Native_Languages_V1.2.pdf |archive-date=25 Dec 2022 |language=en |date=30 April 2009 |url-status=live}} (which may resemble 8){{citation needed|date=December 2023}}}}

ng{{efn|These are generally romanized as ng, but in Natsilingmiutut as ŋ}}

| {{IPAslink|ŋ}}

  

| ᙱ

ᙲnngi

| ᙳ

ᙴnngu

| ᙵ

ᙶnnga

| ᖖ{{efn|ᖖ is a ᓐᓐᒡ ligature in most areas but either a ᓐᓐᒃ ligature or a doubled ᓐᒃ (ᓐᒃᓐᒃ) ligature in Nunavik (which may resemble ᓐ8 or 88, respectively){{citation needed|date=December 2023}}}}

nng{{efn|These are generally romanized as nng, but in Natsilingmiutut as ŋŋ}}{{efn-ua|{{harvnb|Tusâlanga - Syllabics}}: "When ng is doubled, it is written nng in roman orthography and like this in syllabics: ᙱ nngi, ᙳ nngu, ᙵ nnga"}}

| {{IPA|/{{IPA link|ŋ}}{{IPA link|ː}}/}}

  

| ᖠ

ᖡłi

| ᖢ

ᖣłu

| ᖤ

ᖥła

| ᖦ

ł{{efn|Found in North Qikiqtaaluk, Natsilingmiutut, Aivilingmiutut and Paallirmiutut; occasionally transcribed as &}}

| {{IPAslink|ɬ}}

  

|  

  

|  

  

|  

  

| ᖯ

b{{efn|Found in Aivilingmiutut}}

| {{IPAslink|b}}

  

|  

  

|  

  

|  

  

| ᕼ{{efn-ua|{{harvnb|Tusâlanga - Syllabics}}: "the roman letter H is inserted for certain words borrowed from English. Hᐋᑭ haaki hockey"}}

h{{efn|Found in Nunavut ({{lang|iu|ᓄᓇᕗᑦ}})}}

| {{IPAslink|h}}

  

|  

  

|  

  

|  

  

| ᑊ

ʼ

| {{IPAslink|ʔ}}

{{notelist}}

Modifications

The Makivik Corporation expanded the official version of the script to restore the ai-pai-tai column. The common diphthong ai has generally been represented by combining the a form with a stand-alone letter ᐃ i.{{Example needed|date=December 2018}} This fourth-vowel variant had been removed so that Inuktitut could be typed and printed using IBM Selectric balls in the 1970s. The reinstatement was justified on the grounds that modern printing and typesetting equipment no longer suffers the restrictions of earlier typewriting machinery. The ai-pai-tai column is used only in Nunavik.

See also

Notes

{{notelist-ua}}

References

{{reflist}}

Further reading

{{refbegin}}

  • Balt, Peter. Inuktitut Affixes. Rankin Inlet? N.W.T.: s.n, 1978.

{{refend}}

External links

  • [https://tusaalanga.ca/pronunciation Interactive syllabic chart with sound at Inuktut Tusâlanga]
  • [http://www.omniglot.com/writing/inuktitut.htm Inuktitut script at Omniglot]
  • [http://www.languagegeek.com/inu/inu_syllabarium.html Inuktitut syllabics at Languagegeek]
  • [https://www.translitteration.com/transliteration/en/inuktitut/canadian-aboriginal-syllabics/ Inuktitut Roman-Syllabics, Syllabics-Roman transliteration]

{{Eskimo-Aleut languages}}

Category:Canadian Aboriginal syllabics

Category:Inuktitut

Category:Inuit languages

Category:1855 introductions