Recommendations for Inuktitut resources?

himinninn
Recommendations for Inuktitut resources?

Postby himinninn » 2015-06-30, 15:43

Hello, first I just want to apologise if I've put this in the wrong section.

Anyway, I'm interested in studying Inuktitut but it's a bit of a struggle to find decent resources. So far I've only found the website "Tusaalanga" which is a great introduction, but it doesn't use the syllabic writing system and it's a little confusing trying to decide between the dialects. Does anybody who is learning/studying Inuktitut know of any good resources to learn? I prefer to focus on grammar structures - I make a personal distinction between learning a language and studying a language, so phrasebooks aren't really my thing. :D Also, I prefer printed works, so books are best!

I've recently started reading Grønlandsk for begyndere, to give you an idea of the sort of thing I like.

I'd prefer that any resources be in English or Danish, but I know a lot of French is spoken in Canada, so if there are any French-language books on Inuktitut, please tell me! I'm supposed start learning French for school, so having something good to read will be some extra motivation. :P

Thank you if you can help!

księżycowy

Re: Recommendations for Inuktitut resources?

Postby księżycowy » 2015-06-30, 16:33

I assure you that, short of some font issue, Tusaalanga does use the syllabic script. It just depends on which dialect you're looking at. If memory serves me correctly there is one that officially uses Latin script there. The rest should show the syllabics next to the transliteration. It doesn't show them in the Lesson headings or such, but they are in the lesson proper.

himinninn

Re: Recommendations for Inuktitut resources?

Postby himinninn » 2015-06-30, 16:41

księżycowy wrote:I assure you that, short of some font issue, Tusaalanga does use the syllabic script. It just depends on which dialect you're looking at. If memory serves me correctly there is one that officially uses Latin script there. The rest should show the syllabics next to the transliteration. It doesn't show them in the Lesson headings or such, but they are in the lesson proper.


Oh, really? I've only done a few lessons of the South Qikiqtaaluk dialect and I've flicked through some other lessons/dialects, but from what I can see the syllabics are only used on the "Vocabulary" page. I suppose maybe my computer doesn't properly support the language, but I have an Inuktitut syllabic keyboard installed and it lets me type properly.

It doesn't really matter that much, anyway - at least when I can only see the Latin characters, I get a bit of practice trying to write out the words myself! :)

księżycowy

Re: Recommendations for Inuktitut resources?

Postby księżycowy » 2015-06-30, 18:50

Ah, I see. I can't remember if they included it as part of the dialogues or not, I just checked real quick earlier. :P

As for recommending anything else, I'm more versed with Iñupiaq than Inuktitut, so I'm afraid I wouldn't be much help unless you're interested in the Western dialects.

himinninn

Re: Recommendations for Inuktitut resources?

Postby himinninn » 2015-06-30, 19:13

księżycowy wrote:Ah, I see. I can't remember if they included it as part of the dialogues or not, I just checked real quick earlier. :P

As for recommending anything else, I'm more versed with Iñupiaq than Inuktitut, so I'm afraid I wouldn't be much help unless you're interested in the Western dialects.


I'd be incredibly grateful for any resources on Inuit languages! I think the entire group is absolutely fascinating and it's always fun to try and spot the similarities and differences :)

księżycowy

Re: Recommendations for Inuktitut resources?

Postby księżycowy » 2015-06-30, 20:34

In that case, the Native Language Center at the University of Alaska has some great resources for Iñupiaq. Here is a link to their front page: https://www.uaf.edu/anlc

himinninn

Re: Recommendations for Inuktitut resources?

Postby himinninn » 2015-07-09, 19:47

księżycowy wrote:In that case, the Native Language Center at the University of Alaska has some great resources for Iñupiaq. Here is a link to their front page: https://www.uaf.edu/anlc


I don't think I got a notification for this, so I'm sorry this is a very late reply - but thank you very much! I've had a look through the website and bookmarked a lot of the pages for later. It seems very useful and has a lot of information on lots of native languages which is a great starting point. Thanks! :D

księżycowy

Re: Recommendations for Inuktitut resources?

Postby księżycowy » 2015-07-09, 20:50

Not a problem! :D

Earwig
Posts:39
Joined:2015-04-20, 22:26

Re: Recommendations for Inuktitut resources?

Postby Earwig » 2015-09-22, 17:57

I while ago I acquired a copy of 'Inuktitut: A Grammar of North Baffin Dialects' by Alex Spalding, which I think is a nice little pedogogic grammar--well explained but still focused on provided usable language. It is entirely romanised, with no use of the syllabry. Unfortunately it is out-of-print and somewhat difficult to get hold of. There is also a second volume which I haven't been able to find anywhere for love nor money. If you see a copy, I suggest you snap it up!

I understand that the North Baffin dialect is little spoken, however; I don't know in quite what ways it differs from the more widely spoken South Baffin Inuktitut as I don't have any material on that. Nevertheless, I do recommend the book if you're interested in inuktitut.


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