How we communicate
On this page, you can learn some of common greetings in Inuktitut as well as body language you can expect to find used in Nunavut.
Greetings & Phrases
In Inuktitut, there isn’t a single word for “hello”, and the words/phrases used to greet someone can vary by community and dialect. We greet each other with a smile, and it’s important to always return that smile. Failing to do so could make one seem self-centred, grouchy, or unfriendly.
To explore the richness of the Inuktitut language and learn it more easily, including sound files to help with pronunciation, visit Tusaalanga, a valuable resource for anyone interested in learning Inuktitut.
ii
Yes
aagga
No
qanuippit
How are you?
qanuingi
I am fine
anaana
Mom
ataata
Dad
panik
Daughter
irnik
Son
Body Language & Facial Expressions
Communicating through facial expressions and other body language is also very common. For example, when one raises their eyebrows, it means “Yes”, and scrunching up the nose means “No”.
Stories
One of the beautiful things about our language, and the way we speak and understand, is that the collective knowledge of our people is embedded in our stories.
The way we learn the values and expectation of our society is through story. The way we learn to solve problems is through story and then through practice. Stories are an important way of communicating in our culture, whether it’s about life lessons or telling a joke or describing our day.
We often speak indirectly, through stories, to make our point or to share a relevant piece of information. Sometimes these stories are dismissed as irrelevant because they don’t contain a direct answer to a question, but they really contain the essence of the issue. One must be a skilled listener to become accustomed to this way of communicating.
Inuktitut Language Resources
One of the greatest online resources for learning Inuktitut is the Tusaalanga website developed by the Pirurvik Centre in Iqaluit. They have a searchable glossary which includes words and terms that are presented phonetically and with an accompanying sound recording.