"ᐃ, ᐱ, ᑎ, ᑭ (I, PI, TI, KI)" by teachers from Pond Inlet

There are two different ways people in Nunavut write Inuktitut: Qaliujaaqpait (or Roman orthography) and Qaniujaaqpait (syllabics).

ᖃᓂᐅᔮᖅᐸᐃᑦ / Qaniujaaqpait (Syllabics)

Most Inuktitut speakers in Nunavut use qaniujaaqpait or syllabics to write their language. This writing system is made up of about 60 characters, most of them representing complete syllables. Thus "NU" in Roman orthography is written with one character in syllabics: "ᓄ". Qaniujaaqpait is also the main writing system of Nunavik in northern Quebec.

Qaliujaaqpaait (Roman orthography)

The other way people write Inuktitut in Nunavut is with qaliujaaqpait (Roman orthography). This writing system uses the same letters that are used to write English or French. In Cambridge Bay (Iqaluktuuttiaq) and Kugluktuk (Qurluqtuq), this is the main writing system that is used. Many people who normally use syllabics will also use qaliujaaqpait, especially for writing e-mails or when working on computers. Inuit living in Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), the Mackenzie Delta and in Alaska also use Roman orthography to write their languages.

Standardized Writing Systems

The syllabic writing system was first developed by missionaries working in the Arctic in the late 1800s and was adapted from the system used among the Cree. Initially, bibles and other prayer books that featured syllabics promoted their use in individual communities. Later, as Inuit adopted a more sedentary life in communities serviced by government agencies, use of syllabics became increasingly common.

In the 1970s the Language Commission of the Inuit Cultural Institute, under the direction of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (Inuit Tapirisat of Canada at the time), approved two standardized writing systems: one for syllabics and one for Roman orthography. These new standards replaced older ways of writing Inuktitut that mainly consisted of the large syllabic symbols and very few finals to sound out the words. The primary goal of the standardized writing system was to allow people to write Inuktitut exactly the way it sounds. This makes it much easier to learn and read Inuktitut. It also helps preserve the traditional pronunciation of words through writing. The two standardized writing systems can be used to write all of Nunavut's dialects without losing the unique characteristics or vocabulary of the dialects.

Some Elders continue to use the older ways of writing as they were taught and that is perfectly acceptable. In the meantime, children at school have been learning the new ways of writing since the new form was created.

Kenn Harper's article, Writing in Inuktitut: An Historical Perspective, traces the history of the development of writing systems for Inuktitut in Canada, Greenland and Alaska.