Ivujivik-Puvirnituq-UQAT Group launches Inuktitut education lexicon 35 years in the making

A partnership between education stakeholders in two Nunavik communities – Ivujivik Ivujivik and Puvirnituq – and the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue has celebrated the launch of the Inuktitut Lexicon in Education. Work on the lexicon began in 1984 as part of the group’s Inuit teacher training programs, as it was clear that specialized Inuktitut terminology would need to be developed for use in education. "It's a tool, like the dictionary," said Sarah Angiyou, a teacher in Puvirnituq. "We'll use it to perpetuate our mother tongue. It's very important to continue the work and get the lexicon into students' hands. That's how we can keep our language alive." The release states that the lexicon’s launch "is the culmination of a complex, multi-step process to arrive at a consensus on every translation, every Inuktitut word, and every definition.” Newswire | Lexicon (QC)