Inuktitut syllabics

Inuktitut syllabics
Inuktitut syllabary. Extra characters with dots represent long vowels; When romanised, the vowel is duplicated.
Script type
Time period
1870s–present
DirectionLeft-to-right Edit this on Wikidata
LanguagesInuktitut
Related scripts
Parent systems
ISO 15924
ISO 15924Cans (440), ​Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics
Unicode
Unicode alias
Canadian Aboriginal
Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics, U+1400–167F (chart)
 This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.
This article contains Canadian Aboriginal syllabic characters. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of syllabics.
A bilingual stop sign in Nunavut displaying text in both Inuktitut syllabics and the English Latin alphabet. The Inuktitut ᓄᖅᑲᕆᑦ transliterates as nuqqarit.[1]

Inuktitut syllabics (Inuktitut: ᖃᓂᐅᔮᖅᐸᐃᑦ, romanized: qaniujaaqpait,[2] or ᑎᑎᕋᐅᓯᖅ ᓄᑖᖅ, titirausiq nutaaq) is an abugida-type writing system used in Canada by the Inuktitut-speaking Inuit of the territory of Nunavut and the Nunavik and Nunatsiavut regions of Quebec and Labrador, respectively. 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 qaniujaaqpait [qaniujaːqpaˈit] derives from the root qaniq, meaning "mouth". The alternative, Latin-based writing system is named qaliujaaqpait (ᖃᓕᐅᔮᖅᐸᐃᑦ), and it derives from qaliit, a word describing the markings or the grain in rocks. Titirausiq nutaaq [titiʁauˈsiq nuˈtaːq] meaning "new writing system" is to be seen in contrast to titirausiit nutaunngittut (ᑎᑎᕋᐅᓰᑦ ᓄᑕᐅᓐᖏᑦᑐᑦ), the "old syllabics" used before the reforms of 1976.[3]

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]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference tusaalanga-qaniujaaqpait was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Writing the Inuit Language | Inuktut Tusaalanga". tusaalanga.ca. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  3. ^ Lorraine E. Brandson (1994). Carved from the land: the Eskimo Museum collection. Diocese of Churchill–Hudson Bay. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-9693266-1-8.