Editing Inuit languages (section)

== Writing ==
Because the Inuit languages are spread over such a large area, divided between different nations and political units and originally reached by Europeans of different origins at different times, there is no uniform way of writing the Inuit language.

Currently there are six "standard" ways to write the languages:
# ICI Standard Syllabics (Canada)
# ICI Standard Latin script (Canada)
# Nunatsiavut Latin script (Canada)<ref>{{cite web |title=The Nunatsiavut Writing System |url=https://nunatsiavut.tusaalanga.ca/node/2507 |website=Inuttut Tusâlanga |publisher=Pirurvik |access-date=17 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240911220221/https://nunatsiavut.tusaalanga.ca/node/2507 |archive-date=11 Sep 2024 |language=en |url-status=live}}</ref>
# Inuktut Qaliujaaqpait (Canada)
# Alaskan [[Inupiaq language|Inupiaq]] script (US)
# Greenlandic

Though all except the syllabics use a Latin-based script, the alphabets differ in use of diacritics, non-Latin letters, etc. Most Inuktitut in [[Nunavut]] and [[Nunavik]] is written using a script called [[Inuktitut syllabics]], based on [[Canadian Aboriginal syllabics]]. The western part of Nunavut and the [[Northwest Territories]] use a [[Latin script|Latin-script]] alphabet usually identified as [[Inuinnaqtun]]. In [[Alaska]], another Latin alphabet is used, with some characters using diacritics. [[Nunatsiavut]] uses an alphabet devised with German-speaking [[Moravian Church|Moravian]] missionaries, which includes the letter [[Kra (letter)|''kra'']]. Greenland's Latin alphabet was originally much like the one used in Nunatsiavut, but underwent a spelling reform in 1973 to bring the orthography in line with changes in pronunciation and better reflect the phonemic inventory of the language.

=== Canadian syllabics ===
{{further|Inuktitut syllabics}}
[[File:Inuktitut.svg|thumb|upright=1.81|right|The syllabics used to write Inuktitut ''(titirausiq nutaaq)''. The characters with the dots represent long vowels: in the Latin transcription, the vowel would be doubled.]]

Inuktitut syllabics, used in Canada, is based on [[Cree syllabics]], devised by the missionary [[James Evans (linguist)|James Evans]] based on [[Devanagari]], a [[Brahmi script]]. The present form of Canadian Inuktitut syllabics was adopted by the [[Inuit Cultural Institute]] in Canada in the 1970s.

Though presented in syllabic form, syllabics is not a true [[syllabary]] but an [[abugida]], since syllables starting with the same consonant are written with graphically similar letters.

All of the characters needed for Inuktitut syllabics are available in the [[Unicode]] character repertoire, in the blocks [[Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics (Unicode block)|Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics]].

===Inuktut Qaliujaaqpait===
The Canadian national organization [[Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami]] adopted Inuktut Qaliujaaqpait, a unified orthography for all varieties of Inuktitut, in September 2019. It is based on the Latin alphabet without diacritics.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-inuit-combine-nine-different-scripts-for-writing-inuktitut-into-one-2/|title=Inuit combine nine different scripts for writing Inuktitut into one|last=Weber|first=Bob|date=2019-10-06|work=The Globe and Mail|access-date=2019-10-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/national-inuit-org-approves-standard-roman-orthography-for-all-dialects/|title=National Inuit org approves new unified writing system|date=2019-09-27|website=Nunatsiaq News|language=en|access-date=2019-10-07}}</ref>