Language enthusiasts are excited over the launch of PinnguaqSA国际影视传媒檚 new downloadable app to learn Inuinnaqtun.

The Inuinnaqtun Dictionary, available on Apple and Google Play was developed by the Kitikmeot Heritage Society (KHS) with help from Pinnguaq, a tech start-up, founded in Pangnirtung in 2012. 

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 something that the heritage society had imagined that there was a use for something like this for quite awhile,SA国际影视传媒� said Daniel Taro, social enterprise stage coordinator for Pinnguaq. SA国际影视传媒淚t also met our goals as an organization.SA国际影视传媒� 

Lyndsey Friesen, the communications and philanthropy manager for KHS, said that in the conception stages of the project, the original intent had in fact been to develop a web page. 

"In 2021, we never envisioned an app per se... having an app is so much better as a way to access information that is constantly changing."

Pinnguaq endeavours to SA国际影视传媒減rovide play experiences in Indigenous languages.SA国际影视传媒� The app was also sponsored by the Government of Nunavut, the Government of Canada, Polar Knowledge and the ArcticNet Inuit Nunnagat Research Program.

"The funding was really to document Inuinnaqtun," said Friesen. 

SA国际影视传媒淲e believe in working alongside rural, remote and Indigenous communities for software development,SA国际影视传媒� Taro added. SA国际影视传媒淲hen they were in the discovery process, [developers] were able to connect with actual language speakers. There are only a few hundred of these speakers left. It was important to make this as accurate as possible.SA国际影视传媒�

Inuinnaqtun is spoken in the central Arctic region, and related closely to Inuktitut. Some experts classify it as a dialect, primarily used in Cambridge Bay, Kugluktuk, and Gjoa Haven. It's written in Roman orthography, except for Gjoa Haven, which uses syllabics. 

The app operates in a few ways, and is designed to engage learners of all ages with various learning styles. ThereSA国际影视传媒檚 different ways to research words: the starting letter, the English definition, suffixes and affixes, and a sound component.

"When you have a dictionary, you have to buy a new one with each edition," said Friesen. "With an app, you can download it, it's free, and we think people will be able to interact in a way that has not been done before.

"The younger generation is very active on their smartphones, so this is a way of meeting their needs, [having them look] something up their phone when they need information. So the app is an extension of that."

The app was created SA国际影视传媒渘ot necessarily [for] the demand. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 not something weSA国际影视传媒檙e looking to make a long-lasting return on," Friesen added. "ItSA国际影视传媒檚 about language and culture preservation. Of course, we hope there is a demand and the demand grows.SA国际影视传媒�