Endangered Languages Project

Greenlandic is the English name for the Inuit (Eastern Eskimo) dialects of Greenland (the Inuit term is Kalaallisut). Of the seventy-nine Inuit communities in Greenland, all but seventeen are on the west coast, including the largest, Nuuk. (Golla 2007).

ALSO KNOWN AS		Inuit, Eskimo, Greenlandic, Greenlandic Eskimo
CLASSIFICATION		Eskimo-Aleut, Eskimo, Inuit
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		kal
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		West Greenlandic East Greenlandic Polar Eskimo
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS		There is a significant dialect difference between the west coast settlements and those on the east coast, leading to a distinction between West Greenlandic and East Greenlandic. The five Thule communities in the far northwest of the island constitute a third dialect cluster, sometimes called Polar Eskimo. This dialect is closer to the speech of Baffin Island than to West or East Greenlandic, and is usually considered to be a variety of Eastern Canadian Inuktitut that has been influenced by standard Greenlandic. (Golla 2007)

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Information from: “North America” (1-96) . Victor Golla (2007) , C. Moseley · London & New York: Routledge

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
53,000
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Greenland, which became an autonomous province associated with the Danish Commonwealth in 1979, has a population of about 56,000, approximately 10,000 of whom are Danes. The remaining 46,000 are Inuit, nearly all of them speakers of Greenlandic. Another 7,000 speakers of Greenlandic live in Denmark, most of them in Copenhagen.

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: Since Home Rule in 1979 Greenland’s official language has been Greenlandic (standardized to the Nuuk dialect of West Greenlandic, and written in a roman orthography), although Danish still predominates in administration, the media and education.
More on Orthography: A writing system was introduced by early Danish missionaries; the literacy rate is very high and there has been a flourishing literature in Greenlandic for over 200 years.

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Greenland

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
47,800
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
57,800?
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
47,800 in Greenland (1995 M. Krauss). 3,000 East Greenlandic, 44,000 West Greenlandic, 800 North Greenlandic. Population total all countries: 57,800

DATE OF INFO: 1995

PLACES: Denmark; Greenland;

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
54,800
Native speakers worldwide

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
53,000
Native speakers worldwide

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
57,000
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
50,000 in Greenland (2007 I. Larsen); 7000 in Denmark.
3000 East Greenlandic, 44,000 West Greenlandic, 800 North Greenlandic.

DATE OF INFO: 2007

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: Taught in primary schools. Radio programs.

PLACES: Greenland

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: (7000 in Denmark.)

3rd	2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger					UNESCO Publishing	Paris	http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub		53,000		10000-99999			Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
	2007	North America	Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages	1-96	C. Moseley		London & New York: Routledge			Victor Golla	Golla, Victor. 2007. "North America." In Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by C. Moseley. 1-96. London & New York: Routledge.	HHOLD		53,000		10000-99999	Greenland, which became an autonomous province associated with the Danish Commonwealth in 1979, has a population of about 56,000, approximately 10,000 of whom are Danes. The remaining 46,000 are Inuit, nearly all of them speakers of Greenlandic. Another 7,000 speakers of Greenlandic live in Denmark, most of them in Copenhagen.	Since Home Rule in 1979 Greenland’s official language has been Greenlandic (standardized to the Nuuk dialect of West Greenlandic, and written in a roman orthography), although Danish still predominates in administration, the media and education.	Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)			Greenland	64.175,-51.738889;
	2016	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 19th Edition (2016)			Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig	online	SIL International	Dallas, Texas	http://www.ethnologue.com		Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2016. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Nineteenth edition (2016). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com.			57,000	2007	10000-99999	50,000 in Greenland (2007 I. Larsen); 7000 in Denmark. 3000 East Greenlandic, 44,000 West Greenlandic, 800 North Greenlandic.	Taught in primary schools. Radio programs.	Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	(7000 in Denmark.)	Greenland
		World Oral Literature Project							http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.			54,800		10000-99999			Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
16	2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)			M. Paul Lewis		SIL International	Dallas, TX	http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub	57,800?	47,800	1995	10000-99999	47,800 in Greenland (1995 M. Krauss). 3,000 East Greenlandic, 44,000 West Greenlandic, 800 North Greenlandic. Population total all countries: 57,800		Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)		Denmark; Greenland;

Kalaallisut

Language metadata

Language information by source

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

53,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

47,800

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

54,800

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

53,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

57,000

Discussion

Kalaallisut

Language metadata

Language information by source

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

53,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

47,800

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

54,800

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

53,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

57,000

Discussion

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