Siglitun facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Siglitun
Native to	Canada
Region	Northwest Territories (Canada), as "Inuvialuktun"
Native speakers	(unknown)
Language family	Eskimo–Aleut Eskimo Inuit Inuvialuktun Siglitun
Inuit dialects. Siglit is purple.
Siglitun is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

English: Welcome to Tuktoyaktuk
Siglitun: Aqana Tuktuuyaqtuumukkabsi

Sallirmiutun (which used to be called Siglitun) is a special way of speaking the Inuvialuktun language. It is used by the Siglit people, who are an Inuit group living in the Northwest Territories in Canada. This language is mainly heard in the Inuvialuit towns of Paulatuk, Sachs Harbour, and Tuktoyaktuk.

What is Sallirmiutun?

Sallirmiutun means "the language of the people of the coast." This name refers to the Beaufort Sea coast. It is the original language of the people from Kitigaaryuit.

Sallirmiutun is one of three main dialects that make up the Inuit language called Inuvialuktun. The other two dialects are Kangiryuarmiutun and Uummarmiutun. The word Inuvialuktun itself means "the language of the real people." It actually comes from the Sallirmiutun dialect.

A Look at Its History

Sallirmiutun was once the most common language in the Mackenzie River delta area. It was also spoken along nearby parts of the coast and on islands in the Arctic Ocean. However, the number of people who spoke Sallirmiutun dropped a lot in the 1800s. This happened because new diseases spread through the communities.

For many years, people thought that Sallirmiutun had completely disappeared. But in the 1980s, people from outside the community realized that it was still being spoken. This was a happy discovery for the language and its speakers.

How Sallirmiutun Words Compare

It's interesting to see how words for animals can be different in various dialects. Here is a comparison of some animal names in Sallirmiutun (Siglitun dialect of Inuvialuktun) and Uummarmiutun (a dialect of the Iñupiatun language).