Kalaallisut
Greenlandic
Eskimo-Aleut (Inuit)
Also known as: Greenlandic, Kalaallisut
Greenlandic (Kalaallisut) is the only Eskimo-Aleut language with sole-official status in a sovereign-equivalent polity (Greenland, since 2009 self-rule). Spoken by ~57K. Highly polysynthetic — single words can express full sentences via productive suffix chains (e.g. illoqarpunga "I have a house"). Three main dialects: West (standard Kalaallisut), East (Tunumiit), Polar North (Inuktun). Latin script standardized 1973; literary tradition since the 1721 Hans Egede mission, with the first Greenlandic novel published 1914 (Mathias Storch).
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Greenlandic
Water
imeq
/imeq/
Fire
ikuallaq
/ikuaɬːaq/
Sun
seqineq
/seqineq/
Moon
qaammat
/qaːmːat/
Star
ulloriaq
/uɬːɔʁiaq/
Mother
anaana
/anaːna/
Father
ataata
/ataːta/
I
uanga
/uaŋa/
You
illit
/iɬːit/
Name
ateq
/atəq/
Eye
isi
/isi/
Hand
assak
/asːak/
Heart
uummat
/uːmːat/
Love
asaaq
/asaːq/
Tree
orpik
/oɾpik/
House
illu
/iɬːu/
Dog
qimmeq
/qimːeq/
Cat
qitsuk
/qitsuk/
Eat
nerivoq
/neɾivoq/
Drink
imerpoq
/imeɾpoq/
One
ataaseq
/ataːseq/
Two
marluk
/maɬːuk/
Hello
aluu
/aluː/
Thank you
qujanaq
/qujanaq/
Good
ajunngilaq
/ajuŋːilaq/
Computer
qarasaasiaq
/qaʁasaːsiaq/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Eskimo-Aleut (Inuit) languages
| Meaning | Greenlandic | Inuktitut | Inupiaq | Central Alaskan Yupik | Central Siberian Yupik | Irula | Old Prussian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | imeq /imeq/ | ᐃᒪᖅ /imaq/ | imiq /imiq/ | meq /meq/ | мэк /mək/ | nīr /niːɾ/ | undan /undan/ |
| Fire | ikuallaq /ikuaɬːaq/ | ᐃᑯᒪ /ikuma/ | igniq /iɡniq/ | keneq /keneq/ | кэныг /kənəɡ/ | tī /tiː/ | panno /panːo/ |
| Sun | seqineq /seqineq/ | ᓯᕿᓂᖅ /siqiniq/ | siqiñiq /siqiɲiq/ | akerta /akerta/ | маасьихта /maːsʲixta/ | čūriyen /tʃuːɾijen/ | saule /saule/ |
| Moon | qaammat /qaːmːat/ | ᑕᖅᑭᖅ /taqːiq/ | tatqiq /tatqiq/ | iraluq /iraluq/ | аасʼта /aːsʼta/ | niLā /niɭaː/ | menins /menins/ |
| Star | ulloriaq /uɬːɔʁiaq/ | ᐅᓪᓗᕆᐊᖅ /ulˈluːriaq/ | uvluġiaq /uvluʁiaq/ | agyaq /aɣjaq/ | агьяӄ /aɣjaq/ | naTčattiram /naʈtʃatːiɾam/ | lauxnos /ˈlauksnɔs/ |
| Mother | anaana /anaːna/ | ᐊᓈᓇ /anaːna/ | aaka /aːka/ | aana /aːna/ | аакаг /aːkaɡ/ | ammā /amːaː/ | mūti /muːti/ |
| Father | ataata /ataːta/ | ᐊᑖᑕ /ataːta/ | aapa /aːpa/ | ata /ata/ | аатаг /aːtaɡ/ | ayyā /ajːaː/ | tāws /taːws/ |
| I | uanga /uaŋa/ | ᐅᕙᖓ /uˈvaŋa/ | uvaŋa /uvaŋa/ | wiinga /wiːŋa/ | хванга /xʷaŋa/ | nānu /naːnu/ | as /as/ |
| You | illit /iɬːit/ | ᐃᕝᕕᑦ /ivːit/ | ilvich /iʎvitʃ/ | elpet /əɬpət/ | элпэк /əɬpək/ | nī /niː/ | tū /tuː/ |
| Name | ateq /atəq/ | ᐊᑎᖅ /aˈtiq/ | atiq /atiq/ | ateq /atəq/ | атэӄ /atəq/ | pēru /peːɾu/ | emnes /ˈemnes/ |
| Eye | isi /isi/ | ᐃᔨ /iji/ | iri /iri/ | ii /iː/ | ии /iː/ | kaNN /kaɳː/ | ackis /akis/ |
| Hand | assak /asːak/ | ᐊᒡᒑᖅ /aɡːaːq/ | argak /arɡak/ | unirak /unirak/ | унаак /unaːk/ | kayyu /kajːu/ | rancko /ranko/ |
| Heart | uummat /uːmːat/ | ᐆᒻᒪᑦ /uːmːat/ | uumman /uːmːan/ | irua /irua/ | эунгэк /əuŋək/ | idayam /idajam/ | sīran /siːran/ |
| Love | asaaq /asaːq/ | ᓇᒡᓕᒍᓱᒃ- /naɡliɡusuk/ | piqpaġiyaa /piqpaʁijaː/ | kenka /kenka/ | сахвэк /saxvək/ | kāhal /kaːhal/ | milīt /miliːt/ |
| Tree | orpik /oɾpik/ | ᓇᐹᖅᑐᖅ /napaːqtuq/ | napaaqtaq /napaːqtaq/ | napa /napa/ | эивкʼак /əivkʼak/ | maram /maɾam/ | garrin /ˈɡarin/ |
| House | illu /iɬːu/ | ᐃᒡᓗ /iɡlu/ | iglu /iɡlu/ | ena /ena/ | нэӈэн /nəŋən/ | vīDu /viːɖu/ | butt /butː/ |
| Dog | qimmeq /qimːeq/ | ᕿᒻᒥᖅ /qimːiq/ | qimmiq /qimːiq/ | qimugta /qimuɣta/ | кагилхак /kaɡilxak/ | nāyi /naːji/ | sūns /suːns/ |
| Cat | qitsuk /qitsuk/ | ᐱᓯᒃᑎ /pisikti/ | pussiq /pusːiq/ | qassraaraq /qassraːraq/ | пусʼик /pusʼik/ | pūne /puːne/ | katto /katːo/ |
| Eat | nerivoq /neɾivoq/ | ᓂᕆ- /niʁi/ | niġiruq /niʁiruq/ | ner'uq /nerʔuq/ | нэвлэк /nəvlək/ | činnu /tʃinːu/ | īst /iːst/ |
| Drink | imerpoq /imeɾpoq/ | ᐃᒥᖅ- /imiq/ | imiġuq /imiʁuq/ | mertuq /mertuq/ | эвлэк /əvlək/ | kuDi /kuɖi/ | poūton /poʊton/ |
| One | ataaseq /ataːseq/ | ᐊᑕᐅᓯᖅ /atausiq/ | atausiq /atausiq/ | ataucik /atautʃik/ | атасʼек /atasʼek/ | onnu /onːu/ | ains /ains/ |
| Two | marluk /maɬːuk/ | ᒪᕐᕈᒃ /mɑˈruːk/ | malġuk /maʎɣuk/ | malruk /maɬʁuk/ | малгʼук /maɬʁuk/ | reNDu /reɳɖu/ | dwai /dwai/ |
| Hello | aluu /aluː/ | ᐊᐃ /aj/ | paglagvik /paɡlaɡvik/ | waqaa /waqaː/ | аипак /aipak/ | vannakkam /vanːakːam/ | kaīls /kaiːls/ |
| Thank you | qujanaq /qujanaq/ | ᓇᑯᕐᒦᒃ /nakuʁmiːk/ | quyanaq /qujanaq/ | quyana /qujana/ | игамсиӄанаӄ /iɡamsiqanaq/ | nanri /nanɾi/ | dīnkun /diːnkun/ |
| Good | ajunngilaq /ajuŋːilaq/ | ᐱᐅᔪᖅ /piujuq/ | nakuuruq /nakuːruq/ | assirtuq /asːirtuq/ | асʼилкʼа /asʼilkʼa/ | nalla /nalːa/ | labs /labs/ |
| Computer | qarasaasiaq /qaʁasaːsiaq/ | ᖃᕋᓴᐅᔭᖅ /qaʁasaujaq/ | — | — | — | — | — |
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