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Case Four - Contemporary Writing

This case contains examples of contemporary Inuit literature. Both forms of written Inuktitut are still used in the Eastern Arctic today and virtually all Inuktitut speakers are able to write in their own language. Syllabics or Qaniujaaqpait is the main writing system of Nunavik. Roman orthography or Qaliujaaqpaait is still used in Labrador. Both writing systems now have standardized orthographies, work commissioned in 1976 by the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (formerly Inuit Tapirisat of Canada) an organization that represents and promotes the interests of Inuit in all regions of Canada.

Inuit in Labrador (now called Nunatsiavut) were the first Canadian Inuit to write in their own orthography. Their primary texts took the form of diaries, poetry, songs or personal narratives. Contemporary Inuit writing is now often in English. Since the late 1960s, there has been a proliferation of bilingual and trilingual magazines, newsletters and newspapers. These publications have provided a forum for Canadian Inuit writings about the present and have preserved the "as-told-to" elders' stories.

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