Greenland
Official Languages
West Greenlandic dialect is the official language and is also known as Kalaallisut. Other languages spoken are Danish and English. There are three different dialects of the Greenlandic language. East, West and Polar Eskimo are the three types of dialects. The main dialect is called Kalaallisut, also known as West. This has been the official language of Greenland since June of 2009. Greenlandic is spoken by about 57,000 people on the island of Greenland. Greenlandic has many speakers and is a language that is important and modern.
The language of Greenland, Greenlandic, is a polysynthetic
language. Greenlandic allows people to
create long words. These long words are
strung together by roots and suffixes. Nouns are made so that they reflect one
of the eight cases. Just like nouns in
English, Greenlandic nouns are also changed to reflect the possession of the
subject. The verbs are made so that they
show one of the eight moods, agent, patient and voice. The moods are split half and half into
independent and dependent. These verbs
also reflect the number and person of its subject and object. The word order for Greenlandic is subject,
object and then verb.
History
The arrival of the Thule culture brought the language to Greenland in the 1200’s. There is no proof of what language this culture brought into Greenland at this time. There is actually no proof until the 1600’s of what language was spoken until then. In the 1700’s, Danish missionaries arrived in Greenland and that is when the Danish colonialism began. In 1750, the first Greenlandic dictionary was written by Paul Egede. This was soon followed by the first grammar dictionary which was written in 1760. From the 1700’s up until 1979 Greenlandic was pressured by the Danish language. Denmark was trying to replace Greenlandic with Danish in the 1950’s. Modern Greenlandic has started to take influences from English as well, especially when it comes to new technologies or theories.
The arrival of the Thule culture brought the language to Greenland in the 1200’s. There is no proof of what language this culture brought into Greenland at this time. There is actually no proof until the 1600’s of what language was spoken until then. In the 1700’s, Danish missionaries arrived in Greenland and that is when the Danish colonialism began. In 1750, the first Greenlandic dictionary was written by Paul Egede. This was soon followed by the first grammar dictionary which was written in 1760. From the 1700’s up until 1979 Greenlandic was pressured by the Danish language. Denmark was trying to replace Greenlandic with Danish in the 1950’s. Modern Greenlandic has started to take influences from English as well, especially when it comes to new technologies or theories.
How a person from
here would learn Spanish and how a Spanish speaker would learn this language
Greenlandic is very difficult to learn as a second language. Verbs are very complex and the language includes a fourth person construct. There are few languages that are similar to Greenlandic. This language does not closely resemble any other languages in vocabulary or grammar. Someone learning Greenlandic must first understand the logic in word and sentence formation. Greenlandic has a limited number of stems, derivational morphemes and endings.
Greenlandic is very difficult to learn as a second language. Verbs are very complex and the language includes a fourth person construct. There are few languages that are similar to Greenlandic. This language does not closely resemble any other languages in vocabulary or grammar. Someone learning Greenlandic must first understand the logic in word and sentence formation. Greenlandic has a limited number of stems, derivational morphemes and endings.
For a Greenlandic speaker, learning Spanish is also a
challenge. The sentence order and
vocabulary are just two of the many things that are different. If a person from Greenland can already speak
English, Danish and Greenlandic, they might find it easier to learn Spanish!
Interesting Facts
Fifty thousand people in Greenland speak an Inuit dialect. The Greenlandic language is usually just spoken by the Inuit-Aluet family. Danish is the first foreign language that is studied as a young student. Greenlandization is a development that has strengthened the Greenlandic language and it started the home rule agreement of 1979. The country has a 100% literacy rate. Greenlandic is closely related to the Inuit languages spoken in Canada and Alaska.
Fifty thousand people in Greenland speak an Inuit dialect. The Greenlandic language is usually just spoken by the Inuit-Aluet family. Danish is the first foreign language that is studied as a young student. Greenlandization is a development that has strengthened the Greenlandic language and it started the home rule agreement of 1979. The country has a 100% literacy rate. Greenlandic is closely related to the Inuit languages spoken in Canada and Alaska.
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