
The Inuit of Northern Canada are worried that their language, Inuktitut, will die. They looked to the example of another language, Welsh, that managed to come back from the brink, thanks to some creative and forceful measures. Inuit language specialists sat down recently in Wales to learn about language-revitalization efforts.
I don’t know if the secret is this simple, but here’s one of the most important things that the Welsh are doing:
It’s mandatory for schools in Wales to teach in Welsh from preschool to grade 10.
That means that the language is the means to an end. Welsh is not a subject in school; it is school.
Inuktitut, like any language, will only succeed when it is the most natural end to the most natural ends.
Giving language life