Research summary
Indigenous languages in Canada face growing challenges when it comes to intergenerational transmission. As a result, there is an urgent need for documentation and revitalization tools. As Canada Research Chair in Transmission and Knowledge of the Inuit Language, Dr. Richard Compton is documenting, analyzing and supporting the survival of Inuktut dialects, such as Inuinnaqtun and Inuktitut.
Compton’s research has led to the first-ever comprehensive reference grammar of Inuinnaqtun, a spoken Inuinnaqtun corpus, and a localized Nunavik Inuktitut dictionary, all created in close collaboration with Inuit communities. Now, he and his research team are developing speech-to-text transcription tools to aid language learning and preservation. Their work is strengthening language curricula, teacher training programs, and community-led revitalization initiatives, ensuring that Inuktut remains a vibrant and living language.