Introduction to Inuktitut | Winter 2025

Offered in winter 2025 by Institut nordique du Québec, under the aegis of its training committee, this practical Inuktitut course is designed to introduce participants to the language of the Inuit of Nunavik. Registration is now open!

Presented by the anthropologist and linguist Louis-Jacques Dorais, the programme offers

1. An introduction to the basics of the language and its structure.
2. Thematic workshops focusing on vocabulary, adapted to the needs and interests of the participants.
3. An interactive approach with conversation exercises.

Details of the course

Dates and duration: Every Monday from 12 noon to 2 pm, from 3 February to 7 April 2025 (10 sessions).

Location: Université Laval campus (location will be confirmed 10 days before the course starts).

Format: Face-to-face for dynamic interaction and practical group exercises.

Cost: $100 + tax for the 10 sessions (payment required at registration).

Target Audience: Anyone who wants a practical introduction to Inuktitut, including researchers, northern professionals and enthusiasts of Aboriginal languages and cultures.

Please note that the course will be held in French. This course cannot be credited.

Biography of Louis-Jacques Dorais

A graduate in anthropology and linguistics, Louis-Jacques Dorais taught for nearly 40 years in the Department of Anthropology at Université Laval and has been a professor emeritus since 2014. For almost 40 years, he taught an introductory course in Inuktitut. Since his first fieldwork as a student in Nunavik in 1965, his research has focused on the semantics, dialectology and sociolinguistics of the Inuit language. He has also been interested in issues of community organisation and identity among Inuit, as well as among the Vietnamese diaspora, the Huron-Wendat and francophone minorities in North America.

Some of his publications:

• La Parole inuit (1996)
• Être huron, inuit, francophone, vietnamien... Propos sur la langue et l’identité (2010)
• The Language of the Inuit (2010)
• Quaqtaq, terre de la grande banquise (2017)
• Words of the Inuit (2020)

Cover photo: Véronique Dubos