Inuktitut
ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ
Eskimo-Aleut · Canada
Endangerment: Threatened — Children still learn it, but speakers and places it’s used are shrinking.
ᐊᐃ, ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᐳᖓ ᑕᑯᓪᓗᒋᑦ.
The North Wind and the Sun
ᐊᓄᕆ ᓯᕿᓂᕐᓗ ᐅᖃᓪᓚᖃᑦᑕᖅᑐᑦ: ᑭᓇ ᓴᙱᓂᖅᓴᐅᕙ? ᐃᖏᕐᕋᔪᖅ ᐱᓱᒃᑐᖅ. ᐊᑎᒋᖃᖅᑐᖅ ᐅᖅᑰᔪᒥᒃ. ᐊᑎᒋᖓ ᐲᖅᑎᑦᑎᓗᒍ ᓴᙱᓂᖅᓴᐅᓂᐊᖅᑐᖅ. ᐊᓄᕆ ᓴᙱᔪᒥᒃ ᐊᓄᕌᖅᑐᖅ. ᐃᖏᕐᕋᔪᖅ ᐊᑎᒋᓂ ᓴᙱᔪᒥᒃ ᑎᒍᓯᒪᔭᖓ. ᐊᓄᕆ ᓄᖅᑲᖅᑐᖅ. ᓯᕿᓂᖅ ᐅᖅᑰᔪᖅ. ᐃᖏᕐᕋᔪᖅ ᐊᑎᒋᓂ ᐲᖅᑕᖓ. ᐊᓄᕆ ᐅᖃᖅᑐᖅ: ᓯᕿᓂᖅ ᓴᙱᓂᖅᓴᐅᔪᖅ.
- It's one of the official languages of Nunavut, a territory in Canada.
- It's written in syllabics, where turning the same shape changes the vowel: 'ᐱ (pi)', 'ᐳ (pu)', 'ᐸ (pa)'.
- It has only three vowels: a, i, and u.
- Many pieces can be chained onto the end of a word, so a single word can carry the meaning of a whole sentence.