This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Languages of Greenland" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR(September 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Languages of Greenland
Sign in Ilulissat in English, Danish and Greenlandic
Official
Greenlandic
Recognised
Danish
Immigrant
English Filipino Thai Icelandic Swedish Norwegian Finnish French Romanian Bulgarian Other
Foreign
English Norwegian / Swedish French / German / Spanish
Signed
Greenlandic Sign Language
Keyboard layout
QWERTY Danish
Source
Statistics Greenland (2008)
The official language of Greenland is Greenlandic. The number of speakers of Greenlandic is estimated at 50,000 (85-90% of the total population), divided in three main dialects, Kalaallisut (West-Greenlandic, 44,000 speakers and the dialect that is used as official language), Tunumiit (East-Greenlandic, 3,000 speakers) and Inuktun (North-Greenlandic, 800 speakers). The remainder of the population mainly speaks Danish; Greenlandic Sign Language is the language of the deaf community.[1]
Greenland has been a very isolated and linguistically homogeneous island historically, but has nevertheless been home to several languages. Greenlandic Norse is believed to have been in language contact with Greenlandic, the language of the indigenous Kalaallit, and to have left loanwords in that language.[2] It has been suggested that the female given name Kuuna derives from kona, the Old Norse word for "woman" and "wife".[3]
The available evidence does not establish the presence of language attrition; the language most likely disappeared with the ethnic group that spoke it.[4]
Greenlandic is not only the national language, but is now "the official language in Greenland" by virtue of Act no. 473, adopted by parliament 12 June 2009, the Act on Greenland Self-Government.[5]
Studying Danish and English is mandatory for students in compulsory schools and also part of many secondary-level study programmes, so knowledge of the two languages is widespread. Other foreign languages frequently studied include German and French.
Temporary visitors and residents often make up a large portion of the population, especially in Ilulissat and the capital Nuuk.
In May 2023, a Greenlandic MP spoke her native language during a debate in the Danish parliament, causing a controversy and highlighting strained relations between Denmark and Greenland.[6]
^Ethnolgue
^Jahr, p. 233.
^"girls name Kuuna – Oqaasileriffik". Retrieved 2021-03-07.
^Bandle, p. 1234.
^"Act no. 473 of 12 June 2009" (doc). The Prime Minister's Office. p. 7. Retrieved 5 July 2018. Chapter 20; Greenlandic shall be the official language in Greenland.
^"Awkward moment in Denmark's parliament as Greenlandic MP refuses to speak Danish". Reuters. 2023-05-12. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
and 29 Related for: Languages of Greenland information
The official languageofGreenland is Greenlandic. The number of speakers of Greenlandic is estimated at 50,000 (85-90% of the total population), divided...
The Inuit languages are a closely related group of indigenous American languages traditionally spoken across the North American Arctic and the adjacent...
Greenland (Greenlandic: Kalaallit Nunaat, pronounced [kalaːɬːit nʉnaːt]; Danish: Grønland, pronounced [ˈkʁɶnˌlænˀ]) is a North American autonomous territory...
the sole official languageofGreenland. Greenlandic belongs to the Eskimo–Aleut languages; it is closely related to the Inuit languages in Canada, such...
North Germanic language that was spoken in the Norse settlements ofGreenland until their demise in the late 15th century. The language is primarily attested...
demography of the population ofGreenland including population density, ethnicity, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population...
an Eskimo–Aleut language with about 57,000 speakers, mostly Greenlandic Inuit in Greenland. It is closely related to the Inuit languages in Canada such...
two main official languagesof Finland are Finnish and Swedish. There are also several official minority languages: three variants of Sami, as well as...
Kalaallisut is the official languageofGreenland. It is the western variety of the Greenlandic language, which is one of the Inuit languages within the Eskimo-Aleut...
Greenland LanguagesofGreenland Media in Greenland National symbols ofGreenland Coat of arms ofGreenland Flag ofGreenland National anthem ofGreenland People...
part ofGreenland, i.e. the region around Nuuk. Tunumiisut and Inuktun are the two other native languagesofGreenland, spoken by a small minority of the...
are also found in Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and the northern German region of Southern Schleswig, where it has minority language status. Minor Danish-speaking...
[ˈkʌtˌhɔˀp]) is the capital of and most populous city in Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the territory's...
Inuit–Yupik–Unangan languages are a language family native to the northern portions of the North American continent, and a small part of northeastern Asia. Languages in...
"Greenlanders") were Norsemen that came from Iceland to settle on the Island ofGreenland in the years following 986. The Grænlendingar were the first Europeans...
(lit. 'languageof the Tunumiit'), also known as East Greenlandic (Danish: østgrønlandsk), is the languageof the Tunumiit in East Greenland. It is generally...
land's-thing ofGreenland'), also known as the Parliament ofGreenland in English, is the unicameral parliament (legislative branch) ofGreenland, an autonomous...
Eskaleut language family, the Eskimo branch has an Inuit language sub-branch, and a sub-branch of four Yupik languages. Two Yupik languages are used in...
premier of Greenland, is the head of government ofGreenland, a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark. The prime minister is usually leader of the majority...
The flag ofGreenland (Greenlandic: Kalaallit erfalasuat, Danish: Grønlands flag) was designed by Greenland native Thue Christiansen. It features two equal...
Greenland is located between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada and northwest of Iceland. The territory comprises the island...
surrounding villages in northwestern Greenland. Apart from the town of Qaanaaq, Inuktun is also spoken in the villages of (Inuktun names in brackets) Moriusaq...
The history ofGreenland is a history of life under extreme Arctic conditions: currently, an ice sheet covers about eighty percent of the island, restricting...
Inuit Sign Language, Greenlandic Sign Language, nor about other manual languagesof the Inuit. One way to broadly refer to Inuit sign languages is by using:...
Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages. The language group is also referred to as the Nordic languages, a direct translation of the most...
island ofGreenland from Denmark, as it did with the Danish West Indies in 1917. While Greenland remains an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark...
Far East, and the Inuit languagesof Alaska, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Greenland. The Na-Dené languages, of which the most numerous...
The fall of Denmark in April 1940 left the Danish colony ofGreenland an unoccupied territory of an occupied nation, under the possibility of seizure by...
Greenlandic language is the official language in Greenland, and Greenland's Home Rule Act of 2009 does not require Danish to be taught or the use of Danish...
Global Information
