About this book:

*The Language of Greenland: Kalaallisut, Bilingualism, and Language Revitalization* is a comprehensive sociolinguistic study that examines the structural, social, and political dimensions of the Greenlandic language. It begins by situating Kalaallisut within the Inuit-Yupik-Unangan family, detailing its polysynthetic morphology and phonological features, while mapping the dialectal continuum between West, East, and North Greenlandic. The text traces the historical trajectory of the language from ancestral migrations through Danish colonization to the contemporary era of Self-Government, where Greenlandic is now the official national language.

A central theme of the book is the complex "diglossic" relationship between Greenlandic and Danish. It explores how Danish remains a language of power in specialized domains such as higher education, law, and medicine, while Greenlandic is the primary vehicle for cultural identity and daily community life. The study provides a detailed analysis of education policy, advocating for additive bilingualism and the development of robust Greenlandic-medium curricula. It emphasizes that for revitalization to succeed, the language must expand beyond the home and into academic, professional, and digital spheres.

The latter half of the book focuses on practical frameworks for language planning, categorized into status, corpus, and acquisition planning. This includes the work of the Language Secretariat (Oqaasileriffik) in coining modern terminology, the role of media and literature in fostering linguistic prestige, and the necessity of community-based programs like "language nests." The book also looks toward the future, discussing the integration of Greenlandic into digital infrastructures and AI, as well as providing comparative perspectives from other Arctic Indigenous communities.

Ultimately, the book argues that the vitality of Kalaallisut depends on a coordinated effort between top-down policy and grassroots community practice. It concludes by offering strategic recommendations and potential future scenarios, asserting that a robust future for the language is possible through sustained investment in teacher preparation, materials development, and the normalization of Greenlandic in every domain of modern life.

What You'll Find Inside:

• The book provides a comprehensive sociolinguistic analysis of Kalaallisut, covering its phonology, polysynthetic morphology, dialectology, and use across domains like home, school, media, and workplace.
• It examines the historical and contemporary dynamics of Greenlandic-Danish bilingualism, including diglossia, language ideologies, and pathways toward additive bilingualism that strengthens Greenlandic while maintaining Danish and English competencies.
• The text details language revitalization strategies including community-based initiatives, education policy reforms, curriculum development, teacher preparation, and digital infrastructure efforts to expand Greenlandic use in modern contexts.
• It presents practical language planning frameworks adapted from status, corpus, and acquisition planning models, with specific tools for terminology development, materials creation, assessment, and policy implementation in Greenland's context.
• The book offers comparative Arctic perspectives and scenario-based recommendations for measuring impact and mapping sustainable futures for Greenlandic language vitality across generations.

Who's It For:

This book is designed for educators, linguists, policymakers, and community leaders working to sustain and revitalize Indigenous languages, particularly in Arctic contexts. It will be most valuable for those involved in Greenlandic-medium instruction, language planning, curriculum development, and community-based revitalization efforts who seek practical frameworks grounded in both linguistic description and sociolinguistic analysis.