North of the Canadian arboreal tree line, lies a vast expanse, home to a variety of indigenous communities. Possessing a rich and poetic culture, along with a lexicon to match, they have survived and flourished in the inhospitable environment, adapting themselves, and their language. Yet for the past 100 years or so, they have become increasingly exposed to, and influenced by the outside world of the predominantly European ‘settlers’. There have been a number of well-documented cultural atrocities, committed during this time, in the name of civilization. Now, in the 21st Century, there is an almost inescapable economic need for them to learn basic English language skills, to be part of both the domestic and ‘global’ marketplace. Without these skills, communities tend to become further marginalized. The majority aboriginal social group are the speakers of Inuktitut, a polysynthetic language, almost entirely divergent from Standard English. Moreover, the native culture is not akin to western education methodology. These factors, framed from a sociolinguistic approach to teaching English, represent an almost insurmountable challenge to create effective pedagogies, suitable for this territory and its inhabitants.
Keywords: Inuktitut, polysynthetic, education, indigenous, bi-lingual.
Teaching Eskimos about Snow; the Challenges of Teaching English in Northern Canada
In the rapidly-shrinking, global digital World, indigenous communities are presented with a dichotomy, to wholeheartedly embrace the English language, as the planet’s de-facto lingua franca, or resist and risk being left behind, in terms of socio-economic benefit, and development of their communities. The Canadian polar region encompasses a huge permanent, and temporal landmasses, and is home to a diverse population of indigenous peoples. Many of the native languages spoken by these groups are classified as critically endangered. The largest, and arguably most well-known of these are the speakers of Inuktitut, a relatively stable language, which first came to widespread public notice when Franz Boas, the anthropologist, published his 1911 book, ‘Introduction. Handbook of American Indian Languages, Volume 1’. His work is often framed in a sociolinguistic context, and the impact of environment on a language, its development, usage, and application, (Boas, 1911). Whatever the true ‘number’ of definitions for snow, there is no doubt that Inuktitut has a rich, culturally relevant lexicon. What challenges does this create for teaching English in the region, and the possible resistance by the proud traditions of the native people?
Resistant to Change
For many years education policies actively discouraged support and use of the aboriginal language, along with other state-sponsored cultural offences, forcing the dominant languages of English and French, driving the ‘White Man’s’ colonialistic agenda. As it is practically impossible for existing Inuktitut language users to immigrate into the region, from other parts of the world, the population have to deal with the problem of language retention internally, through their own social structures, and education framework, (Norris, 2004). In many ways, this has created a hostile learning environment for English teaching, with such a strong sense of national and cultural identity. Nunavut territory, an area which encompasses 20% of the total landmass of Canada, the population is rapidly increasing, and will have almost doubled by 2020, (almost 50% in only 10 years) and is characterized by a young demographic, of which 85% of identity as Inuit. There are other important social factors affecting these communities, such as wealth inequality, substance misuse, and high unemployment. Education is key to employment in this region, in fact, the Canadian government decrees a minimum level of academic achievement, and English literacy, as a pre-requisite for the majority of employment opportunities. Moreover, this huge land expanse lacks infrastructure, reducing mobility for the population. Statistics from government data highlight a lack of English speaking proficiency amongst the aboriginal people, coupled with a high number of transient workers from the southern areas of Canada, used to fill vacant positions. As the human experience shows, this situation will often result in resentment and hostility within the settled communities, further increasing a sense of disenfranchisement, especially amongst the youth, (Rigby & Bainbridge, 2005).
Polar Opposites of Language
One of the key issues facing English learning is the lack of a unified written native language for the speakers of Inuktitut. For centuries this language has been passed from generations to generations orally, only in the recent past has it been recorded in written form. This has been somewhat haphazard, to say the least, with at least two starkly contrasting versions being in use, one syllabic, the other a non-standard Roman orthography. Attempts, even at the highest government levels, to codify a single written glossary, have failed, without reaching consensus. According to the author, this has led to the perception that the antiquated syllabic system is holding the community back, from full integration into the new world. Furthermore, due to their oral heritage, there is a dearth of culturally relevant literature written in the mother tongue, (Harper, 2005). Inuktitut is a polysynthetic language, it has words with multiple stems in a single word (which are not compounds). This is achieved by incorporating ergative nouns into complex verb forms, these suffixes contain further information about the person, number, tense, mood, voice, etc., whereas English is currently classified as a fusional synthetic language, (Manker, 2016) and ("Basic Language Structures", 2018). The morphological structures of Inuktitut and English share no similarities, which render grammar translation methods of teaching impossible. The fundamental order and construction of sounds, words, and sentences in the respective languages bear no correlation, moreover, the nuances of language develop at different stages, such as the order in which time markers are acquired, presenting a major obstacle to learners and educators alike, (Swift, 2004). Indeed, it is somewhat disingenuous to compare the number of Inuktitut and English vocabulary items, as the polysynthetic morphology creates an almost infinite number of lexical items through suffixation, and inflexion, (Kaplan, 2005).
Early Learning
The order in which babies and young children acquire language rules are strikingly different from western development, for example, the use of passive voice develops prior to the active voice, in the Inuit language family, (Crago & Allen 1998, as cited in Dench, Cleave, Tagak & Beddard, 2011), moreover, future tense marking is acquired before past tense, (Swift, 2004, as cited in (Dench, Cleave, Tagak & Beddard, 2011) and (Swift, 2004). Research from the 80’s and 90’s highlighted another potential acquisition problem for Inuit people, the family dynamic, especially in regards to early-stage development is markedly different from western culture. Households are more commonly multi-aged, and baby care often takes place in silence, there is less encouragement to talk, offering vocabulary labels is less frequent, and babies are not required to show knowledge through questioning. A number of studies concluded that quiet, passive behaviour is preferred, with a pre-disposition to non-initiation of conversation with older household members, (numerous sources as cited in Dench, Cleave, Tagak & Beddard, 2011). The cultural dynamic of these multi-generational households means that children are discouraged from being active participants in adult conversations, or asking questions, often being ignored if they did so. This would be in direct contrast to most modern language teaching methods, where comprehension strategies often require students to answer, creating a social barrier to the acquisition, (Crago, 1992). More recently, this antithesis of a western upbringing is reinforced by community elders, the ‘school system’ is viewed with suspicion, encouraging children to question their parents, or think independently, social features which are unwelcome in an Inuit household, (Ukaliannuk, 2005) and (Berger & Ross Epp, 2007).
Education Strategies
In Nunavut, the reported (native) language use is increasing, not declining, as with most other aboriginal languages. Inuktitut, alongside English and French, is taught and used, with the aim of being a fully functional bilingual society by 2020. In some areas, native language is used exclusively in schooling until grade 4, then a mixture of English and Inuititak for the remainder of academic life, (Canadian Child Care Federation, 2005) and (Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Vol. 3, 1996). There is a collective community apprehension of ‘Quallunut’ (non-Inuit) teachers, especially in regards to a lack of understanding of the aboriginal culture. Furthermore, a bespoke curriculum is required, tailored to the indigenous population, the geographic location, and collective experience, including compulsory orientation for teachers, (Berger & Ross Epp, 2006) and (Berger & Ross Epp, 2007).
Summary & Conclusion
The polar region provides an almost unique academic, English instruction learning environment, with an antithetical paradigmatic similitude, between the L1 and L2. With a growing youthful diaspora, there with an overwhelming need for English language skills, to ensure prosperity for the region, tempered against the amour-propre of the Inuit cultural identity. The content-based model, maintaining a strong focus on language, whilst striking a balance between function and form, is indicative of the right approach, considering the morphological disparities, (Bigelow, Dahlman & Ranney, 2006). Culturally relevant syllabi and materials are essential, to engage with students, perhaps consider a shift away from the inappropriateness of written texts, and instead harness and incorporate the traditions of oral storytelling, sonnets, plays, myths, songs, and legends.