The Kalaallisut language is an Eskimo-Aleut language spoken in Greenland and closely related to Canadian languages like Inuktitut. The language, like its relatives, is polysynthetic and ergative. There are almost no compound words, but mostly derivations. Greenland has three main dialects: North, West and East Greenlandic, and West Greenlandic, the largest dialect, is called Kalaallisut. The northern dialect, Inuktun, spoken around the city of Qaanaaq (Thule) is more closely related to Canadian Inuktitut. Kalaallisut is spoken by about 50,000 people.

For a short comparison: the name 'Inuktitut', when translated into Kalaallisut, is 'Inuttut'. One of the most famous Inuktitut words, 'iglu' -- 'house', is 'illu' in Kalaallisut.

Kalaallisut distinguishes two open word classes: nouns and verbs. Each category is subdivided by intransitive and transitive words. The languages distinguishes four persons (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd reflexive), two numbers (singular, plural; no dual as in Inuktitut), eight moods (indicative, participial, imperative, optative, past subjunctive, future subjunctive, habitual subjunctive), ten cases (absolutive, ergative, equative, instrumental, locative, allative, ablative, perlative; for some selected nouns: nominative, accusative). Verbs carry bipersonal inflection for subject and object (distinguished by person and number). Transitive nouns carry possessive inflection.

In contrast to Canadian languages, Kalaallisut is not written with the Inuktitut syllabary, but with the Latin alphabet, with the addition of the Kra symbol.

External links

• The Greenland Language Council (http://www.oqaasileriffik.gl)