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The price of doing business in Nunavut

Language commissioner wants to legislate bilingual signs in the private sector, but many stores already comply

DENISE RIDEOUT

The sign on the front of Jim Currie’s business in Iqaluit tells his Inuit customers exactly what’s in store for them. The business’ Inuktitut name, "the place to buy fish," is printed in bold, black syllabics on the sign.

The Inuktitut name has been a part of the fish store’s facade since the late 1980s. It’s English name, Iqaluit Enterprises Ltd., also appears on the sign.

"I just thought it was a necessity," Currie says. "At the time, the proportion of Inuit to non-Inuit was much higher and we figured the Inuit would be our customers."

If it were up to Nunavut’s language commissioner, Eva Aariak, Inuktitut would appear on each and every business sign in the territory.

But right now, there’s no real consistency when it comes to the language of the private sector. Some business signs are written in Inuktitut and English, with each language having equal prominence. On others, the business’ name is printed in large English letters, with much smaller Inuktitut syllabics underneath. Still others appear only in English.

The language commissioner says the Inuit language has little chance to stay in the forefront if it isn’t displayed prominently in the communities.

"In order for a language to survive and have an impact on the public, your language has to be visible in your environment. One way of addressing that is through business signs and public signs," Aariak said in an interview.

The language commissioner is proposing a bold new way to promote and protect Inuktitut, a language spoken by an estimated 75 per cent of Nunavut’s population.

Aariak wants the Legislative Assembly to draft an Inuktitut language law — a strong piece of legislation that would give special rights to Inuktitut speakers and require the government and the private sector to use more Inuktitut.

Aariak is hoping the private sector will jump onboard. She thinks that by putting Inuktitut on their signs and employing Inuktitut-speaking people, businesses can help promote the language.

She is calling for a law that would require all signs, posters and ads on the outside of buildings to be written in Inuktitut. They can be in other languages as well — as long as Inuktitut is equally prominent. Signs inside private businesses should also appear in Inuktitut, she suggests.

Businesses’ reaction

Aariak knows the sign issue will spark debate. She said some business owners might oppose the idea of being required to follow a language law, while others won’t want to fork out extra money to have a sign translated into Inuktitut.

Some businesses, such as Arctic Co-ops Ltd. stores, already write their signs in Inuktitut. It emphasizes the fact the co-ops are owned by Inuit in the communities.

Lucassie Arragutainaq, one of the co-op’s board members in Sanikiluaq, is proud that the store has a bilingual sign. "For us, we have our Inuktitut name and our English name on our store," he said in a telephone interview.

Inside the grocery store, bilingual signs on the wall list which food items that are on sale.

In Iqaluit, it’s not uncommon for businesses to display their store names in Inuktitut and English. At The Mariner Lodge, for example, a sign near the door says "Yes! We’re open" in English and Inuktitut.

While several of the capital city’s storefronts, offices and apartment buildings have bilingual signs, that doesn’t guarantee support for the language commissioner’s proposed law.

"In reality, if these people are your customers then you should really use their language," Currie said. But he doesn’t like the idea of a law that will force stores to do so.

Neither does Kim Waters, co-owner of Wizard’s Cafe. The year-old cafe and restaurant sports an English-only sign above its door.

"I’d be ticked off if we had to take down our sign and put Inuktitut on it," Waters said. Her business would have to bear the added cost of purchasing a new sign and having the cafe’s name translated.

Wizard’s Cafe is not the only Iqaluit business with an English-only sign. English-only signs are commonly found on many businesses, including banks, hotels and convenience stores.

Still, Waters thinks the language commissioner has good intentions.

"I wouldn’t mind if she said all new signs had to have Inuktitut on them. I mean, some people can’t read the English signs."

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