Preserving Inuktitut with pop music

Popular music a way to preserve InuktitutA conference on northern languages in Iqaluit has ended with some participants urging territorial governments to use popular music as a way of promoting and preserving Inuktitut.

The Nunavut Language Summit examined ways in which music—and not the traditional throat singing or other ancient forms of entertainment—can help younger Inuit connect with their culture.

"Definitely, I think Inuktitut can be preserved through poetry, through songwriting, through every kind of writing there is," Juno award-winning performer Susan Aglukark, who sings in both English and Inuktitut, told CBC News.Nearby Greenland proves this approach can work:Canadian delegates have cast an eye towards their neighbours in Greenland where young Inuk dance in clubs to lyrics in Kalaallisut, the Greenlandic language.

There are two major music labels on the island which boast music in the Greenlandic language from many genres: rock, hip hop and soul.

Local performers such as Chilly Friday and Nanook are treated like celebrities.