Abstract
AbstractIn efforts to preserve and revitalize Aboriginal languages, recently introduced language legislation in Nunavut, Canada requires the availability of all essential services in Inuit languages. In Nunavut, the majority of inhabitants speak an Inuit language as their mother tongue but pharmaceutical health care is currently only available in English or French. Some challenges to legislative compliance include multiple dialects spoken across the Territory, the absence of any standardized Inuit terminology, and a complete absence of any pharmacists or pharmacy technicians who speak an Inuit language. Language concordant pharmacy health care is essential as it informs patient understanding of dosing instructions, side effects and treatment rationale which reduce adverse drug events, increase patient adherence and maximize the benefits of pharmacotherapy. The development of Inuit pharmaceutical terminology enhances the appreciation of Inuit language adaptability, while building cross-cultural understandi...
Highlights
Language is a tool that captures the essence of what it is to be human as it facilitates the crystallization and framing of human thought and enables our social construction of experiences through communication with others
The lengthy colonial dominance of English and French languages in the Arctic escalated in the 1950s when children were sent to day or residential schools where Inuit languages were forbidden and Inuit children were taught that their mother tongue was primitive and dead (Legacy of Hope Foundation, 2010)
A postcolonial framework is useful for considering Indigenous issues as it provides an analytical lens to examine the embodied attitudes and power relations shaped by history, and that are shaping the context of current health care delivery (Browne, Smye, & Varcoe, 2005)
Summary
Language is a tool that captures the essence of what it is to be human as it facilitates the crystallization and framing of human thought and enables our social construction of experiences through communication with others. The factors that cause the death of a language are complex and affected by contextual issues such as the dominance and prestige of other competing language groups, as well as rates of attrition and revitalization efforts (Crystal, 2000; Grenoble & Whaley, 2006). All of these factors apply to Inuit languages in the Canadian territory of Nunavut and the Inuit people who live there. These trends have emphasized the need to preserve, strengthen and revitalize Inuit languages
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