Iñupiat use a roman orthography (or the Latin alphabet) to write atchagavut (our alphabet).
In 1946, Roy Ahmaogak and Eugene Nida developed the current Iñupiaq alphabet with some special characters. There have been a few changes since then, including a change from ḳ to q. You might see some older documents that use the dotted k.
Today the Atchagat (with extra letters for Seward Peninsula included) looks like this:
A CH G Ġ H I K L Ł Ḷ Ł̣ M N
Ñ Ŋ P Q R S SR T U V Y
puuyuqnak
Z ZR KH QH E W
naagga suli
B F
Iñupiaq can also be written in syllabics or in the ITK Qaliujaaqpait. See Iḷisaqativut’s website for more information.
Standardized Orthography
Like all of the main writing systems used by Inuit today, Iñupiaq has a standardized orthography. This means that each letter represents a distinct sound. And each sound made in the language generally has only one corresponding letter used to write it.
Iñupiaq words are almost always written to reflect accurate pronunciation.
Vowels
The atchagat has just three vowels: a, i, and u.
There can be some slight variations in how these vowels are pronounced. For example, i and u make a softer sound when they appear before the letters q or ġ. You will become more comfortable with these variations as you learn how to pronounce each word.
Vowels can also be combined:
| au | aullaqtuq |
| ai | aiviq |
| ia | niaquq |
| iu | niuvak |
| ui | tui |
The letters e and o are never used in Iñupiaq orthography, except for e (pronounced “uh”) used in Iŋaliq (Diomede) Inupiaq.
Consonants
There are 20 consonants in the atchagat plus six extra consonants used in Seward Peninsula. The following consonants in Inuktitut are pronounced similarly to English:
| ch | h | k | l | m | n | p | s | t | v | y | z | w | b | f |
Keep in mind though that ch, k, p, and t are unaspirated in Iñupiaq meaning you shouldn’t feel a puff of air when you say them.
The following consonants are pronounced differently than in English:
g This is pronounced like a breathier g sound.
ġ This sound is not made in English but is similar to the way r is pronounced in French or German. It sounds like a slight gargle at the back of the throat.
ł Put your tongue in the same position as you would to pronounce an l. Without using your vocal cords, breathe out, as if you were pronouncing an sh.
ḷ Like the double l in ‘million'
ł̣ A combination of ł and ḷ. This is a rare sound in Iñupiaq.
ñ Like the n in ‘onion' or like the Spanish ñ.
ŋ Like ng in ‘sing'.
q Another sound produced at the back of the throat. To begin, close your throat with the very back of your tongue, as if you were about to pronounce a g. Release air as if you were pronouncing a k.
r Sounds like an English r but the mouth is more closed. Sometimes sounds more like the g in ‘rouge’.
sr Sounds like shr in ’shrug'.
zr Sounds like zur in ’azure'.
‘ The apostrophe represents a glottal stop, which is a little catch in the back of the throat that temporarily stops the flow of air coming from the lungs. An example where English speakers make this sound is between the syllables in the expression « uh-oh ».
Double Vowels & Double Consonants
Double vowels and double consonants are used to reflect correct pronunciation in Iñupiaq. It is very important to learn to write words correctly using double vowels and consonants.
Long vowels are pronounced as above, except that the sound is drawn out so that it is twice as long:
| ii | piitchuq |
| uu | uuruq |
| aa | ataata |
For double consonants, the sound that is made is also held twice as long as a single consonant:
quyaanna
kimmik
As a general rule in Iñupiaq, no more than two vowels or two consonants can appear in a row (there can be exceptions, especially in Seward Peninsula).