Canada FLAS fellow Jason Young, a PhD student in Geography, writes from Victoria, BC:
Inuktitut is a language closely connected to the land, and it therefore is best learned out on the land. As part of my FLAS experience this summer, I spent time boating and camping in British Columbia with Inuktitut teachers Alexina Kublu and Mick Mallon. Each new experience brought new vocabulary and new grammatical structures, and by the end of the trip I had written a whole range of narratives about my experiences in Inuktitut. My favorite experience was working with Kublu and Mick to translate some new and advanced morphemes from Inuktitut into English. These include, roughly translated: -&&aq- (emphasis on something), -&&apik- (to have an accomplishment under circumstances that made you think you wouldn’t be successful), -&&atuaq- (thankfully), -&&annaq- (to perform an accomplishment not expected of you because of age), and -&&angniaq- (in case).
FLAS Fellowships support undergraduate, graduate and professional students in acquiring modern foreign languages and area or international studies competencies. Students from all UW departments and professional schools are encouraged to apply. Find out more about the FLAS Fellowship here.
