Introduction

In 1947, when Dr. Ahmaogak began to think about translating the New Testament, he devised the first writing system for Iñupiaq.  Ahmaogak’s system included the following:

P	t		c	k	k - w/dot
	ł	ł ̣	s	s - w/dot		h
v	l	l ̣	y	z	g	ġ
m	n	ñ			ŋ

In 1964 when Ahmaogak and Donald H. Webster began working together, a few changes were made: c-ch; s-sr; z-r.

That was the system used until 1972 when the first Bilingual Conference was held.  The delegates at the Conference voted to change the k to q and use it as the official writing system of the Iñupiaq language.

There are nine sounds in Iñupiaq with which most people are not familiar.  The slashed l (ł) has the sound of hl.  The dotted l (l ̣)will be pronounced ly as in million.  The slashed dotted  l (ł ̣) is a combination of  both, pronounced hly. The dogged g (ġ) is an uvular sound produced in the back of the throat as of gargling.  The undotted g in contrast is a velar, made with the back of the tongue held close to the soft palate.  The two n’s (ñ and ŋ) are sounds pronounced but not written in the English language.  Sinew contains the ‘ñ’ sound and dong involves the ‘ŋ’ sound. 

The digraph sr occurs only after a ‘k’ or a ‘q’.

Further explanation about the alphabet is included in the pointers.  The short vowels  (a, i, and u) are the only ones used in the Iñupiaq writing system:

“a” is a low vowel.  The tongue remains in the bottom of the mouth when it is spoken;
“i” is a high vowel produced by putting the tongue up behind the teeth; and
“u” also is a low vowel but it is made in the back of the mouth by raising the back of the tongue to the rear of the palate.