Iglulik (Feb 09/04) - The people of Iglulik are using this week to clean up their language.

Inuktitut is slowly being lost, they say. The vocabulary is shrinking, but the community is hoping to keep the language alive through a week-long celebration, Feb. 8 to 14.

"Over the years our language has changed," said Leah Toak, member of the Inullaritt Society, which is organizing the festivities.

Toak explained that Language Week is important because language is an important part of their culture.

"I think a lot of the problems start because people are forgetting our culture," she said. "Culture and language can make a difference. It's about knowing yourself."

Toak first became involved in Inuktitut Language Week 14 years ago because of things she noticed that were happening to the language.

"I started to realize that people are speaking two languages at the same time," she said. "Our language has been diluted so much over the years, we don't know which words are ours."

"We're just trying to clean out our messed up language," she added.

Mayor Elijah Evaluarjuk agreed that it's important to keep the language alive.

"Even myself, I find I can't remember what words mean anymore," he said. "I think we are slowly losing the language."

Throughout the week, the society will be hosting radio programs. In the evenings, elders will be on the radio talking about local issues using all the words in the Inuktitut vocabulary.

Elders will also go to the school to talk to students about the language and tell traditional stories. The theme of Language Week this year is to help young people build their Inuktitut vocabulary.

"We will be comparing what is spoken today and what was spoken 20 or 30 years ago," said Toak. She is surprised at the number of young people showing interest in the radio program.

"During the evening when I'm on the radio I have talked to people of all ages," she said.

"The students are showing an interest and want to learn about their culture," said Toak.