The culmination of forty years of research, The Language of the Inuit maps the geographical distribution and linguistic differences between the Eskaleut and Inuit languages and dialects. Providing details about aspects of comparative phonology, grammar, and lexicon as well as Inuit prehistory and historical evolution, Louis-Jacques Dorais shows the effects of bilingualism, literacy, and formal education on Inuit language and considers its present status and future. An enormous task, masterfully accomplished, The Language of the Inuit is not only an anthropological and linguistic study of a language and the broad social and cultural contexts where it is spoken but a history of the language’s speakers.

Louis-Jacques Dorais has researched Inuit culture, language, and society since 1965. From 1972 to 2011, he taught anthropology at

Université Laval in Quebec City, and is now Professor Emeritus. In 1991, he and Leah Otak conducted interviews on knowledge and identity in Igloolik for a project on the social role of Inuit teachers. Among other titles, Dorais has published a linguistic description of Inuktitut as it is spoken in Igloolik (Iglulingmiut Uqausingit: The Inuit Language of Igloolik NWT, 1978), as well as a general introduction to the Inuit language (The Language of the Inuit: Syntax, Semantics, and Society in the Arctic, 2010).

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"Anyone who works on the Eskimo-Aleut languages professionally (linguists, translators, language teachers, etc.) should buy this book. Anyone who does research or policy affecting the north should also buy it, even if they study only ice. In addition, I would recommend it to all Canadian families. Louis-Jacques Dorais is Canada's foremost academic authority on the Inuit language, and this book is clearly a labour of love and an example for the future. No other book even begins to approximate the wealth of information it contains about one of the Arctic's most internationally known languages." Alana Johns, University of Toronto, Études Inuit Studies
"Louis-Jacques Dorais shows why he is a leading specialist in The Language of the Inuit. It is a state-of-the-art summary of the field and balanced throughout for a broad audience. In both its scope and presentation there is certainly no other comparable work." Michael Fortescue, Institute for Nordic Studies and Linguistics, University of Copenhagen
"Intended for a broad audience, this book succeeds marvelously as an accessible introduction to the most widespread subgroup of Eskimoan languages--the Inuit dialects spoken from northern Alaska across the Canadian Arctic to Greenland...An essential introduction to one of the most tenacious language families of the Americas...Highly recommended." E. J. Vajda, Western Washington University