Languages of the Arctic

Unesco 1990.At its eighteenth session in 1974, the General Conference of Unesco authorized the Director-General to undertake studies on Arctic cultures (Resolution 3.31) in order to promote co-operation among research institutes and scholars from countries with Arctic population groups. The present publication is a part of the Unesco Arctic project aimed at safeguarding

the non-physical heritage of Arctic peoples in its linguistic dimensions.

It is the outcome of three Unesco meetings of experts, held respectively in Paris (1978), Novosibirsk (1980) and Copenhagen (1987), that worked out conceptual approaches to and practical plans for the study of Arctic cultures and languages.

The work is a study of Arctic languages written in an interdisciplinary manner. Following an introduction, it goes on to deal with the concepts of the Arctic and its peoples, describing their ethnonyms and patterns of settlement and socio-economic structuring. General data are given on their history and traditional culture and on the system of Arctic languages. The study depicts the contemporary situation from the viewpoint of written and literary language and the legal status, social functions and uses in education and the mass media of these languages. Their role as a factor of cultural identity of the peoples is emphasized.

This analysis highlights the underlying need for revitalization of Arctic languages and indicates a host of problems brought about by the impact of new socio-economic realities on traditional life and the cultural identity of the Arctic peoples. The publication is intended to foster research and draw

the attention of population groups and institutions to the need to safeguard,popularize and promote the linguistic heritage of those peoples.