Kitlin

"My eyes are my mother's, and I have my father's hair, but my courage came from my iltqanuk." - Kavarnaq, elder of the Aklaruk

Kitlin is the language spoken by the Kylitak people of Kitlineq. It is inspired by Inuvialuktun.

Dialects

There are a few dialects of Kitlin present on the island of Kitlineq, which can be roughly grouped into eastern and western dialects. They are mutually intelligible, but a native speaker can clearly identify which region of the island a particular dialect originates. There are also several minor dialects that have their origins on the smaller islands in the Avannarleq Sea. 

Interesting Features

Kitlin has a number of interesting features, but one of the most unique is that they categorize nouns based on their degree of spiritual investiture, with groups of nouns for fully invested entities (such as living creatures, spirits, etc), partially invested objects (such as sacred places, and relics), and commonplace objects and places that have little or no spiritual energies invested in them. 

Related Languages

Kitlin is related to Unugtitut, and the languages retain enough similarity to allow native speakers to communicate. It is more distantly related to Itak, the language of the Utari, and the dialects from western Kitlineq have many loan words from Itak, due to their frequent interaction with the Utari communities on the west coast of the island.

Naming Traditions

Among the Kylitak, children are named at birth for a deceased person that their parents respected or loved. Sometimes, a parent or another close family member will have a dream wherein the proper name for the new child will be conveyed. This is not done immediately after someone dies - it is considered important to allow the name to be unused for a while, in order to give the spirit of the deceased time to rest. The reason this is important is because the name connects the spirit to the new child, and become a third parent who passes on traits and qualities that the person was known for in life, especially ones of a mental or spiritual nature. Sometimes, even memories and skills will be inherited by the child from their name-parent, or iltqanuk. This connection allows the spirit to be partially reborn, and to never truly be lost, as they are a part of one or even several members of the next generation. Children who share the same iltqanuk are considered siblings, and will frequently form strong, lifelong friendships. Names are not gendered, and an iltqanuk may have namesakes with any gender identity. The Kylitak do not use surnames or family names, but will frequently use epithets, which may in some cases be a patronym or matronym, or may be a descriptor of another sort.

Writing System

Kitlin is written in a series of glyphs known as Lïwinitqat. It can be traced back to trail marks cut into the bark of trees, but has expanded greatly from those origins. Writing is considered a sacred act, and it is only used for writing things of spiritual significance, rather than for any mundane purposes. Names are never written - to write a name would form a connection with the people who bear it, and would be both disrespectful and sacriligious. If an individual person must be referenced in writing, the writer will speak of some notable action or deed they performed instead, or find some other way to identify them without using a name.

Geographical Distribution

Kitlin is primarily spoken on the island of Kitlineq and on several other islands in the Northern Region.

Spoken by

• Kylitak

Common Phrases

• Nalana - Hello
• Tavum - Goodbye
• Iligak - Thank you
• Nakiq - You're Welcome
• Igluq - Help
• Ataannak - Please
• Savani? - How Are You?
• Quvianek - I'm Fine
• Unuvaaq - Excuse Me
• Piqapak - I Understand

Common Unisex Names

• Kavarnaq
• Malunuk
• Aqlak
• Tuvagiaq
• Iluniq
• Aaruk
• Kivigaq
• Panigiaq
• Sarnaq
• Qilanuk