Kitlin (kɪt.lɪn)
"My eyes are my mother's, and I have my father's hair, but my courage came from my iltqanuk."
Kitlin is the language spoken by the Kylitak people of Kitlineq. It is inspired by Inuvialuktun.
Dialects
There are several dialects of Kitlin present on the island of Kitlineq, and they can be roughly grouped into eastern and western dialects. All of these are mutually intelligible, but a native speaker can clearly identify where on the island a particular dialect originates. There are also several minor dialects that have their origins on the smaller islands in the Avannarleq Sea such as Kikikturuk and Tatkik.
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. This categorization is an integral part of Kylitak Folk Magic, and seems to allow them to more easily access and learn rituals to manipulate spiritual energies.
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. 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 name connects the Eidolon of the deceased to the new child, and they become a kind of third parent, called an iltqanuk or name-parent. The child will inherit mental and spiritual traits from their iltqanuk. Sometimes, even memories and skills will be inherited, and it is not uncommon for Kylitak to correct stories about their iltqanuk with remembered details. The Kyliak believe that the spirit of the deceased is partially reborn, and thus is never truly lost. 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.
- 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
- Kavarnaq
- Malunuk
- Aqlak
- Tuvagiaq
- Iluniq
- Aaruk
- Kivigaq
- Panigiaq
- Sarnaq
- Qilanuk
Related Articles
This article was originally written for Spooktober 2024. You can find all of my Spooktober Articles at Spooktober Central.
This article was originally written for Spooktober 2023. You can find all of my Spooktober Articles at Spooktober Central.
This is really cool! Do the iltqanuk get "diluted" or anything like that when a lot of children share that name? And when there are several children of the same name (in an overlapping geographical area), do they always have some sort of distinguishing epithet?
No, the iltqanuk behaves more like a parent; they can pass on their traits equally to all their offspring, although they don’t all inherit the same things. They will usually have something to differentiate their names as needed; usually it’s a physical trait (tall, little, etc).