Read a more updated article on this topic here.
We’re pleased to announce that there’s a significant new update to the Common Prayer Canada app in the works that should be released in the coming weeks (Spring 2022).
We’re very excited to be adding the Eastern Arctic Inuktitut Bible (EAIB). It will become the fourth Bible version available within the app – and the first in a language other than English. There are about 40,000 native speakers of the language in Canada, mostly throughout Nunavut, northern Quebec and Ottawa. (Learn more about the Inuit language here) When the EAIB is selected on the app, both the appointed Psalms and the Old and New Testament lessons will be displayed in Inuktitut syllabics within the liturgy.
This is the firstfruits of a much larger project: offering the entire app (or as much of it as possible) in Inuktitut. But that will require manually digitizing the Eastern Arctic BCP – a considerable effort that will take time. We also have longer term hopes of adding other Canadian Indigenous languages.
The digital text of the EAIB has been generously provided to us for free by the Canadian Bible Society (CBS). Below, courtesy of the CBS, are further details about the Inuktitut language and the EAIB translation.
About Inuktitut
Inuktitut, also called Eastern Arctic Inuktitut, is spoken primarily in Nunavut and in Nunavik (northern Quebec) by the Inuit people. It is one of the official languages in the Nunavut territory along with English. The writing system used in Inuktitut is based on the syllabic writing originally developed by James Evans for Cree speakers, which was later adapted and introduced to the Inuit by Edmund Peck.
About This Translation
The Canadian Bible Society partnered closely with the Anglican Church diocese of the Arctic on the production of this scripture translation. The translation project was established by Dr. Eugene Nida, Translation Director for the American Bible Society in 1978 at the invitation of the Anglican Church. It is the first complete Bible translated in Canada where all of the translation has been done by speakers of the language (all Anglican priests, two of whom were consecrated as Bishops during the course of their work on the translation). The New Testament was first published in print in 1992, with at least 5 subsequent reprints. The complete Bible was published in 2012 and dedicated in the new Cathedral in Iqaluit on June 3, 2012. A revision of the New Testament was published in 2021. If you are interested in obtaining a printed copy of this Bible, please contact the Canadian Bible Society.