Kalaallisut
Kalaallisut (lit. 'language of the Kalaallit'), also known as West Greenlandic (Danish: vestgrønlandsk), is the primary and official language of Greenland. It is spoken by the majority of the inhabitants of Greenland, as well as by thousands of Greenlandic Inuit in Denmark proper (in total, approximately 50,000 people). It was historically spoken in the southwestern part of Greenland, i.e. the region around Nuuk, as opposed to the related Greenlandic languages in the northwestern and eastern parts of the island. It has been an official language of Greenland since the 18th century, and the sole official language since 2009.
Translate in Kalaallisut ↗Kalaallisut (lit. 'language of the Kalaallit'), also known as West Greenlandic (Danish: vestgrønlandsk), is the primary and official language of Greenland. It is spoken by the majority of the inhabitants of Greenland, as well as by thousands of Greenlandic Inuit in Denmark proper (in total, approximately 50,000 people). It was historically spoken in the southwestern part of Greenland, i.e. the region around Nuuk, as opposed to the related Greenlandic languages in the northwestern and eastern parts of the island. It has been an official language of Greenland since the 18th century, and the sole official language since 2009.
North America
Present-day use
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Origins
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Development
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Writing
Latin or customary script (catalog classification; see the source for context).
Beyond the typeface.
Signs, manuscripts, published pages and contextual photographs, with their place, period, source and reuse terms. Captions identify historical spellings, regional examples, community references and character imagery.
Kalaallisut and Danish sign restricting unauthorized motor traffic in Isunngua, Greenland. Language identification follows Commons metadata; not independently transcribed.
Saved in Babelbook · resized display copy. Select the image to open it independently of its source.
Algkalv · Source ↗Public domain (author dedication) ↗View the local visual field note
Representative reference points from Glottolog. Historical entries show reference locations, not current speakers. 1 point.
Reference & context ↗Babelbook · original editorial illustration · CC BY 4.0 · Glottolog locations; public-domain Natural Earth land
Source excerpts, selected, shortened and where noted editorially corrected from West Greenlandic by Wikipedia contributors. Retrieved 2026-10-05. CC BY-SA 4.0. These excerpts are not an independently verified scholarly history; missing accounts are identified above.
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Dialects of Kalaallisut
There are four main dialects of Kalaallisut, spoken in different regions of the west coast. From south to north, they are: Southern, Central, Northern, and Upernavik. Southern Kalaallisut is spoken from Nanortalik to Paamiut. Central Kalaallisut is spoken from Nuuk to Sisimiut. Northern Kalaallisiut is spoken from the Disko Bay communities north to Uummannaq. Upernavik, the northernmost dialect of West Greenlandic, is spoke in the town of Upernavik. North of Upernavik, Tunumiisut is spoken, which not considered part of the West Greenlandic dialect continuum.