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Greenland's official language is Greenlandic, which has about 50,000 to 57,000 native speakers, primarily in Greenland's capital, Nuuk. Greenlandic is a member of the Eskimo-Aleut language family, and its closest relatives are the Inuit languages of Canada and Alaska. While Greenlandic is the primary language of everyday life in Greenland, Danish and English are also commonly spoken. Greenlandic children often learn Danish and English as second languages, and they may also study foreign languages like French and German.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Official language of Greenland | Greenlandic |
| Number of Greenlandic speakers | 50,000-57,000 (85-90% of the population) |
| Greenlandic dialects | Kalaallisut (West Greenlandic), Tunumiit (East Greenlandic), Inuktun (North Greenlandic) |
| Other spoken languages | Danish, English, Greenlandic Sign Language |
| Language in offices | Danish |
| Language in stores and restaurants | Greenlandic |
| Language in schools | English, Danish, West Greenlandic |
| Foreign languages learned | French, German |
| Greenlandic word derivation | New words are often derived from Greenlandic roots, but there are also loanwords from Danish and English |
| Greenlandic literacy rate | 100% |
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What You'll Learn
Greenland's official language is Greenlandic
Greenlandic is a polysynthetic language, which means that it can start with a root that has affixes and suffixes piled onto it to convey entire sentences in just one long word. For example, the suffix -aa means "his/hers/its" when attached to a noun and "him/her/it" when attached to a verb. Likewise, the suffix -ra means "my" or "me", depending on whether it is attached to a verb or a noun. The Greenlandic language also has specialized vocabulary for describing ice conditions, weather patterns, and hunting techniques that are essential for survival in the harsh northern climate.
Greenlandic was made the country's official language in 2009, marking an important milestone in the preservation of Inuit cultural heritage. It is now the only language used in primary schooling, and Greenland has several dedicated news media outlets that operate in the Greenlandic language. However, due to the historical influence of Danish colonisation, Danish is still widely spoken in Greenland and is studied in schools alongside English. Greenlandic Sign Language is also the language of the deaf community.
Greenlandic is divided into several dialects, the most prominent of which is Kalaallisut (West Greenlandic), which is the official language of Greenland and has around 44,000 speakers. Other dialects include Tunumiit (East Greenlandic), with around 3,000 speakers, and Inuktun (North Greenlandic), with around 800 speakers.
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Danish is Greenland's second language
Greenland, a part of the Danish Kingdom, was a Danish colony. Danish colonisation began in the 1700s, and Greenlandic became the sole official language in 2009. Before that, Danish was an official language alongside Greenlandic. Danish has had a significant influence on Greenlandic, with Greenlandic borrowing many words from Danish. For example, Greenlandic uses Danish numerals for numbers after 12. Greenlandic has also adopted the Latin script for its writing since Danish colonisation.
The Greenlandic language is spoken by about 50,000 people (85-90% of the total population), divided into three main dialects: Kalaallisut (West Greenlandic, spoken by 44,000 people and the dialect used as the official language), Tunumiit (East Greenlandic, spoken by 3,000 people), and Inuktun (North Greenlandic, spoken by 800 people). Greenlandic is a polysynthetic language, which means that it uses roots and affixes to form long words that convey entire sentences. It is also agglutinative, meaning it can combine various word elements to form new words.
The remainder of the population, about 6,000 people, mainly speaks Danish as their native language. Danish is also taught in schools as a second language, and many Greenlandic children grow up learning Danish, English, and West Greenlandic. Greenlandic Sign Language is the language of the deaf community.
The relationship between Greenland and Denmark has been strained, as seen in a 2023 incident where a Greenlandic MP spoke her native language during a debate in the Danish parliament, causing controversy. Despite this, Greenlandic and Danish remain closely linked due to their shared history and the presence of a significant number of Danish speakers in Greenland.
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Greenlandic is an Inuit language
Greenlandic, also known as Kalaallisut, is the official language of Greenland and the native tongue of most of its population. It is a polysynthetic language that allows the creation of long words by combining roots and suffixes. Greenlandic is a part of the Eskimo-Aleut language family, closely related to the Inuit languages of Canada and Alaska. While it exhibits distinct features, it shares a significant degree of mutual intelligibility with other Inuit languages like Inuktitut.
Inuits from Greenland and Canada can communicate with each other, although they may need to speak slowly and clarify certain words. The Greenlandic dialect Inuktun, for instance, is a dialect of Canadian Inuktitut. Kalaallisut, the standard dialect of Greenlandic, is virtually identical to the Canadian Inuktitut dialect.
The Greenlandic language has a specialized vocabulary that reflects the Inuit's deep connection to their Arctic environment. For example, the word for 'computer' is 'qarasaasiaq', which means 'artificial brain', and 'potato' is 'naatsiiat', meaning 'something for which one waits for a long time to grow'. Greenlandic continues to evolve, with new descriptive words being created when loanwords are not used.
Greenlandic has a 100% literacy rate, and it is the only Indigenous language of the Americas recognized by law as the sole official language of a semi-independent country. However, it is still considered vulnerable by UNESCO, and measures are being considered to protect certain dialects like Eastern Greenlandic.
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French is a foreign language learned by Greenlanders
Greenland is a massive island with a relatively small population that gained international recognition when former US President Trump expressed his desire to purchase it from Denmark. The native tongue of most Greenlanders is Greenlandic, which became the country's official language in 2009. Known as Kalaallisut to its speakers, Greenlandic is a member of the Eskimo-Aleut language family, which means it is more closely related to Inuit languages found in Alaska and Canada than to neighbouring Icelandic or Danish, which are Germanic languages. Greenlandic is spoken by about 50,000 people, or 85-90% of the population, and is divided into three main dialects: Kalaallisut (West Greenlandic), Tunumiit (East Greenlandic), and Inuktun (North Greenlandic).
The remainder of the population mainly speaks Danish, and Greenlandic Sign Language is used by the deaf community. Greenland was a Danish colony and is now part of the Danish Kingdom, which explains the prevalence of Danish in the country. Greenlandic Inuit consider their language an integral part of their cultural identity, reflecting their deep connection to the Arctic environment. It has specialised vocabulary for ice conditions, weather patterns, and hunting techniques essential for survival in the harsh northern climate.
While Greenlandic is the most commonly spoken language in Greenland, many Greenlanders also speak Danish and English. Children are often raised learning these three languages and may also study foreign languages such as French and German. Greenlandic is mostly limited to the island of Greenland itself, although there are a few thousand speakers in Denmark due to the close diplomatic relationship between the two countries.
Greenland has historically been an isolated and linguistically homogeneous island, but it has been home to several languages. Greenlandic Norse, for example, is believed to have influenced Greenlandic, with loanwords from Old Norse entering the language. Despite the small global number of Greenlandic speakers, there are reportedly many resources available for those wishing to learn the language, including machine translation, dictionaries, course books, and apps.
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Greenlandic is a polysynthetic language
Greenlandic, also known by its endonym Kalaallisut, is the official language of Greenland. It is an Inuit language belonging to the Eskimoan branch of the Eskaleut language family. Greenlandic is primarily spoken by the Greenlandic people native to Greenland, with about 50,000 to 57,000 native speakers as of 2025, making up 85-90% of the country's population. Greenlandic is a polysynthetic language, meaning its words are formed with a root, one or more affixes, and a suffix. This results in Greenlandic words being very long, sometimes corresponding to whole sentences in other languages. For example, the word for 'computer' in Greenlandic is 'qarasaasiaq', which directly translates to 'artificial brain', and 'potato' is 'naatsiiat', meaning 'something for which one waits for a long time to grow up'.
The Greenlandic language is divided into four main dialects: South Greenlandic, West Greenlandic, East Greenlandic, and the Thule dialect. West Greenlandic, or Kalaallisut, is the official dialect and is taught to all children in school, alongside Danish and English. Greenlandic has a complex derivational morphology for both nouns and verbs. Its basic word order in transitive clauses is subject-object-verb, and it lacks grammatical tense, relying on context, temporal particles, or derivational suffixes to convey temporal relations. Greenlandic also features a unique fourth-person category that enables switch-reference between main and subordinate clauses with different subjects.
The written Greenlandic language has been influenced by Danish colonization, using the Latin script since the 1700s. Greenlandic's orthography was developed by Samuel Kleinschmidt in 1851 but underwent a significant reform in 1973 to align it closer to the spoken language, which had evolved with various sound changes. This reform successfully boosted Greenlandic literacy rates, now among the highest globally. Greenlandic continues to evolve, adopting loanwords from Danish and English, and creating new, highly descriptive words when necessary. The preservation of the Greenlandic language is deeply tied to the cultural identity of the Greenlandic Inuit, reflecting their connection to the Arctic environment and their traditional survival techniques.
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Frequently asked questions
No, people in Greenland do not sound French. The official language of Greenland is Greenlandic, also known as Kalaallisut, which is an Inuit language belonging to the Eskimo-Aleut family.
The majority of Greenland's population speaks Greenlandic as their native tongue. About 85-90% of the population speaks Greenlandic, which has been the country's official language since 2009. Greenlandic is closely related to the Inuit languages of Canada and Alaska.
In addition to Greenlandic, many people in Greenland also speak Danish and English. Danish is the language commonly used in offices and by the government. Children in Greenland are often raised learning three languages: English, Danish, and West Greenlandic. They may also learn foreign languages such as French and German.
The Greenlandic language is deeply connected to the cultural identity of the Greenlandic Inuit people. It reflects their strong bond with the Arctic environment and contains specialized vocabulary for describing ice conditions, weather patterns, and hunting techniques essential for survival in the harsh northern climate.
