When in Nunavut...

[imec]

Mind your p's and U's...

PMO Iqaluit gaffe draws smiles, frowns

2 hours, 15 minutes ago

By The Canadian Press
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OTTAWA - An unfortunate blunder by the Prime Minister's Office has residents of Nunavut alternately chuckling and cringing.

A news release sent out Monday outlined Prime Minister Stephen Harper's itinerary as he began a five-day tour of the North. The release repeatedly spelled the capital of Nunavut as Iqualuit - rather than Iqaluit.

The extra "u" makes a world of difference in the Inuktitut language.

Iqaluit, properly spelled, means "many fish."

Spelled with an extra "u," the Nunavut language commissioner's office says the word translates as a derogatory reference to "people with unwiped bums."

Bloggers from Iqaluit were quickly online ridiculing the gaffe - some light-hearted, some angry.

Iqaluit was named capital of Nunavut when the territory was created in 1999.

A news release today from the PMO spells Iqaluit correctly.

[lagatta]

It is an odd mistake to make, as "Iqaluit" is heard rather often on the news and certainly in Federal-Provincial-Territorial meetings. I predict this will blow over. Harper is not as inclined to make such bloopers as either former PM Jean Chrétien or former US President Bush.

People are more concerned with whether us people "down south" take environrmental and social problems of the North seriously. Arctic regions are among those most affected by global warming - which is good for shipping, but bad for traditional land use activities.

[bixaorellana]

U no they dont like u when they call u a iqualuit!

I would bet money that the goof was a typing error. Anyone who touch types knows how certain things flow from the fingers whether wanted or not: "hellow" instead of hello, "not" instead of no, and definitely putting a u after any q.

[Deleted]

I have a very simple first name regarding which about 90% of the people I encounter get wrong in France, even though the name does exist in this country.

Over the years, it has made me realize how little attention people pay to what is written right in front of their eyes. At the same time, I spend my work day copying down the most incredible foreign names and do it with extreme care -- just because my own simple name is so difficult to write correctly.