Utkuhiksalik

Utkuhiksalik, also known as Utkuhikhalik, Utkuhikhaliq, Utkuhiksalingmiutitut, Utkuhiksalingmiutut, Utkuhiksalingmiut Inuktitut, Utku, or the Gjoa Haven dialect, is a sub-dialect of Natsilingmiutut (Nattiliŋmiut) dialect of Inuvialuktun (Western Canadian Inuit or Inuktitut) language once spoken in the Utkuhiksalik (ᐅᑦᑯᓯᒃᓴᓕᒃ Chantrey Inlet) area of Nunavut, and now spoken mainly by elders in Uqsuqtuuq (or Uqšuqtuuq ᐅᖅᓱᖅᑑᖅ Gjoa Haven) and Qamani'tuaq (ᖃᒪᓂ‛ᑐᐊᖅ Baker Lake) on mainland Canada. It is generally written in Inuktitut syllabics.

The traditional territory of the Utkuhiksalingmiut / Utkuhikhalingmiut / Ukkusiksalingmiut / Utkusiksalinmiut / Ukkuhikhalinmiut (meaning "the people of the place where there is soapstone" or "people who have cooking pots") people lay between Chantrey Inlet and Franklin Lake. They made their pots (utkuhik ~ utkusik) from soapstone of the area, therefore their name.

Utkuhiksalik has been analysed as a subdialect of Natsilik within the Western Canadian Inuktun (Inuvialuktun) dialect continuum. While Utkuhiksalik has much in common with the other Natsilik subdialects, the Utkuhiksalingmiut and the Natsilingmiut were historically distinct groups. Today there are still lexical and phonological differences between Utkuhiksalik and Natsilik.