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kalaallisut
West Greenlandic
Native to	West Greenland Denmark
Ethnicity	Kalaallit
Native speakers	(44,000–52,000 cited 1995)
Language family	Eskaleut Eskimo Inuit Greenlandic kalaallisut
Early forms	Proto-Eskimo–Aleut Proto-Eskimo Proto-Inuit
Language codes
ISO 639-1	kl
ISO 639-3	kal
Glottolog	kala1399
Inuit dialects. West Greenlandic in blue.

Kalaallisut (lit. 'language of the Kalaallit'), also known as West Greenlandic (Danish: vestgrønlandsk), is the primary language of Greenland and constitutes the Greenlandic language, spoken by the vast 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.

Tunumiisut and Inuktun are the two other native languages of Greenland, spoken by a small minority of the population. Danish remains an important lingua franca in Greenland and used in many parts of public life, as well as being the main language spoken by Danes in Greenland.

An extinct mixed trade language known as West Greenlandic Pidgin was based on West Greenlandic.

References

1. 44,000 in Greenland, and perhaps 20% more in Denmark. Greenlandic at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)
2. Peter Schmitter, Sprachtheorien der Neuzeit: Sprachbeschreibung und Sprachunterricht, Narr, 2007, p. 406.
3. Silvia Kouwenberg, John Victor Singler (ed.), The Handbook of Pidgin and Creole Studies, Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, West Sussex, p. 172.

v t e Eskaleut languages
Aleut	Aleut Mednyj Aleut
Eskimoan	Inuit Greenlandic Kalaallisut Tunumiit Inuktitut North Baffin Inuttitut Inuktun Inuvialuktun Siglitun Aivilik Inuinnaqtun Kangiryuarmiutun Kivalliq Netsilik Utkuhiksalik Iñupiaq (Iñupiaq Braille) Qawiaraq Uummarmiutun Yupik Alutiiq Central Alaskan Yugtun Nunivak Cup'ig Chevak Cup’ik Central Siberian Chaplino St. Lawrence Island Naukan Sirenik
See also	Proto-Eskaleut Proto-Eskimoan Inuktitut syllabics (writing system) Inuit phonology Inuit grammar Kaktovik numerals Yugtun script
Italics indicate extinct languages 1: The Inuit language 'family' is a continuum of dialects 2: Some linguists classify Sirenik as under a separate branch

v t e Greenland articles
Greenland is an autonomous constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark
History	Timeline Paleo-Eskimo Dorset culture Thule people Norse Colonization Eastern Settlement Western Settlement Language Skræling Hans Egede Treaty of Kiel Erik the Red's Land Fridtjof Nansen Land World War II Thule accident County of Greenland Home rule Autonomy (self-rule) Cartographic expeditions
Geography	Climate change Fjords Geology Glaciers Ice sheet Islands by area Mountains National park Rivers Straits Towns and villages Wildlife
Politics	Administrative divisions Elections Independence movement Foreign relations High Commissioner Parliament Law enforcement LGBT rights Military Political parties Ruling monarchs Political leader Governor (1728–1730, 1925–1979) Inspector (1782–1924) Prime Minister (1979–current)
Economy	Bank Companies Krone (currency) Fishing industry Mining National Bank Taxation Telecommunications Tourism Transport
Society	Demographics Inuit Inughuit Kalaallit Tunumiit Danes Danish Greenlander Notable individuals artists Inuit Suicide Culture Art Cuisine Hunting Jante Law Mythology Language Music Public holidays Religion Sports Symbols Coat of arms Flag National (civic) anthem Royal anthem
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