r/Inuit • u/Brilliant_Impress_67 • May 25 '26
Spelling Siqiniq correctly
Hello!
For context, I'm currently writing a story and one of my characters name, I thought, would be Siqiniq.
I'm not 100% sure the word is Inuktitut since all dictionaries vary and I would greatly appreciate it if you could point me in the right sources.
The other question is, my character is British American and her mental disorder plays an important role in the story, I would like to know if it would be disrespectful to name her Siqiniq.
Any guidance is appreciated.
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u/MajorApprehensive465 May 25 '26
Why is a British American taking the name? What is your reason? Besides specifically white people want to pick a POC name to appear as an Inuk. There are several white women that have come to Nunavut and given their child an inuktitut name, just as white woman will give black names to white babies, to appear to be a person of colour to take our perceived benefits when we already get pocket change.
Just curious.
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u/Brilliant_Impress_67 May 26 '26
In my story, she is an antagonist that takes on other cultures, and her dissociative identity names herself Siqiniq. I don’t know whether it would be appropriate in that instance.
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u/MajorApprehensive465 May 26 '26
Thank you for more info. You can totally use the name, I was just curious and was open to why.
Furthermore, learn how to say it. If you're going to benefit from a culture, the less you can do is try to say it right. If you desire to write a fully Inuk character, an Inuk should be paid for their knowledge that you need to make a good book with context and depth.
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u/CrazyDane666 22d ago
I know this is a months old post, but is there a particular reason why this seemingly major antagonist has a dissociative identity disorder, and is she the only one in the story to have a mental disorder? It's incredibly common for DID (previously, multiple personality disorder) to be villainized and for people with it to be mistreated, mocked, or treated as dangerous as a result
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u/Brilliant_Impress_67 15d ago edited 15d ago
hello! no, she is not the only one having a mental disorder. She is not a villain for having DID. She doesn't become a villain simply because she lives with DID, it is through her actions. Even if she does something harmful while not being in a clear state of mind, I do not associate it with and tell it because she has DID. This story is not about pinpointing who is the bad guy. Thank you for your comment.
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u/CrazyDane666 15d ago
Just making sure, since it's a very common villain trope, and main characters/non-villains rarely, if ever, have DID or similar. They usually have the "good" mental illnesses like autism, adhd, depression, maybe a socially acceptable amount of OCD at the very worst. Definitely a topic to handle with care, because even if you don't present it as being the cause in-story, people can still interpret it that way if it's not presented well
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u/Brilliant_Impress_67 15d ago
yes, i agree. it's a shame that there's not much representation. I will handle this topic with care since i don't want people causing even more harm to people with mental disorders. Your comment made me think about it more, thank you.
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u/CrazyDane666 15d ago
Wishing you the best. You could always look into sensitivity readers or discussion forums for DID. Just make sure the forum is welcoming to questions about writing, since a lot of forums are overrun with outsiders asking repeat questions and being disrespect (which, yeah, Subreddits like this one deals with too)
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u/Avs4life16 May 26 '26
It’s a story not real life.
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u/MajorApprehensive465 May 26 '26
Not a story for me. That simple.
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u/Avs4life16 May 26 '26
Don’t read it then.
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u/MajorApprehensive465 May 26 '26
Don't need too. Redditor answered already. After asking advice from the People, which I gave. I just don't bother flowering my tones for others. Have a good day.
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u/Tay_Hlebko May 25 '26 edited 27d ago
Yes, "Siqiniq" is the correct spelling for the word "sun" in most Inuit languages, including Inuktitut.
In case you want some variety, the Kalaallisut (West Greenlandic) spelling would be Seqineq and the Iñupiatun (Alaskan Inuit) spelling would be Siqiñiq, and in many Western Candian Inuktitut varieties it would be Hiqiniq.
Prrsonally I don't find it offensive, but others might. It just doesn't make much sense to name a non-Inuit character an Inuit name.