Stop signs in Nunavut and far northern Quebec

[oscar]

Here are some stop sign photos from my Nunavut "road trip" earlier this month, which started with an overnight stay in Kuujjuaq QC in the province's remote Kativik region. All these stop signs, and many other road signs in that region, use native languages in some way.



^  This stop sign in Kuujjuaq is only in English and the Inuit language Inuktitut, even though it's in an officially French-speaking province. Also, I also saw only English/Inuktitut street blades, even on roads that Google Maps calls by French names. French is not unknown in Kuujjuaq, especially on government buildings, and most of the staff of the hotel I stayed at was primarily French-speaking. But I sense that the folks in Kuujjuaq feel more affinity to Inuit communities in Nunavut and northern Labrador, than to southern Quebec.



^  In the capital of Nunavut, French often but not always is included in stop signs and other road signage (along with English and Inuktitut), such as in this very Quebec-style four-way stop sign at Iqaluit's busiest intersection near the legislative assembly building. But unlike in Quebec, and some other intersections in Iqaluit, the mini-stop signs in the four-way intersection diagram on the lower sign are Inuktitut-only.

The territorial government considered but rejected putting up stoplights at this intersection, which reportedly would have been Nunavut's first stoplighted intersection. I saw not a single stoplight elsewhere in Iqaluit, or Rankin Inlet or Cambridge Bay in Nunavut's two other administrative regions, and my guess is that all of Nunavut is for now stoplight-free.



^  A bilingual English/Inuktitut stop sign for an outlying intersection in Iqaluit, which is also representative of the stop signs I saw in Rankin Inlet (minus the four-way stop part of the sign -- I doubt Rankin Inlet, or Cambridge Bay, even have any three- or four-way stops). From Rankin Inlet westward, I saw French only on government buildings.



^  In the far western hamlet of Cambridge Bay, the stop signs within hamlet boundaries appear to all be in English and Inuvialuk (another Inuit language, using the Latin alphabet, which is more common in western Nunavut). The stop signs I saw in the harbour area, which is outside hamlet limits, were only in English.

[AsphaltPlanet]

Neat.

You don't always have to be that far north to see interesting Stop signs.  This one sits just west of Ontario Highway 49, south of the 401, in Tyendinaga FN between Belleville and Kingston:

[Duke87]

It is interesting how Canada will go nuts throwing local languages on stop signs. You would never see that in the US, where federal standards decree the sign shall say "STOP" and nothing else.

It's also odd because with a stop sign it is the shape and color that convey the message. Localizing the words on it serves no functional purpose, indeed, stop signs still say "STOP" in many non-English-speaking countries since they just copied the US design and didn't bother modifying it.

The only reason you see these signs getting modified all over Canada is out of cultural sensitivity. The people in Iqaluit don't need the sign to be rendered in Inuktitut, but the fact that it is makes them feel more at home.

[oscar]

It's also odd because with a stop sign it is the shape and color that convey the message. Localizing the words on it serves no functional purpose, indeed, stop signs still say "STOP" in many non-English-speaking countries since they just copied the US design and didn't bother modifying it.

The only reason you see these signs getting modified all over Canada is out of cultural sensitivity. The people in Iqaluit don't need the sign to be rendered in Inuktitut, but the fact that it is makes them feel more at home.

Well, if you know only Inuktitut (or, in western Nunavut, Inuvialuk), having that on your local stop signs helps you learn to associate the shape and color with "STOP".  Especially for all the kids on bikes and ATVs.

[english si]

stop signs still say "STOP" in many non-English-speaking countries since they just copied the US design and didn't bother modifying it.

Is it the US design or merely a design that the US adopted?

[Brandon]

stop signs still say "STOP" in many non-English-speaking countries since they just copied the US design and didn't bother modifying it.

Is it the US design or merely a design that the US adopted?

It is a US design.  The first octagonal stop signs were invented in the US in the 1920s.  The first ones appear in Michigan in 1915 (where else? - first modern signal, centerlines, etc) with as black on white squares.  In 1922, they were standardized as black on yellow octagons.  AASHO originally wanted the modern colors (white on red), but the reds of the time did not last very long before fading.  The shape was chosen as it would be unique and recognizable from both sides and even when the legend and color were gone.  It is the first symbol sign, as the sign itself is a symbol.

The older, European stop sign, a downward pointing triangle in a circle, is still in use on some locales such as Tonga, Pakistan, Libya, and Cuba.  Japan uses its own which resembles a yield sign.  Zimbabwe has a strange variant which is a stop bar (white on black) in a red circle.  Most of the rest of the world has adopted the US design.

[Alps]

Oscar, curious as to the route (airplane, car, and any other mode) that this trip took you on, as I plan my own Nunavut excursion.

[oscar]

Oscar, curious as to the route (airplane, car, and any other mode) that this trip took you on, as I plan my own Nunavut excursion.

I'll go into more detail when I post an overview trip report. But basically all planes (all but one of them jets), DCA -> Montreal -> Kuujjuaq QC -> Iqaluit NU -> Rankin Inlet NU -> Yellowknife NT -> Cambridge Bay NU -> DCA with connections in Yellowknife, Edmonton, and Toronto. Car rentals to get around Iqaluit and Yellowknife.  But no way to drive to Nunavut, or for more than a few km anywhere within Nunavut, unless you do something like the Russian explorers who drove amphibious vehicles on the ice across the North Pole in the winter, or can work out something with the operator of a private ice road out of Yellowknife.

Kuujjuaq, Rankin Inlet, and Cambridge Bay were basically for county-counting purposes. If you just want to visit Nunavut's capital Iqaluit, you can fly there directly from Montreal or Ottawa. The less interesting Rankin Inlet has direct jet service from Winnipeg. But even flying on a simpler itinerary will put quite a dent in your checkbook.

[Alps]

Oscar, curious as to the route (airplane, car, and any other mode) that this trip took you on, as I plan my own Nunavut excursion.

I'll go into more detail when I post an overview trip report. But basically all planes (all but one of them jets), DCA -> Montreal -> Kuujjuaq QC -> Iqaluit NU -> Rankin Inlet NU -> Yellowknife NT -> Cambridge Bay NU -> DCA with connections in Yellowknife, Edmonton, and Toronto. Car rentals to get around Iqaluit and Yellowknife.  But no way to drive to Nunavut, or for more than a few km anywhere within Nunavut, unless you do something like the Russian explorers who drove amphibious vehicles on the ice across the North Pole in the winter, or can work out something with the operator of a private ice road out of Yellowknife.

Kuujjuaq, Rankin Inlet, and Cambridge Bay were basically for county-counting purposes. If you just want to visit Nunavut's capital Iqaluit, you can fly there directly from Montreal or Ottawa. The less interesting Rankin Inlet has direct jet service from Winnipeg. But even flying on a simpler itinerary will put quite a dent in your checkbook.

That was going to be an offline question as to how much of a dent you suffered, I'm well aware I'm looking at multiple 4-figures for just a long weekend.

[oscar]

That was going to be an offline question as to how much of a dent you suffered, I'm well aware I'm looking at multiple 4-figures for just a long weekend.

Wait for my overall Nunavut "road trip" report later this week. But the preview is that if you want just a long weekend to one destination, you'll have more options to chase discounts than I had. OTOH, the next long weekend in the U.S. which isn't also a Canadian long weekend is our Thanksgiving, which will be pretty cold in Nunavut but might be good for aurora viewing at night.

[agentsteel53]

But no way to drive to Nunavut, or for more than a few km anywhere within Nunavut

one can, however, drive to within a few km of Nunavut.  a few dozen meters, really.  the end of the James Bay road is in Quebec, but James Bay itself is in Nunavut. 

I recommend going at low tide, so that one may stay dry.  to be absolutely sure, I went at low tide and went into the water.

http://goo.gl/maps/mDRjc

I do not believe that Google Maps is correct here, in implying that parts of the land are in Nunavut.  I think that's just a map error and the legal definition is only the bay.

[oscar]

one can, however, drive to within a few km of Nunavut.  a few dozen meters, really.  the end of the James Bay road is in Quebec, but James Bay itself is in Nunavut. 

I recommend going at low tide, so that one may stay dry.  to be absolutely sure, I went at low tide and went into the water.

http://goo.gl/maps/mDRjc

I do not believe that Google Maps is correct here, in implying that parts of the land are in Nunavut.  I think that's just a map error and the legal definition is only the bay.

I would not bet the ranch on that.  It's clear that "islands" within James Bay belong to Nunavut, but not so clear about mere offshore rocks, especially the ones without "Welcome to Nunavut" signs.  Complicating things is how litigious Quebec province can be about its boundaries; I doubt it would concede no jurisdiction over bay waters very close to its shores.

A better bet might be to catch a beluga whale-watching tour out of Churchill MB, which might go a few km offshore into indisputable Nunavut waters, and also would let you stay dry unless a beluga gets playful and splashes you.  I don't know where exactly the whale tours go, though (I chose instead a futile polar bear tour onshore).  In any case, that doesn't help if you insist on setting foot on dry land, or a visit to the county seat, or any criterion stricter than just "crossing the plane of the county [-equivalent] line".

[Alps]

I could do that and count it, but I'd prefer the full NU experience. Whatever that is.