Hundreds of thousands of words will be uttered about the Olympic gold medal hockey game over the next few days. But here’s one most of us have never heard: “Aqsannguaakuluk.” How about "Tigujaujuq?”
 
The first one once meant “puck” while the second one was used when a “penalty” was called. Both are from Inuktitut, one of the languages the Big Game is being broadcast in as Canada goes for the gold.
 
It’s something most of us would never think about – how do you take a typically English word and translate it into a native tongue that doesn’t really have the vocabulary for it? That was just one of the dilemmas facing the two announcers who are calling the game in the language of those up north. And sometimes they had to make it up as they went along.

“For example, ‘puck,’ I used to call it ‘Aqsannguaakuluk’ (ᐊᖅᓴᖖᒍᐊᑯᓗᒃ) for a long time,” said [broadcaster David Ningeongan.]
 
Ningeogan said they decided to reach out to their fan base for a new word for puck in Inuktitut that would be shorter.
 
“People said, ‘We've watched hockey forever, we understand what you mean when you say puck, so stick with the word puck,'” Ningeongan said, adding they now use a similar ‘Pak’ (ᐸᒃ).
 
It’s a part of Canadian hockey lore you’ve probably never thought about or even seen. But in any language, the people behind these mics are also hoping for gold.
 
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