Tag Archives: language

Module 1 | Post 4 Technology, Language and Education

A few months ago, I visited the Royal BC Museum and the exhibit they are currently hosting on Our Living Language-First Peoples’ Voices in British Columbia.   The link to the website is available at the bottom of this post and in the link here.   If you have a chance to go to the museum and experience it yourself, I would highly recommend it as it an excellent introduction into the rich and diverse array of languages and cultures that exist in BC and it also a shock to see how little remains of the population who is fluent in these languages.  Give the age of many of the fluent speakers, audio and video recording technology as well as online technology provide great opportunity for capturing and preserving the language for future generations as well as for sharing and engaging youth in learning their own language and heritage.  Not only that, but in many cases it is the young that are taking the initiative to learn, record and then distribute language in their community and this gives them a sense of purpose and the ability to contribute and define how education and technology define learning for their generation and for future generations.   I have included the link to the museum and a link to a 2010 report on the status of First Nation Languages in BC. On page 15 of this report, they reference recordings, curriculum materials, and computer-based archiving as the three most important areas of resources in language revitalization.

Our Living Languages  | Royal BC Museum   http://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/our-living-languages/

Report on the Status of B.C. First Nation Languages 2010.

Module 1 Post 3 – Aboriginal Languages

Since language is such an important part of culture, I was wondering what sort of programming was available to provide learning to students in their own language.

Senator Nick Sibbeston has a webpage which is an overview of aboriginal language immersion programs. It is the summary of a study that was done, although there is no date on this webpage.
http://sen.parl.gc.ca/nsibbeston/aboriginal_language.htm

There is also a study performed by the Government of Manitoba about offering aboriginal languages in schools which looks at the state of the province in 2001 and lays out a list of concerns for a wider incorporation of language programs.
http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/abedu/ablang.pdf

The Chiefs of Ontario also published a document in 2004 outlining changes that need to be made for the implementation of language programs.
http://www.chiefs-of-ontario.org/sites/default/files/files/First%20Nations%20Languages%20and%20Education%20in%20Ontario.pdf

The Northwest Territories goes even further by holding a symposium on implementing aboriginal languages throughout territorial programs.
http://www.ece.gov.nt.ca/files/Language/aboriginal_languages_symposium_final_report_may_2013.pdf

Catherine

Hulquminum Language Sites

This is a collection of websites devoted to preserving Hulquminum. Some are easier to use than others but I think they all serve a useful function – recording and preserving knowledge of the language. Although they are attached to school boards and a university, the material is produced by FN people and the sites seem like great reference tools. I know some of these voices.  This is sort of my answer to Craig Howe, “Cyberspace is No Place for Tribalism.”  It’s not a perfect way of doing things, but it’s effective to a point.

http://abed.sd79.bc.ca/

http://www.sd68.bc.ca/?page_id=1452

http://www.firstvoices.com/en/HULQUMINUM

http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/salish/

Trevor Price

ref: Howe, C. (1998). Cyberspace is no place for tribalism. Wicazo Sa Review, 19-28.

Module 1 Post 1: Revitalization of Mi’gmaq Language

Seeing as ancestral languages play such a crucial part in First Nations’ teachings and culture, I wanted to search for ways in which Indigenous peoples were using technology as a way to encourage the learning and revitalization of their ancestral languages.

Learn Mi’gmaq Online is a self-guided site that offers users the ability to learn how to speak Mi’maq, either individually or as a classroom supplement. A Mi’gmaq Partnership between Listuguj Education Directorate, McGill University, and Concordia University developed the site and content.

The website consist of lessons that are categorized into units, varying in themes and topics of conversations. Each lesson provides new vocabulary and audio recordings of Mi’gmaq speakers, so you can listen and practice as you work through the lessons.

The site is very well organized and introduces users not only to words, but also touches on the importance of pronunciation and rhythm of the language. I found this website to be a great example of how technology can help facilitate the revitalization of languages, thereby helping Aboriginal people restore a sense of identity.

In my search, I also came across the Mi’gmac Mi’kmaq Micmac Online talking dictionary. The aim of the project is to develop an online resource for the Mi’gmaq/Mi’kmaq language, and so far they have posted over 3500 entries in the dictionary. You can do a simple English word search and it will generate a list of Mi’gmaq words that correspond to it.

Module 1.1 – TulipTV – First Nations Art

Chief Rande Cook and Chief Mike Willie of the Kwakwaka’wakw are passionate about teaching others about the history, language and culture of their tribe.  Rande is an artist and in this interview he shares a Totem pole he created for a museum in the Netherlands to tell his story.  He speaks about his process and what it meant to him.  Willie highlights that his art is language and singing and shares his story of learning his language, which was lost at a young age, and how he is now teaching his language at an elementary school.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdVVIHyBpvY