Coining new words

The Alutiiq New Words Council was featured in a radio story today on Alaska News Nightly. As April Counciller describes in the story, the New Words Council brings together Alutiiq elders in monthly meetings to decide on official words for modern concepts such as 'barista' and 'cafeteria'. The New Words Council is a significant effort at "modernizing" an Alaskan language. Too often Native languages are viewed as relics of the past, associated only with traditional culture. Creating new words will help the language to flourish in a world full of cellphones and digital music players.

Curiously, though, the NWC seems to overlook the most common and natural method for coining new words: namely, borrowing. The new word for 'telivision' is ulutegwik, which means literally 'thing for looking'. In this case the new word is built up from existing Alutiiq words or word parts. This approach makes full use of the underlying structure of the Alutiiq language, but because there is no unique way to create words using this structure, it can take some time for speakers to reach agreement. So it is that many new words require discussion over several meetings of the Council.

An alternative method for creating new words relies on taking a word from another language and adapting the pronunciation to fit the new language. This process of borrowing is actually much more common among the world's languages than might be thought. For example, most of the English words for which the NWC is creating new Alutiiq words are actually borrowings in English. Consider:

restaurant < French
cafeteria < Spanish
tram < Ducth / Low German
ski < Norwegian
barista < Italian

The last of these was borrowed into English quite recently.

Ironically, at one time Alutiiq did rely heavily on borrowing. In fact, among Alaskan languages only Unangax̂ has more borrowed words than Alutiiq. Words for 'table', 'stove', 'tea', etc. were borrowed from Russian and adapted to Alutiiq pronunciation rules. Traces of this former openness to borrowing can even be seen in words produced recently by the NWC. For example, the word for 'barista' is kuufialista, literally 'one who makes coffee'. This is built from the root kuufi, itself a borrowing from Russian (which got the word from Arabic through Turkish).

Too often borrowing is viewed as "contaminating" the language. But such a view presumes a static view of language as a museum piece which can only be manipulated internally. Borrowings enrich languages by providing stimulation from outside sources, allowing them to grow and adapt with ease. English and Alutiiq are much richer as a result of their many borrowings.

Regardless, Alutiiq will surely be much richer and vibrant as a result of the efforts of the New Words Council. Their efforts demonstrate that Native languages need not be restricted to traditional domains such as telling folktales. Rather, Native languages can grow and expand in step with our ever-changing world.

ANCSA Corporation Boundaries and Alaska Native Languages

Last week I received a request for a map of ANCSA (Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act) regional corporation boundaries. I guess this sort of thing isn't in print anymore, or maybe it is but in any case I don't have a copy. But the GIS data are readily available from the Department of Natural Resources web site, so I was able to easily produce a map. In the process I realized that these data could be easily overlaid with language boundaries using newly digitized data generated with help from folks at the Institute of Social and Economic Research (see the ANL Map Blog). For what it's worth, here's the map. There are some interesting mismatches between language and corporation, particularly in the Southwest, where Dena'ina is split between three corporations: Calista, BBNC, and CIRI. It is interesting that corporation boundaries were being drawn at just about the same time that Michael Krauss was drawing up language boundaries for the first edition of the Native Peoples and Languages of Alaska Map in 1974. It's not clear to me just what role language boundaries may have had in determining or influencing ANCSA boundaries.

On translations

I've been thinking a bit about translation lately. At ANLC we get many request to translate slogans, idioms, mottos, etc. from English to a particular Native language -- or even into "Alaskan." Here are some recent examples:

"In Partnerships ~ Strengthening Our Culture and Traditions and Building Our Future"
“Friendships Today, Partnerships Tomorrow”
"Be Counted"
"Chief Medicine Bear"

While these requests are for the most part well-intentioned, many speakers have expressed their reluctance to fulfill such requests. One problem is that people don't realize just how difficult such requests can be. For example, the English phrase "be counted" is highly idiomatic. Generally the verb "to be" describes being in a certain state, as in "I am happy" or "I am tall", but in this idiomatic phrase it exhorts the hearer to take action in order to bring that state about. Thus, "be happy" (take action so that you come into a state of happiness) and "be tall" (stand up straight). So the idiom "be counted" means: take action so that you come to be counted. Some pragmatic inference is required here, because of course the hearer is a mere passive participant in the speaker's counting process. When put in the context of the US census this inference has precisely the desired effect in English, as it forces the hearer to infer an active role for themselves in the census process -- even though the English verb "to count" usually takes a passive object. So in translating the idiom "be counted," a native speaker must translate not the verb "to count" but rather the pragmatic inference which the idiomatic phrase evokes in English. This is not small task.

But I wonder if it is not only the difficulty of the task which bothers people. Perhaps an even greater problem is that taken together, all of these requests might be viewed as trivializing or patronizing rather supporting Native language. There seems to be a lack of reciprocity. I have yet to receive a request from someone seeking a translation of a Native language idiom into English. No, it is always the other way around. Someone comes up with a usually highly idiomatic English phrase, and then wants to translate it into Native language. It's always English first, Native language second. English is always given priority. No one seems interesting in the rich idiomatic language of Alaska's indigenous languages. Instead, they are interested in forcing an awkward translation of an English idiom. And typically the goal is to advance some non-linguistic cause by appeal to the cachet of Native language. That's what seems patronizing. Don't get me wrong. I know these people are well-intentioned. And I would very much like to see more Native language out there. But I am beginning to understand the reluctance on the part of some speakers to participate in translation work.

a view from 1960

With all the recent attention given to issues of language endangerment, we tend to forget that endangerment is not a new phenomenon. Though ignored for many years by mainstream linguists (who were perhaps distracted by "colorless green ideas"), field workers have been aware of endangerment issues and the need for documentation for quite some time.

Sifting through some old correspondence today I ran across a memorandum from Professor Michael Krauss to then President of the University of Alaska, William Wood, proposing the establishment of a "Permanent Linguistics Program in Native Languages in Alaska." The first two paragraphs of background information, reproduced below with annotations, evidence an acute awareness of the extent of language endangerment in Alaska and the urgent need for documentation. The memo is dated December 1960.

We have come a long way in the past 49 years. But not nearly far enough.

---

"Alaska is a rich and as yet largely unexplored wilderness of linguistic variety. There are two major language groups within the State. These are the Eskimo-Aleut and the Na-Dene. The Eskimo is divided into two groups, the Inuit in the north and the Yupik in the south. The Alaskan Inuit dialects are very similar to the other dialects found all the way to Eastern Greenland and are comparatively well documented, at least in Greenland and Canada. The southern Alaskan (Yupik) dialects, however, are quite different in that they are variegated, more archaic and virtually untouched by the researcher. There is one mediocre and inadequate grammar for one dialect of Aleut. The other language family represented in Alaska, the Na-Dene, includes the Athabaskan languages, Tlingit, Haida and Eyak, all remotely related.[1]

Athabaskan, once spoken throughout the whole interior of this largest of states, is still an uncharted wilderness. Evidently there are at least eight major languages or groups of dialects.[2] Little is known about their classification or relationships within the Athabaskan language family. This is a vast family, embracing languages like the Chipewyan, Dogrib, etc., in Northwestern and Western Canada, the Hupa in California, and the Navaho and Apache. Little is known about the number of speakers in the Alaskan group, but one may safely guess that some of these are in danger of extinction within another generation. The largest tribes like the Kutchin [3] and Koyukon may not number even 1,000; the smaller groups like the Nabesna [4] and Han may well be under 100. Often only the older people in these groups speak the language well or at all. The tribes are losing their identity and their pride. Their languages are falling into disuse. For the Dihai-Kutchin only one person is known to survive who remembers anything at all about the language. He is more than 90 years old. Eyak may already be extinct.[5] All those languages still await description. Haida and Tlingit have received a little more attention. It is possible that the Na-Dene language family is related to Sino-Tibetan (Chinese, Burmese, etc.), and if it were possible to gather sufficient data to hold up our end of the comparison with Sino-Tibetan, which has been well studied, there then would be the first linguistic proof of the Asiatic origin of American aborigines.[6]"

--Michael Krauss (1960)

---

Notes:
[1] The relationship of Haida to the other Na-Dene languages has yet to be confirmed.
[2] Today we recognize 11 Athabaskan languages in Alaska.
[3] Gwich'in
[4] Upper Tanana (and Tanacross)
[5] Krauss spent much of the 1960s documenting Eyak; the last speaker died in 2008.
[6] As it turns out, Na-Dene languages may be related not to Sino-Tibetan, but to Yeniseian languages. See the Dene-Yeniseian pages.

Tsałt'eshi

Following up on my earlier post about the Sonot Kkaazoot ski race in Fairbanks, here is another example of the convergence of skiing and Alaska Native languages.

The Tsałt'eshi Ski Trails at Skyview High School in Soldotna take their name from a local Dena'ina Athabascan place name.

The word tsałt'eshi itself literally means something like 'black stone axe', derived from the root tsał referring to chopping and the root -t'eshi 'black one'. (Compare the Dena'ina word elt'eshi for 'black bear'; literally 'black one'.) The barred-l symbol denotes a sound which is similar to "l" but is made with air passing around the sides of the tongue. The apostrophe following the "t" denotes a glottalized or ejective sound, produced with a "popping" noise following the release of the tongue. Since neither the barred-l nor the glottalized-t occur in English, most writers simply substitute a plain-l for the barred-l and omit the apostrophe altogether. Thus the spelling "Tsalteshi" on the trail sign.

The Tsałt'eshi Trails regularly host regional and statewide ski races, and they were the cross-country venue for the 2006 Arctic Winter Games. It's great to see a Native name receiving such prominence. Many thanks to Tsalteshi Trails Association Board of Directors chair Alan Boraas for his tireless efforts to promote recognition of the Dena'ina heritage of the Kenai Peninsula.

Now I just have to get down there and ski!

http://www.tsalteshi.org/

Finding Our Talk, season 3

Those of you with access to Canadian television broadcasts of APTN (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network) will be able to view the third season of the acclaimed series Finding Our Talk. Press release below.

Seasons 1 and 2 are apparently now available for purchase on DVD, but as far as I know they are not available at any library in Alaska. If anyone knows where they might be available in Alaska, please let me know.

(Thanks to Pat Shaw and Margaret Florey for passing on this announcement.)


FINDING OUR TALK - SEASON 3

A DOCUMENTARY SERIES ABOUT ABORIGINAL LANGUAGES TO AIR ON APTN

Montreal, Quebec - Every fourteen days a language dies. By the year 2100 more than half of the world's languages will disappear. These are tough statistics, but it doesn't have to be that way. Indigenous people everywhere are fighting to beat the odds. It's a remarkable story told in the exciting new documentary series Finding Our Talk 3, set to premiere on APTN (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network) on Wednesday April 1st at 10:30 PM Eastern Time.

Finding Our Talk 3 is a continuing documentary series of 13 half hour episodes produced by Mushkeg Media Inc. that looks at the state of Aboriginal languages both within Canada and the boarder indigenous world. The series discovers and shares their successes by focusing on and celebrating the many individuals, communities and organizations that are reclaiming their language, and along with it, their culture, their stories and often, their very existence as a people.

In the first two seasons, the series focused on Aboriginal languages in Canada. In Season 3, Finding Our Talk goes beyond borders to look at the state of indigenous languages like Sami, Mayan, Quechan, Maori, Gumbaynggirr, Arrente, Hawaiian, Chitimacha, as well as languages like Mi'gmaq, Abenaki and Anishnabe that are closer to home. It looks at the effects new technologies and methods play in language revitalization, as a new generation takes up the responsibilities of language preservation in their home communities.

Finding Our Talk 3 will be airing from April 1st to June 24th, every Wednesday night at:

9:30pm PT (if you're in Vancouver)
10:30pm MT/CT (if you're in Edmonton/Regina)
11:30pm CT (if you're in Winnipeg)
10:30pm ET (if you're in Toronto/Montreal)
11:30pm AT (if you're in Halifax)

The series is also available in HD broadcast on APTN HD (Bell ExpressVu, Channel 808), starting on: Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 @ 11:00am ET, Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 @ 2:00pm ET, Thursday March 26th, 2009 @ 2:30am and Friday, March 27th, 2009 @ 2:00pm ET.

The documentary crews spent five months traveling to various countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Guatemala, Bolivia, USA and Canada to bring these remarkable stories of language revitalization, preservation and promotion. The first four episodes that are scheduled to air as follows:

EPISODE 1: ANISHNABE

Broadcast date: April 1, 2009

Rapid Lake, an Algonquin community where most people still speak Anishnabe is divided between the traditionalists and the federally appointed band council. In the neighbouring community of Kiticiaskik, which has always refused reserve status, a young videographer uses his skills to revive culture and language.

"An internal separation occurred that affected families, and since then, a linguistic divide exists in the community. A lot of damage has stemmed from the residential schools, so as a result, the language and culture were neglected. Today that generation is in their 40s and 50s and they've managed to reclaim their language and culture, but most parents here speak French with their children.
It's become a habit." - Kevin Papatie videographer, coordinator, Studio Midaweski, Kiticiaskik, Quebec

EPISODE 2: MI'GMAQ

Broadcast date: April 8, 2009

A Mi'maq community that lost its language as it gained economic prosperity takes advantage of two powerful tools to help bring the language back into everyday use. One is a unique picture based teaching method, and the other is the support of the elders.

"The language helps you think differently. It is a native way of thinking. I tell my children, 'If you don't have your language how can you call yourself native?' It's difficult to say, but it's the truth. As a speaker, you know you think differently." - Gail Mettalic, Executive Director, Listiguj Education Directorate, Listiguj, Quebec

EPISODE 3: ABENAKI

Broadcast date: April 15, 2009

The Abenaki language has managed to survive the past several generations with only one speaker, like Cecile Wawanolette or Monique Nolette-Ille, per generation teaching a mere handful of students in Odanak or the eastern United States. Today their students, Philippe Charland and Brent Reader, maintain the thin lifeline to this endangered language.

"There (are) 6 fluent Abenaki speakers: 3 in Canada and 3 in the US. So I mean you can't get much more endangered than that." - Nancy Milette, Chief of the Koasaek Band of the Koas, Vermont

EPISODE 4: KTUNAXA

Broadcast date: April 22, 2009

Can the 'wired teepee' help save the Ktunaxa language in the Kootenays? The Ktunaxa people are going to find out because these days this unique, ancient language is heard coming from computers, tape recorders, the Internet, video cameras, and iPods.

"Our elder was a visionary, when she told us that if we felt that we had lost so much within that (residential school) building, that it was up to us to go back in there and take it back. What she was telling us is that you don't lose your language and culture because somebody's taken it away. You lose it when you refuse to pick it up yourself. Today, our young people have that ability cause we have all the technology for picking our language back up again and making it useful for everyday use." - Sophie Pierre, Chief of the Ktunaxa Nation, Cranbrook, British Columbia.

The documentary series is produced by Mushkeg Media Inc. an Aboriginal-owned production company working with First Nations directors and crews. Finding Our Talk 3 is being produced in English, along with French and Mohawk language versions, with special attention to the various languages presented for broadcast on APTN and Maori TV.

For more information about Mushkeg Media and to view clips from Finding Our Talk seasons 1 & 2 and well as upcoming episode descriptions of season three, visit us at: www.mushkeg.ca

Sonot Kk'o'eelzoot / Sonot Kkaazoot

Yesterday the 22nd annual Sonot Kkaazoot ski race was held in Fairbanks (see News-Miner article). The Sonot is usually a 50 km race from downtown Fairbanks up the Chena River to Birch Hill Cross Country Ski Center and back. But for the past two years the race has been held in shortened form entirely at Birch Hill due to unstable ice conditions on the river. I don't know the story of the origin the name of the race, but it appears to come from Koyukon Athabascan Sonot Kk'o'eelzoot, meaning literally 'sliding around in early spring'.

The word sonot itself is an interesting one, meaning 'early spring when thawing begins'. It is derived from so 'sun' and not 'omen'. Thus so-not 'presaging the sun', but with yesterday's temperatures barely rising above zero, it probably didn't feel like sonot.

The word kk'o'eelzoot is based on the root -zoot 'to slide' and means 'he is sliding around', the closest Koyukon approximation of 'skiing'. As for how the race name came to be spelled with kkaa- rather than kk'o'eel- I can't say. Why a Koyukon name rather than a local Lower Tanana name also remains a mystery. But note that the English name Birch Hill does indeed derive from the Lower Tanana name K'iyh Ddheł, literally 'birch mountain'.

Let's hope sonot will arrive soon.