Monday, February 13, 2006

To the drawing board

This picture actually dates back to first term, taken in one of our immersion classes. We all drew and dressed up figures in various colors of clothing (ayiwinisa) made from kids' craft stuff.

Hey, it's not always fun and games learning a language, but sometimes it is. In fact, I think we learn much better that way.

Here you can see how I tried to create a teenager clothed in the hip-hop stylings so fashionable these days. His torso was a bit off, but I never said he was 'Ken'-like.

As I've written here before, I'd like to do a lot more creative stuff of this nature, maybe even extend it to more elaborate learning materials.

I'll try to include more pictures from class more often.

ekosi,
Rick

Sunday, February 12, 2006

SITE: Teaching Indigenous Languages

There is this amazing on-line resource in Arizona I just stumbled onto that I just got to share with you. It's one of those sites that are so stuffed with information you don't know where to start.

Briefly, "Teaching Indigenous Languages" houses the published proceedings from a series of yearly conferences, with the first ever event held at Northern Arizona U in 1994. In fact, the twelfth was held in Victoria, BC, in June 2005. (The 2006 conference is scheduled for May 18-21, 2006, in Buffalo, NY.) It also has links to a variety of books, articles, and columns. I could be gorging for weeks!

If you're thinking of starting or revisiting your indigenous language instructional program, you'd do well to see what this site has to offer.

ekosi,
Rick

Just picture this

As part of my quest to locate adaptable materials from other languages, I often turn to children's books. Such books usually employ fairly simple grammar forms, and basic scenarios, which is perfect for my needs. However, useful as it is to adapt them by covering up the text and writing the Cree equivalents, it gets a tad tedious.

Recently, though, I was reminded of an idea from one of our textbooks, How to Keep Your Language Alive: A Commonsense Approach to One-On-One Language Learning. Its solution removes the obstacle of another language altogether: caption-less picture books. That is, no words in any language whatsoever.

Now, word-free books are not exactly prevalent (if you know of some, tell me!), but one I just got that is chock full of different activities is The Snowman by Raymond Briggs. (First published in 1978, it's now a big merchandising hit as an animated cartoon in Britain!) It's the story of a boy and his snowman ('piponâpew / misponâpew' in Cree) who eat, dress up, play, eat, fly, etc., late one winter's night.

Now, I have a book I can take to speakers and ask them to tell me what we're looking at, in the language, free of the distracting non-Cree translations. Awe-some.

ekosi,
Rick

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Forget Cree not

I want to share with you a fun and effective way to remember new words: mnemonics.

(Which makes me wonder -- what memory trick did I ever use to remember how to say/spell that word?)

Now, because I can be downright silly, so can my mnemonics. Take, for example, how I am trying to lock in the word for 'I brush my teeth' — nikisîpekâpitân.

First thing I had to do, was note the elisions (see It's all an elision"). So the way it's actually spoken (I believe) is n'k'sîpekâp'tân.

After some repetitive listening and mimicry, I stumbled on what might work.

The first half of the word — 'n'k'sîpe-' (nn-kee-SEE-pay) — sounds like "Felipé" to me, while the second half — '-kâp'tân' (GAP-tan) — sounds like "captain" said real fast, like in one of those at-sea movies.

So, how do I remember it? That's right — Captain Felipé twisted around!

Silly, silly nâpew. Wait til I tell you one day what "my kangaroo needs your spare change" helps me recall!

ekosi,
Rick

It's all an elision

Elision refers to when someone drops or 'crunches' a sound or syllable in their speech, typically when they speak quickly. An example in âkayâsîmowin (english) might be the way people drops their g's at the end of words like runnin' and smokin'. The word 'environment' is sometimes pronounced with little to no emphasis on the middle 'n.'

So for Cree-S-L'ers like me, it often makes learning new words ... challenging. Especially when you try to match the non-elided written forms of a word with the way they're said in everyday speech. I'll give you an example, using the verb to run.

So, where I would say in formal speech, "nipimipahtân" (I run), most fluent speakers would drop their i's, like so: n'pim'pahtân.

The 'n' sound at the beginning can be quite subtle if you don't know what you are listening for. Actually, even if you know what are listening for.

But I am starting to catch these crunches more and more, and it's a tiny victory when you can say, "Hey, she elided that!"

Oh, the small things you come to enjoy learning a second language.

ekosi,
Rick

Monday, February 06, 2006

Horizon scanning

So reality has set in a bit.

Now, going in, I never imagined fluency was within reach after only 10 months of school, but I had hoped for some degree of competency or proficiency. My ambitions are now rather more humble: to just get as much into my head — and out of my mouth — as I can under the circumstances.

I see better now that language is a life-time pursuit. After 15+ years in the communications biz, you'd think I'd have figured that out ahead of time.

Still, 10 months of intensive practice in, and exposure to, the language is a serious base to build upon. It would be a shame to have that go to waste, which is why thoughts about whether to extend my time here somehow have entered my mind.

'Course, I'd still have to eat and whatnot, so the question of money comes up whenever I ponder devoting more time to langauge learning. My contract with APTN, hosting and producing the broadcast of excerpts from the Ipperwash Inquiry, likely draws to an end in March.

(By the way, second language learning really isn't helped when you have to take time away from it, working in your first language; I'm not complaining, just stating a fact. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it surprises me that there is not one dedicated scholarship out there that focuses on indigenous language acquisition/study. What does that say about people's priorities?)

Somehow, Nehiyawewin has taken over my life. But, if I've become hostage to it, I feel no need to escape.

ekosi,
Rick