Tla’amin language coordinator Randy Timothy recently discussed ʔayʔaǰuθəm (Tla’amin) language and ongoing initiatives to keep the language alive within the Tla’amin Nation community. The general public was invited to the presentation at Powell River Public Library last month.
Timothy also introduced common ʔayʔaǰuθəm words to eager participants. Former City of Powell River mayor Stewart Alsgard and current city councillor Trina Isakson, along with many others, tried ʔayʔaǰuθəm phrases with the help of fluent Tla’amin speaker Betty Wilson.
Timothy, who has been in the role for almost two years, has been tasked with teaching young folks, administrators and elders in the Tla’amin community who want to learn the language. He is also creating teaching materials and a program for the nation.
“I’m carrying on the work Betty started 30 years ago; she is the project lead,” said Timothy.
Wilson was a School District 47 (SD47) teacher and is a pioneer and leader in introducing Tla’amin language and culture into the school system in the qathet region. She developed the Tla’amin language program for SD47 and worked with linguists to create the written language, which has been no easy task.
Tla’amin language is considered by linguists to be part of the Central Salish branch and part of the Comox group of dialects. Like most Indigenous languages, the Tla’amin language was passed down orally through generations for thousands of years.
Salish languages are considered to be some of the most complex language families.
“One of the challenges to teaching is that the language is very guttural,” said Timothy. “That’s why we have a fluent speaker in the classroom, like my aunt [Wilson]; it just flows off her tongue.”
Indigenous languages around the world are at risk of being lost for good, as fluent speakers pass away and the language is not learned by the younger generation. Colonization and residential schools also created a gap in language learning in most if not all First Nations communities in BC and across Canada.
Thankfully due to years of hard work and urgency from Tla’amin members such as Wilson and Timothy, the current linguist they are working with has a strong belief that the Tla’amin language will not go extinct. Without everything that has already been archived and decades of work done by Wilson, a plethora of elders, teachers and linguists, that wouldn’t be possible now. However, the work continues with Timothy and Wilson plus a working group consisting of: elders Dr. Elsie Paul and Freddy Louie, Gail Blaney, Tla’amin’s culture and heritage manager Drew Blaney, Dana Gustafson of Tla’amin Child Development Resource Centre, Koosen Gonzales of Jeh Jeh Media, UBC student Marianne Huijsmans, SD47 teacher Karina Peters and Randy Timothy Sr.
“In the nation there are five fluent speakers left,” said Timothy. “We are under the gun right now to make sure the language carries on.”
He also said they are looking to other nations for ways to attract the younger generation to learn the language.
“We may have to look at the Haida [Nation] or Tsawwassen First Nation’s method; they pay their young people to learn the language, we may have to consider that in the near future,” said Timothy.
In the early 2000s, Tla’amin began documenting the language in the FirstVoices system which is: “a digitized central archive of open-source software designed to record and promote indigenous oral culture and revitalize the linguistic history of their people.
“FirstVoices has been in operation since 2003, and is an initiative of the First Peoples' Cultural Council,” according to FirstVoices.
Wilson, Timothy and Karen Gallegos were key players in the launch to digitize learning resources for anyone learning the language.
“The unique ‘community sites’ create and promote diversity of Indigenous language and culture in British Columbia,” according to FirstVoices.
Timothy said the Canadian government has granted 3.5 million over 10 years to assist with language revitalization in First Nations communities, and he hopes that might translate into a growing language department for Tla’amin.
Every human community has a spoken language, phonology, syntax, morphology and structure of the language. That fact can bring cultures seemingly at odds together, and that was one of the purposes of the language lesson at the library.
“That was awesome to see [so many participants],” said Timothy. “Seeing the interest ensures the name change is a possibility, and that today’s world is accepting and wanting to learn.”
Timothy emphasized that the language lesson at the library was a way to have a positive interaction with the broader community as opposed to a negative one (i.e. the possible name change).
Both Wilson and Timothy see language learning as a way to connect cultures and show respect for one another.
To find language learning resources, go to firstvoices.com. There is also an app that can be downloaded to a phone or computer, however, Timothy recommends using the website for a more optimal experience
