Digital language reclamation underway for Tsuut’ina

The project will provide future generations of aboriginals with an audio history of their culture

Pete Yee

NEW TECH, OLD SPEAK Tucker will help preserve Tsuut’ina while helping younger generations learn.

The idea of a language becoming extinct is a far-flung idea to most people. However, on the Tsuut’ina reserve, just west of Calgary, it is reality. With no fluent speakers of the Tsuut’ina language under the age of 50, the dialect could very likely be extinct within 20–30 years.

The Tsuut’ina Gunaha project aims to preserve the Tsuut’ina language and eventually spark revitalization of the language within the community. Linguistic researchers from the University of Alberta are working with members of the Tsuut’ina community to preserve the language. In an effort to document it in action, researchers Sally Rice and Benjamin Tucker in the Department of Linguistics brought recording equipment to the Tsuut’ina reserve, and set up recording sessions that captured the language in normal conversation.

“Speaking the language is very different than just reading it,” Dr. Tucker added. “This gives us an opportunity to record exactly what they’re doing when speaking it.”

To make the language more accessible, the tapes are being converted into high-quality recordings. These recordings are then transferred onto DVDs, completing the digitization process. Over 500 hours of recorded daily conversations and stories from fluent Tsuut’ina speakers are now archived and in the final steps of being digitized.

“The digitization adds potential for interest in the language; younger generations will even be able to listen to podcasts in Tsuut’ina,” Tucker said.

Already an interest in the Tsuut’ina language revitalization is stirring within the reservation. Members from the community are coming to the U of A to record Tsuut’ina, get training in the digitization process, or takes courses based on language revitalization.

“When you have economy, politics, and community acceptance behind the revitalization it can make all the difference,” Tucker added.

The Tsuut’ina community is definitely behind the revitalization, providing all the funding for the digitization of the language. There is a strong movement in the community to create programs that will help Tsuut’ina youth in learning the language. The Tsuut’ina Gunaha project is one of these projects. The Tsuut’ina Gunaha program is putting on camps that allow children to immerse themselves in the culture, language, and heritage of their ancestors. These camps provide a great way for younger generations to learn the language in an active and fun way.

On the Tsuut’ina reserve, there is a language revitalization program run in the schools. However, there is a problem in that those certified to teach the language aren’t fluent speakers. This presents a huge challenge to the teachers, who are learning the language while teaching it.

“It’s like having a French teacher, who’s not fluent in French,” Tucker added.

The interest in the community is there, however. With the digitization in its final steps, teachers will have access to more material to draw from, for both their learning and the children’s. In addition, with members of the band trained in digitization and preservation, they will be able to continue work documenting the language after the U of A is no longer involved.

“Part of the reason they're doing the training is so they’ll be able to teach it themselves, and not just have some academic telling them how to do things,” Tucker said.

After the U of A is no longer involved, the projects put in place will continue. Moreover, with the communities’ involvement, revitalization could very well occur. Even if the language does not come back prominently, the digitization will leave all necessary aspects for revitalization in the future, Tucker hinted.