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June 13, 2005 (Radio Actuality)

SHI CO-PUBLISHES MASTER REFERENCE FOR HAIDA LANGUAGE

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) has co-published a major dictionary of the Haida language, one of the most endangered Native languages in Southeast Alaska.

The Haida Dictionary, compiled by author John Enrico and co-published by the Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, is the most complete record ever published of Haida.

"Sealaska Heritage in recent years launched an intensive effort to revitalize the Haida language," said SHI President Rosita Worl, adding the institute opened a Ketchikan office in 2004 and secured a major grant to work on Haida projects. 

 “This master work by John Enrico will be a valuable resource for our language teachers and learners. It is a major contribution to the field of Haida linguistics,” said Worl, noting many Haida speakers worked with Enrico and contributed substantially to the book.

The two-volume set provides full coverage of the vocabulary, including variant forms, word class, and examples of usage, all by dialect; also there are explanations of word history and derivation. A series of appendices offers detailed information on phonology, semantics of verbs, meanings of classifiers, numbers, and kin terms. An English-to-Haida index with about 7,000 items gives the dictionary user a ready tool for finding specific Haida words with reference to the full dictionary entries.

Haida is spoken in two major dialects: southern at Skidegate and northern at Masset, both on the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia.  Northern Haida is also spoken in the Alaskan communities of Hydaburg, Kasaan and Ketchikan.

The Haida nation may have numbered well over 10,000 at the time of first European contact in 1774. Today, of a total Haida population of about 2,200 in Canada and Alaska, perhaps 40 fluent speakers of the language are still living.

Serious sustained study of Haida began in the 1880s with Anglican missionary publications, mostly translations of religious material. Prominent linguists Franz Boas, John Swanton, Edward Sapir, and Emile Benveniste added significantly to the body of scholarship on the language. Assertions by some linguists that Haida is part of the same language family as Athabascan-Eyak and Tlingit remains a source of controversy among language experts.

The modern period of Haida linguistics began in 1972, including the work of Jeff Leer with Erma Lawrence. John Enrico arrived in the Queen Charlottes in 1975 and immediately immersed himself in the language, living in the household of Masset matriarch Florence Davidson. His published documentation of the language includes works on phonology, syntax, and songs, and now finally this truly monumental dictionary.

The Haida Dictionary is a master reference from which academic linguists may further examine the relationship of Haida to other language families and educators may develop teaching materials for classrooms at every level. Noted linguist Michael Krauss concluded in his foreword for the book that even though this dictionary by itself cannot keep Haida alive as a spoken language, “we can all now breathe a sigh of relief and gratitude to John Enrico that he has provided Haida with the best record that any Native American language can have for future generations.”

The book cover features art by Haida artist Robert Davidson, who was born in Hydaburg and is an internationally renowned Native artist.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private, nonprofit founded in 1981 to administer cultural and educational programs for Sealaska Corp. The institute is governed by an all-Native board of trustees. Its mission is to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. 

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CONTACT: Rosita Worl, SHI President, 463-4844

Radio Actuality

1. Dr. Rosita Worl, SHI president, TRT:  :20 -- It is a valuable resource. People can use the dictionary in their culture, in their curriculum development. They can look at it when they’re looking for phrases and words.  The dictionary also contains a lot valuable cultural information about Haida society. (Audio)