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Press Release
March 14, 2003
NEW TSIMSHIAN LANGUAGE MATERIALS NOW AVAILABLE
A Southeast Alaska couple has introduced the first user-friendly collection of Tsimshian learning materials in an effort to save the endangered Native language.
The collection was developed by Tony Roberts and wife Donna May Roberts, a fluent speaker who grew up in Metlakatla speaking the Tsimshian language, called Shim-al-gyack. The materials include lesson plans, Tsimshian stories with some words in Shim-al-gyack, crossword puzzles with clues in Shim-al-gyack, and a reverse dictionary, meaning words are shown from English to Shim-al-gyack and from Shim-al-gyack to English. Many of the volumes were developed with CDs, so learners can hear the language as it should be spoken, said Tony Roberts.
“You can have all the books in the world, but if you can’t hear someone speaking the language, you’re in trouble,” he said.
Up until now, only a reference dictionary and linguists' grammar existed for those wanting to learn the Tsimshian language. Although the existing book has merit, it is technical and difficult for lay people to use, said the Roberts, who developed user-friendly materials by collaborating with educators, Native Elders and other people in Metlakatla.
The collection is available through Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI), a nonprofit organization founded to perpetuate and enhance the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures. SHI teaches the Tsimshian language in Ketchikan through its annual Sealaska Kusteeyí Program.
“This collection gives us a powerful new tool to teach and perpetuate Shim-al-gyack,” said SHI President Rosita Worl. “We are excited to feature these materials on our website.”
The materials also are available through Dum Baal-dum, a nonprofit organization founded by the Roberts, who developed and published the collection at their own expense. The website for Dum Baal-dum, which means “we will try,” is http://www.dumbaaldum.org/.
Tsimshian people have been living in the area that borders southernmost Southeast Alaska and western British Columbia since prehistoric times. Once spoken by thousands, the Tsimshian language is now spoken by a few hundred in British Columbia and Southeast Alaska.
CONTACT:
SHI Sociolinguist Roy Iutzi-Mitchell, 586-9272
Tony and Donna May Roberts, 503-722-1308.
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