ʔAYʔAǰUΘƏM?
Use the orthography below to write in how to pronounce each letter. Also see Dr. Elsie Paul’s more precise descriptions at bit.ly/3cc8iU4.
YOU GOT THIS
RANDOLPH TIMOTHY JR.
ʔayʔaǰuθəm t̓išosəm ɬaʔəmɛn
Village the people live in.
The name of the Nation.
č̓ɛč̓ɛhaθɛšt ʔimot
The name of this language.
We thank you all.
Thank you.
ʔayʔaǰuθəm orthography
ɬəʔamɛn | k̓ómoks | χʷɛmaɬkʷu | & ƛohos This orthography is based on the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). This guide offers a simplified version of the sounds; for an authentic accent, listen at firstvoices.com. Most letters you’ll see in ʔayʔaǰuθəm are familiar. Pronounce them as you normally would, with the exception of the vowels and “y,” which are always pronounced:
a e
ah
i o u y
ee
ay as in May
oh oo y as in yell
´ ˆ Ʊ ¢ æ Æ Ì Ü kÑ Ý π œ
eh ih oo as in look uh ch popping c dg popping k kw rounded, popping k Breathy L sound popping p popping q
qÑ þ
rounded q
ß † tÏ Ð ƒ x∑ ≈ ý » « ÷
sh
rounded, popping q
Cozy up to ʔayʔaǰuθəm: it’s here to stay BY PIETA WOOLLEY
a facility with languages, I’m embar’ve been meeting with Randolph rassed to say that I was skipping over Timothy Jr this month outside his reading anything with the unfamilparent’s place, at Scuttle Bay. The iar-to-me orthography. I mean, despite oyster catchers bumble around on the years of French immersion, pronouncflats, as we hem and haw over a tough ing the accent circumflex still eludes question: how to encourage local folks me. Like many native English speakers to learn the letters of the ʔayʔaǰuθəm where English is our region’s lingua orthography, or alphabet. franca, I have been language lazy. Randolph is Tla’amin Nation’s new So Randolph and I came up with Language Coordinator. He explained what we hope is a solution to helpthat his team – including members of ing everyone (including me) lean in the Comox, Klahoose and Homalco Na- to ʔayʔaǰuθəm a little more: a game. tions – have agreed that the language Think of it like a secret code. Each will be revived best by using the cor- month, we will run the full orthograrect orthography only. No phy (see left, below) and cheating with phonetics five common ʔayʔaǰuθəm in brackets. The language words (see left). Write is the language. in how to pronounce the Many of the individuword, using the guide beal sounds in ʔayʔaǰuθəm low. And voilà! Language just don’t exist in Enlearning happens. glish – thus, the need for You got this. other letters. FurtherEven if you just absorb more, the way the lana couple of letters each guage sounds when it’s month, you’ll be able spoken is different than to pronounce more and English; it is really worth more of the language you checking out firstvoices. see around town. ca, to hear these words Randolph, it should WANT MORE THAN spoken by elders. And, to be noted, is absolutely A TASTE?: Dr. Elsie read Dr. Elsie Paul’s Writlovely. He grew up bePaul’s book, Written as ̓ ten As I Remember It, for tween tišosəm and SurI Remember It, offers a linguist Dr. Honoré Watarey, where he went to more precise pronuncinabe’s fuller description high school, and has lived ation guide. of how to pronounce each and worked all over Westletter (see the link, bit.ly/3cc8iU4). ern Canada, from Fort MacMurray to As you’ve likely noticed, written Vancouver. He is dedicated to reviving ʔayʔaǰuθəm is showing up more and ʔayʔaǰuθəm as he learns the language more around town: on signage, in the himself; watch for his initiatives Word pages of this magazine, and on social of the Day, and Language on the Land, media. As someone who does not have on Facebook.
I
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