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Children’s Book Keeps Alaskan Language Alive

May 19th, 2011 1 comment

The K'alyaan Totem Pole of the Tlingit Kiks.ádi Clan, erected to commemorate those lost in the 1804 Battle of Sitka. ©2005 Robert A. Estremo

In an effort to save the dying Alaskan language Tlingit, English professor and award-winning author Ernestine Hayes will publish a children’s book written in the rare tongue. Hayes, who also acts as historian for her mother’s Tlingit tribe, based her story on the classic tale of the town mouse and the country mouse, and tells of the adventures that a forest bear has when he visits a relative who lives in town. City Bear, Forest Bear or Aanka Xóodzi ka Aasgutu Xóodzi Shkalneegi, as the book is titled in Tlingit, was translated from English with the help of Tlingit elders and is illustrated by Tlingit artist Wanda Culp. “As far as we know, this book is the first to be originally written in English and then translated into the Tlingit language,” the author tells The Guardian in an interview.

The Tlingit language is at serious risk for extinction, as it is spoken by only about 500 people today. Hayes’ hope is to keep this language from fading away by teaching it to younger generations with books like hers. However, the process of translating this primarily oral language into written words was a challenge, even with the elders’ help. Read more…

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