Timothy Montler on indigenous language revitalization in the NW

[David Robertson]

Kloshe polaklie, konaway klaksta,

Kahta mesika?

Kopa _Anthropological Linguistics_ 41:4 (Kole Illahee 1999), Timothy
Montler mamook tzum ikt pepah:  "Language and Dialect Variation in Straits
Salishan".  Kloshe spose nanich okoke yaka wawa:

p. 489	"There are many neologisms.  Some derive from native expressions,
	such as Klallam /snu7nEkw tl'uyqs/ 'television', literally 'ghost
	box'.  Others are lighthearted derivations from English, such as
	Lummi /q'Esino/ 'casino'.  Some new words are simply coined, such
	as Klallam /chichE/ 'popcorn'."

489ff	"A particularly obvious change is the replacement of the lateral
	affricate, /tl'/, by /kl/ or /k'l/.  This actually does little
	phonologically, since there are otherwise no such clusters, and
	this new cluster functions as a unit.  Thus, in Klallam
	/tl'a7tl'utl'a7/ 'small' (with diminutive reduplication) becomes
	/klEkluklE/.  Other non-English sounds are generally replaced:
	/q/ becomes /k/; /X/ becomes /h/, /k/, or /x/; and /xw/ becomes
	/hw/ or /kw/."

490	"...the most dramatic differences are those found between the
	native speakers and the new speakers.  As Lummi language teacher
	Bill James points out to his students, to his elders, and to
	linguists, a living language is a changing language; if we want
	the language to live, we must accept the changes.  While we carry
	respect for the languages of the elders and ancestors, it is
	necessary today to recognize and respect these new varieties as
	New Saanich, New Lummi, and New Klallam."

Dave

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