Bridging the language gap (fwd)

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Last updated at 5:19 PM on 05/11/07

Bridging the language gap
Torngasok Cultural Centre unveils new learning tools

[photo inset - NEW LEARNING – Tim McNeal, Nunatsiavut Minister of Education
and Culture holds the new Inuit dictionary. The book is one of four
learning tools unveiled recently by the Nunatsiavut Government aimed to
help to Labrador Inuit stay in touch with their language. Jamie Tarrant
photo]

JAMIE TARRANT
The Labradorian
http://www.thelabradorian.ca/index.cfm?sid=77533&sc=347

Nunatsiavut's Torngasok Cultural Centre recently unveiled four new language
tools Labrador Inuit can use to learn about their language.

At a ceremony held last Monday at the Aboriginal Friendship Centre, a
Rosetta Stone CD-Rom, Inuktitut dictionary, children's book "Atuagaga
uKausinnut," and a book of stories gathered from the Unikkalautta
storytelling festival last May, were made available to schools and Inuit
beneficiaries.

Director Catharyn Andersen admits that it took a lot of people, planning and
funding to accomplish this goal.

"I'm really excited and proud of the work that we've done, and the people
that worked on it for years," she said.

Work on creating a dictionary began in 1985, shortly after there was an
Inuit standardized writing system put into place. A lot of the words in the
new dictionary are based on the Lucien Schneider dictionary - a missionary
in northern Quebec that developed the Slavic writing system from
translating Inuit language into written form.

The Rosetta Stone CD is software that makes learning a language easy. It
offers ten learning levels and uses visual and audio concepts to help
participants read, spell, pronounce, and write. After each level the CD
provides a short quiz.

The children's and story telling book were developed because of the lack of
appropriate language learning material for young Inuit children on the
coast.

Nunatsiavut Government Upper Lake Melville member, Keith Russell hopes, this
software will help bridge the language gap with children in Labrador.

When he was growing up, language wasn't practiced as much as he feels it
should have been.

"For whatever reason, whether your parents moved down from Nunatsiavut into
Upper Lake Melville, or wherever, the language never made it from the
parents to the younger generation," explained Mr. Russell.

When he was first introduced to the Rosetta Stone language CDs during a
conference seven years ago, he wasn't impressed. It was only later after he
tested the software that his opinion quickly changed.

"It became very clear to me as I was looking at level two and exercise
three, that I was very quickly put out of my league by this kind of
software," explained Mr. Russell. "I could pull out a few names and
interactions. As you advance it becomes more difficult. With these options,
which are easy to use, I think it is going to catch on with children."

The only drawback about these learning tools is the cost. The CD ROM itself
will run about $50.00 (for beneficiaries) the dictionary $30.00 and the
children's and story telling book will be 15.00 each. Mr. Russell hopes
these prices won't turn people away.

"There is definitely going to be divided feelings about this. Some people
think this should be free. I myself am one of them. I agree with the
Nunatsiavut Government that we have to recoup some of the costs to continue
work on these kinds of initiatives."

Mr. Russell is confident that these learning tools will be made public for
beneficiaries in schools and community resource centres that don't have
computer access or funds to buy the entire package.

Tim McNeal, Nunatsiavut Minister of Education thinks the new learning
curriculum will be a huge asset for Inuktitut teachers in Labrador's school
system.

"We already arranged to offer teachers training in the software. We did that
in early September. I think there may be plans to do another in-servicing
after they had a chance to see what's working and what's not," he said.

There will be a second edition of the Rosetta Stone CD made available by the
end of 2008. The same is true for the Inuit dictionary. Mrs. Andersen
realizes that, as with all dictionaries,they are works in progress.

"We realize that there will be mistakes and corrections that will have to be
made because there are new words coming out all the time in Inuktitut," she
explained. "We are planning on holding a workshop within the next couple of
years to work with the dictionary to make corrections and additions that are
necessary."

Mrs. Andersen hopes these learning tools will play a huge role in helping
the next generation not only hear Inuit language, but also learn how to
speak and write it.

"I think what we got to remember is that these are tools to help us learn.
It is going to take more than just these tools. At least this is a huge
stepping stone to getting where we want to be."

reporter at thelabradorian.ca