Conklin linguist one of the last fluent speakers of endangered Nuxalk language
Hank Nater remembers when someone could walk the streets of Bella Coola, B.C. and hear people speaking Nuxalk, the language of the Indigenous Nuxalk people.
It was 1972 when Nater first travelled to Bella Coola as a linguistics student with the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. His professor tasked him with recording and studying the language, which was considered endangered.
Nater, who lives in Conklin, quickly became one of the few remaining people alive fluent in the language. When he returned to Bella Coola in 2017 to work on a book about the language, he could not hear Nuxalk in the streets. There are only three fluent Nuxalk speakers left in the community, all of them elders in their 70s and 80s.
“As a functioning language, it’s actually extinct,” said Nater. “It’s still being taught in local schools and we still have the old recordings, so the language is as preserved as it can be.”
Nater has maintained relationships with community leaders in Bella Coola. In the past, Nater has worked with the community to develop a curriculum for teaching Nuxalk. This includies developing an alphabet because it is an oral language. Any cultural knowledge was recorded in icons or totems.
Nater’s book summarizes his knowledge of the Nuxalk language and will be released in the next few months. In 65 pages, it includes details on phonetics, grammar and a Nuxalk-English dictionary.
As a linguist, Nater said preserving the language is important, even if it is on the verge of extinction. How the language sounded, and how it was influenced by the land and culture helps future generations understand their ancestors.
“I feel fortunate to have learned the language to such an extent where they need some of my help,” said Nater. “But it’s the result of things that have been done in collaboration with many other people.”
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), three-quarters of Indigenous languages in Canada are “definitely,” “severely” or “critically” endangered.
The most recent data on languages spoken in Canada comes from the 2016 census, which found only 20 per cent of First Nations people could converse in an Indigenous language. This is a six per cent drop from 2006.
“If we continue down the current path, First Nations languages, like many Indigenous languages around the world, may be lost,” states a 2019 report from the Assembly of First Nations. “It is essential that drastic actions are taken to offset the erosion and loss of First Nations languages.”
Nater says much of Western and European societies take their languages’ history for granted. It’s easy to pick up Shakespeare to see how English has evolved, he said. But, this is not the case for many Indigenous languages which were erased through smallpox and the residential school system.
For anyone hoping to learn Nuxalk, Nater said they would have their work cut out for them. The phonetics of the language can be difficult for most people to grasp. Some sentences consist of one long word.
“If you think you can handle it, I would say go right ahead,” said Nater. “There are many different levels of looking at a language but as long as you have the motivation, go for it.”
swilliscraft@postmedia.com
Sarah Williscraft, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Fort McMurray Today
Hank Nater remembers when someone could walk the streets of Bella Coola, B.C. and hear people speaking Nuxalk, the language of the Indigenous Nuxalk people.
It was 1972 when Nater first travelled to Bella Coola as a linguistics student with the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. His professor tasked him with recording and studying the language, which was considered endangered.
Nater, who lives in Conklin, quickly became one of the few remaining people alive fluent in the language. When he returned to Bella Coola in 2017 to work on a book about the language, he could not hear Nuxalk in the streets. There are only three fluent Nuxalk speakers left in the community, all of them elders in their 70s and 80s.
“As a functioning language, it’s actually extinct,” said Nater. “It’s still being taught in local schools and we still have the old recordings, so the language is as preserved as it can be.”
Nater has maintained relationships with community leaders in Bella Coola. In the past, Nater has worked with the community to develop a curriculum for teaching Nuxalk. This includies developing an alphabet because it is an oral language. Any cultural knowledge was recorded in icons or totems.
Nater’s book summarizes his knowledge of the Nuxalk language and will be released in the next few months. In 65 pages, it includes details on phonetics, grammar and a Nuxalk-English dictionary.
As a linguist, Nater said preserving the language is important, even if it is on the verge of extinction. How the language sounded, and how it was influenced by the land and culture helps future generations understand their ancestors.
“I feel fortunate to have learned the language to such an extent where they need some of my help,” said Nater. “But it’s the result of things that have been done in collaboration with many other people.”
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), three-quarters of Indigenous languages in Canada are “definitely,” “severely” or “critically” endangered.
The most recent data on languages spoken in Canada comes from the 2016 census, which found only 20 per cent of First Nations people could converse in an Indigenous language. This is a six per cent drop from 2006.
“If we continue down the current path, First Nations languages, like many Indigenous languages around the world, may be lost,” states a 2019 report from the Assembly of First Nations. “It is essential that drastic actions are taken to offset the erosion and loss of First Nations languages.”
Nater says much of Western and European societies take their languages’ history for granted. It’s easy to pick up Shakespeare to see how English has evolved, he said. But, this is not the case for many Indigenous languages which were erased through smallpox and the residential school system.
For anyone hoping to learn Nuxalk, Nater said they would have their work cut out for them. The phonetics of the language can be difficult for most people to grasp. Some sentences consist of one long word.
“If you think you can handle it, I would say go right ahead,” said Nater. “There are many different levels of looking at a language but as long as you have the motivation, go for it.”
swilliscraft@postmedia.com
Sarah Williscraft, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Fort McMurray Today
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