My Story
ABOUT
Andrew Cienski tsunu sne’.
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I live in Victoria where I raised my family. My parents come from Poland. I was born in Zimbabwe (it’s a long story). When the war started in Zimbabwe in the early ‘70’s we came to Canada.
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When I graduated with a degree in Linguistics from University of Victoria I was invited by a family from W̱JOȽEȽP Nation in W̱SÁNEĆ territory. There I worked for two years with the late X̱EX̱EYELEḴ, Dr. Samuel Sam OC, my next teacher. We recorded and translated his life story from the two Coast Salish languages he spoke: SENĆOŦEN and Hul’q’umi’num’.
My next teacher was Tsi’elhaat, Sarah Modeste from Lumlhumuluts. We worked for years recording stories and developing teaching material. While she taught me the Hul’q’umi’num’ language, she also taught me about traditional ways of teaching. I have applied her teachings to much of the strategies I have developed throughout my career. One key teaching she shared with me was what she calls q’apthut which means together. Learning is language, and revitalizing a language is something we do together.
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I have been working with my friends at Esquimalt Nation for over a decade translating oral history and developing language tools.
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I have been working with my Gwich’in friends since I worked as the Language Revitalization specialist between 2018 until 2021. Since finishing our mobile app and textbooks, we have begun work on a new series of storybooks.
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I thank all my fiends and relations for their trust and the gifts they share.
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THE PROBLEM
REVITALIZATION IS MORE THAN JUST LANGUAGE
In many communities Elders stopped speaking a long time ago. Often times there are several generations who don't speak though some middle aged people may still understand.
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The job of creating new speakers seems too big. You may need teachers, textbooks, dictionaries, and so on. Where is the best place to start? Some communities have been working for a long time on developing these resources, and now they find they still don't have any new speakers. Even if they have been teaching the language for years, still they find they're teaching the same beginner level things and not seeming to make progress.
OUR SOLUTION
REVITALIZATION IS ABOUT PEOPLE
When people think of revitalizing a language, they ​often think of books. But revitalization is really about people. Who do we have that can teach the language? How can we make the most of their knowledge? How do we get learners to get interested and stay interested?
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Language is difficult to teach and learn, but there are ways to make it easier and fun. We work with the knowledge holders in your community and those who are curious to learn. We strengthen their skills and build pathways to success. Their progress in learning and teaching will be the best motivator to keep them engaged.
