Ts'msyen
Talking Language Helper (new download – this one should work better!)
Ts'msyen
Talking Language Helper
Knowledge
of vocabulary as represented in a dictionary, even a talking dictionary with
lots of examples, is only the beginning for mastering a language. Many Sm’algyax
learners find themselves unable to move past words to conversation because they
are not familiar with how sentences are put together in Sm’algyax, which
differs greatly from English grammar. The Visible
Grammar: Ts’msyen Sm’algyax Grammar Resources modules were developed
in order to assist learners and teachers with achieving success in putting words
together in ways that are acceptable and understandable to fluent speakers.
Sm’algyax sentences are usually built with a stable ‘core’ with a
predictable word order (time word-verb-subject-object). Components are linked
by ‘connectives’ that are selected according to what type of word is following
(e.g. a common noun or a proper noun, etc.). There are 24 basic sentence
patterns, depending on what time word is selected, what type of verb is used,
and what type of nouns or pronouns are used in the sentence. These are
described in detail in the grammar modules, but for convenience, here is a
short summary using the system of colour-coding word categories that is used in
the grammar modules to assist learners by making the grammar visible. To obtain the full set of grammar modules,
including a CD with sound files for each example sentence, contact the
Aboriginal Education office of School District 52 at the Wap Sigatgyet,
Aboriginal Education, 317 Ninth Avenue West, Prince Rupert, BC V8J 2S6,
Phone: 250 627-1536.
NOTE THAT IN THE FOLLOWING TEMPLATES,
THE –A BEGINNING A CONNECTIVE MAY NOT BE PRONOUNCED IF IT FOLLOWS CERTAIN
SOUNDS SUCH AS OTHER VOWELS. TO LEARN THE USE RULES FOR CONNECTIVES SEE MODULE
2 OF THE VISIBLE GRAMMAR SERIES OR DOWNLOAD THE SET OF 4 POWERPOINTS ON
CONNECTIVES FROM THE LINK ABOVE.
Yagwa/ła Templates
(patterns for sentences when the time word begins with yagwa (-ing) or ła (just
before or after another action)
Intransitive Sentence with Common Noun Subject, -a CN
All Tenses:
Start |
Intransitive verb |
-a CN |
Ncm |
End |
Dm |
yaga baa |
-a |
hana’a. |
The
woman will run down. |
Transitive Template
1A: Comm Noun Subj/Comm Noun Obj with Yagwa/ɬa
Start |
ERGative particle –t (indicates a noun
SUBJect to follow) |
Transitive Verb |
CN-da before Ncm SUBJect |
Ncm SUBJect |
CN-a before Ncm
OBJect |
Ncm OBJect |
End |
Yagwa |
-t |
huumts’ax |
-da |
‘yuuta |
-a |
hana’a |
The
man is kissing the woman. |
Transitive Template 2A: Common Noun Subj/Proper Noun Obj
with Yagwa/ła
Start |
Ergative particle -t: noun SUBJect |
Transitive Verb |
CN-da |
Ncm SUBJect |
CN-at |
Npr OBJect |
End |
Yagwa |
-t |
huumts’ax |
-da |
‘yuuta |
-(a)t |
Meli |
The man is kissing M. |
Template 3A: CN-a
Subject, Pronoun Object, yagwa/ɬa (dm), with Yagwa:
Start |
Ergative Particle -t shows Noun SUBJect to follow |
Transitive verb |
Absolutive Pronoun OBJect |
CN-a |
Ncm SUBJ |
End |
Yagwa |
-t |
ɬimoom |
-u |
(-a) |
‘yuuta |
The man is helping me. |
Ła |
-t |
T’uus |
-t |
-a |
‘yuuta |
The man pushed it. |
Transitive Template
4A: proper noun subjects and common noun objects, with yagwa
or ɬa time words
Start |
Ergative Particle –t signals Noun SUBJect
follows |
Transitive Verb |
CN-dat before Npr SUBJect |
Npr SUBJect |
CN-a to Ncm
OBJ |
Ncm OBJect |
End |
Yagwa |
-t |
ɬimoom |
-dat |
Dzon |
-a |
‘yuuta |
John is helping the man. |
Transitive Template
5A: Proper Noun Subj / Proper Noun Obj with yagwa/ɬa:
Start |
-t Ergative Particle indicating following
noun SUBJect |
Transitive Verb |
CN-dat |
Npr SUBJect |
CN-(a)t |
Npr OBJect |
End |
Ła dm |
-t |
huumts’ax |
-dat |
Terry |
-(a)t |
Cowboy |
T is about to kiss C. |
Intransitive Sentence with ABS Pronoun, no CN with
Pronoun (Yagwa/Ła)
Start |
Intransitive verb |
-absolutive
pronoun suffix |
End |
Transitive Template
6A: Proper Noun Subject/ABS Pronoun Object, yagwa/ɬa
Start |
Ergative Particle –t signalling N SUBJect |
Transitive verb |
Abs Pronoun OBJect |
CN-(a)t |
Npr SUBJect |
End |
Yagwa |
-t |
Niits |
-u |
-(a)t |
Dick |
D is looking at me. |
Ła |
-t |
Güüdax |
-m |
-(a)t |
Jezebel |
J asked us. |
Transitive Template 7A: Yagwa/ɬa Ergative Pronoun
Subject/Common N Object
Start |
ERG Pronoun SUBJect Suffix |
Transitive Verb |
CN-a (heard only
with –t pronoun) |
Ncm OBJect |
End |
Yagwa / Ła |
-m |
t’uus |
-a |
‘yuuta |
We are pushing the man. |
Transitive Template
8A: ERG Pronoun Subj/ Proper Noun Obj with Yagwa /ɬa
Start |
ERG Pronoun SUBJect Suffix |
Transitive Verb |
Proper noun CN–(a)s |
Proper Noun OBJect |
End |
Yagwa |
-n |
huumts'ax |
-(a)s |
Katie |
I’m kissing Katie. |
Transitive Template
9A: Ergative Pronoun Subj/ABS Pronoun Obj – yagwa / ɬa
Start Yagwa /Ła |
Ergative Pronoun Suffix SUBJect |
Transitive Verb |
ABS Pronoun Suffix OBJect |
End. |
Yagwa |
-m |
ɬimoom |
-u |
You are helping me. |
Yagwa |
-t |
ɬimoom |
-u |
S/he is helping me. |
Nah/dm Templates (patterns for sentences when the
time word begins with dm (future) or nah (past or completed action)
Transitive template
1B: Comm Noun SUBJect / Comm Noun OBJect with dm/nah
Start |
Transitive Verb |
-a CN to Ncm
SUBJect |
Ncm SUBJect |
-a CN to Ncm OBJect |
Ncm OBJect |
End |
Nah |
huumts’ax |
-a |
‘yuuta |
-a |
hana’ax |
The man kissed the woman. |
Transitive Template 2B:
Common Noun Subj / Proper Noun OBJ with nah/dm
Start |
Transitive Verb |
CN-a |
Ncm SUBJect |
CN-at |
Npr OBJect |
End |
Nah |
huumts’ax |
-a |
‘yuuta |
-(a)t |
Meli |
The man kissed M. |
Transitive template
3B: Common Noun Subjects / Pronoun Objects Nah/dm
Start |
Ergative Particle –t indicating N SUBJect |
Transitive verb |
Marked Absolutive Pronoun OBJect |
CN-a |
Ncm SUBJect |
End |
The following template applies only to
sentences with 1st and 2nd person objects: |
||||||
Nah |
-t |
ɬimoom |
-‘nm |
-a |
‘yuuta |
The man helped us. |
The template is different for sentences
where the object is a 3rd person: |
||||||
Dm |
Dzem |
∅ |
-a |
hana’a |
The woman will boil it. |
|
Nah |
Gyiik |
∅ |
-a |
‘yuuta |
The man will buy it. |
Intransitive Sentences, Proper Noun Subject, -(a)s CN
(Yagwa/Ła)
Start |
Intransitive verb |
-(a)s
cn |
Proper noun |
End |
|
|
|
|
|
Transitive Template
4B: Proper Noun Subj
/ Common Noun Obj with nah/dm:
Start |
Transitive Verb |
CN-as to Npr SUBJ |
Npr SUBJect |
CN-a |
Ncm OBJect |
End |
Dm |
Gap |
-(a)s |
Clarence |
-a |
suubm wan |
C will eat deer soup. |
Transitive Template
5B: Proper N Subject / Proper N Object with nah/dm
Start |
Transitive Verb |
CN-(a)s |
Npr SUBJect |
CN-(a)t |
Npr OBJect |
End |
Nah |
huumts’ax |
-(a)s |
Terry |
-(a)t |
Cowboy |
Terry kissed Cowboy. |
Transitive Template 6B:
Proper Noun Subj Marked ABS Pronoun Obj – nah/dm
Start |
Ergative particle –t |
Transitive verb |
Marked Abs Pronoun OBJect |
can(t) |
Npr SUBJect |
End |
This is the template for sentences when
the object is a 1st or 2nd person pronoun |
||||||
Dm |
-t |
güüdax |
-‘nm |
-(a)t |
Jezebel |
J will ask us. |
This is the template for sentences when
the object is a 3rd person pronoun |
||||||
Nah |
ksisityaawt[1] |
∅ |
-as |
Jerry |
J traded it. |
|
Nah |
lugats |
∅ |
-as |
Dzak |
Jack poured it in. |
Notice that there
are two distinct patterns; one when the object is a first or second person
pronoun, and a different pattern when the object is third person.
Transitive template 7B: Nah/dm ABS Pronoun Subject /
Common Noun Object
Start |
Transitive Verb |
Absolutive Pronoun SUBJect Suffix |
CN-a (heard only
with –t pronoun) |
Ncm OBJect |
End |
Nah / Dm |
gap |
-u |
-a |
hoon |
I ate the fish. |
Intransitive Sentences with Proper Noun Subject, -(a)t
CN (Nah/Dm)
Start |
Intransitive verb |
-(a)t
cn |
Proper noun |
End |
Dm |
Bax yaa |
-(a)t |
Meli |
Mary
will run up. |
Intransitive Sentence with 1st or 2nd
Person Marked ABS Pronoun (Nah); no CN
Start |
Ergative |
Intransitive verb |
-marked absolutive
pronoun suffix[2] |
End |
Nah |
-n |
yaga baa |
-‘nu |
I ran
down. |
Intransitive Sentence with 3rd Person Marked
ABS Pronoun (Nah); or 1st, 2nd or 3rd Person
Marked ABS Pronoun (DM); no CN
Start |
Intransitive verb |
-marked absolutive
pronoun suffix |
End |
Dm |
hadiks |
-‘nu |
I am
going to swim. |
Transitive Template 9B: Ergative Pronoun Subject/ABS
Pronoun Object – nah/dm
Start Nah/Dm TEMPoral |
1st or 2nd Person
ERG PRON Subj Suffix |
Trans Verb |
ABS PRON OBJ suffix |
End |
|
Nah |
-m |
ɬimoom |
-u |
You helped me. |
|
When the subject is a 3rd
person, the pattern is different |
|||||
TEMPoral |
-t Ergative 3rd pers. particle |
Trans Verb |
Marked ABS Pron. |
END |
|
Nah |
-t |
ɬimoom |
-‘nu |
He helped me. |
|
When the object is a 3rd
person, the pattern is again different.
Such sentences would only be used in conversations when it is very
clear who the object pronoun refers to; many speakers try to insert a name
after the pronoun object to ensure that this is clear in examples. |
|||||
TEMPoral |
Transitive Verb |
ABS SUBJect Pron. Suffix |
∅ Marked ABS PRON |
END |
|
Nah |
ɬimoom |
-u |
∅ Marked ABS PRON |
I helped him. |
|
A large
number of people have made contributions to the development of the database
from which this Sm’algyax Living Legacy talking dictionary has
been developed. The following list provides brief details on many of these contributions.
Sincere regrets if any individuals have been inadvertently omitted below.
The original
database for this dictionary was developed through a process led by the Ts’msyen
Sm’algyax Authority and the Sm’algyax Committee of School
District 52. A graduate student in linguistics at the time, Tonya
Stebbins was hired to establish the initial lexical database, which was
based on data from John Dunn’s Practical Dictionary*, entered in SIL’s
Shoebox software by Stebbins. Some data from Franz Boas’ publications on
the Tsimshian was also referenced. The Sm’algyax committee then met
regularly to add entries and to provide examples and details on meaning and
usage for the entries. Members of the Sm’algyax committee include: Tammy
Blumhagen, Doug Brown, Marjorie Brown, Alex Campbell, Sandra Carlick, Sampson
Collinson, Pauline Dudoward, Stephanie Fisher, Verna Helin, Ernie Hill, Isabel
Hill, Nadine Leighton, Sylvia Leighton, Theresa Lowther, Velna Nelson, Beatrice
Robinson, Debbie Leighton-Stephens, Darlene Wilson and Mildred Wilson.
After the printing of a draft of the initial database, Stebbins was hired to
import the data to SIL’s LinguaLinks Software so that Margaret Anderson
could use it as the basis for her research project, which provided funding to
expand the dictionary, record and link sound files and images, and link lexical
entries to texts that were transcribed and entered into a separate component of
the database linked to the lexicon, including transcriptions of recordings made
by John Dunn and Margaret Anderson and re-writings of texts by William
Beynon from the collection that he sent to Boas in the 1930s. This work was
a component of a project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council of Canada, called The Spoken Land. Some data was added in
the latter stages of this project from recordings and transcriptions by Fumiko
Sasama, a linguist from Japan who has worked in Hartley Bay for the past
twenty years. The content of the Sm’algyax curriculum taught in School
District 52 is included in the database as well; this was developed by the
Sm’algyax Committee, with Dr. Marianne Ignace. The exported
dictionary has been available on the web as the Sm’algyax Living
Legacy Talking Dictionary since 2003 at the following website: http://smalgyax.unbc.ca
The
following individuals have contributed enormously to the work on the Living
Legacy database. Some of them made sound recordings, some assisted with
confirmation of transcriptions and translations, while others entered data,
edited sound files, and collected and prepared image files. Some made multiple
contributions. Each of these individuals is a hero in the effort to retain and
revitalize Sm’algyax: Clarence Anderson, Txałgiw; Tammy
Blumhagen, Txałgiw; Alvin Bolton, Txałgiw; Bernice Bolton, Txałgiw; Arnold
Booth, New Metlakatla, Alaska; Mary Booth, New Metlakatla, Alaska; Albert
Brooks, Lax Kw’alaams; Doug Brown, Gitxaała; Marjorie Brown, Gitxaała; Bea
Bryant, Lax Kw’alaams; Bert Bryant, Lax Kw’alaams; Alex Campbell, Lax
Kw’alaams; Sampson Collinson, Gitxaała; Alfred Eaton, New Metlakatla, Alaska;
George Eaton, Txałgiw; Lorraine Green, Lax Kw’alaams; Percy Green, Lax Kw’alaams;
Isobel Hill, Gitxaała, Robert Hill, Txałgiw; Sylvia Leighton, Metlakatla;
Darlene Leland, Txałgiw; Delores Lewis, Gitxaała; John Lewis, who was then
a student of Sm’algyax provided one sound recording facilitated by his
teacher, Tammy Blumhagen; Theresa Lowther, Txałgiw; Elinor Mason, Txałgiw;
Morris Mason, Kitselas; Violet McKay, Lax Kw’alaams; Velna Nelson, Txałgiw;
Perry Reece, Txałgiw; Fred Ridley, Txałgiw; Herbert (Sonny) Ridley, Jr.,
Txałgiw; Beatrice Robinson, Gitxaała; Delores Robinson, Txałgiw; Everett
Robinson, Gitxaała; Violet (Tina) Robinson, Txałgiw; and Mildred Wilson,
Txałgiw. Please note that village identifications in this list
reference the home community of the speaker, not their current residence. All
of the recordings were made by fluent speakers who grew up speaking the
language except one file made by a student, as indicated above. When listening
to a sound file it is generally possible for users of this talking dictionary
to identify the speaker, since the file names for the sound recordings include
the initials of the speaker and an abbreviation of their village home.
While many
of the sound recordings linked in the lexical database were recorded
specifically for this project, support from the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council of Canada allowed Margaret Anderson to
hire several individuals who catalogued a number of archival recordings made
from 1968 to 1987. These were selected from recordings made by Dr John Dunn
during his research in Kitkatla, and by Dr. Margaret Seguin Anderson during
her research in Hartley Bay. Tammy Blumhagen and Theresa Lowther
did a great deal of work in locating appropriate clips and cleaning them up with
sound editing software. Archival Recordings included are from: Alfred
Anderson, Txałgiw, Clarence Robinson, Txałgiw, Louisa Anderson, Txałgiw,
Dorothy Brown, Gitxaała, Elizabeth (Betty Lou) Dundas, Txałgiw, Alfred Eaton,
New Metlakatla, Alaska, Flora (Lola) Eaton, Txałgiw, Belle Eaton, Txałgiw, Cora
Robinson, Txałgiw, Violet Robinson, Txałgiw, and Kathleen Vickers,
Gitxaała.
Dr. Nancy Turner
provided a large collection of photographs of plants, all with their Latin
nomenclature – much appreciated! Several photographs were provided by the
following: Nadine Leighton, Txałgiw and Donald Reece, Txałgiw, Edward
Bryant, Lax Kw’alaams and Michael Dangeli, Vancouver. The artwork used at
the top of this site is a collage of images from Bryant and Dangeli.
One
PowerPoint image was provided by each of the following, who were then students
of Sm’algyax at Charles Hayes Secondary School in Prince Rupert: Brianne
Gladstone, Vance Leask, Vanessa Leighton, Graham Lindsay, William Nelson,
Kiesha Pahl, and Alana Russell.
Tammy
Blumhagen, Txałgiw, Lorraine Green, Lax Kw’alaams, Theresa Lowther, Txałgiw and
Morris Mason, Kitselas.
Janice
Astawa, Karla
Booth, Charanda McLean, Keisha Pahl, and Alana Nelson.
Debbie
Ridley, Txałgiw
and Erin Seguin, Tracy, California.
First
Peoples Heritage, Language and Culture Council/First Peoples’ Cultural Foundation
facilitated several grants to for expansion of the original lexical database,
and especially for the recording and editing of sound files now linked to most
entries in the database. Support and
accounting of these grants was provided at various points by the former
Tsimshian Tribal Council (Pansy Blackmon) and the Hartley Bay Band Council
office staff (Ann Clifton).
School District 52 has supported this project and other initiatives for the revitalization of the Sm’algyax language in numerous ways. The Aboriginal Education Council and the Aboriginal Education Department of School District 52 have supported the development of this and other resources. The district’s contributions have included substantial time and energy from Debbie Leighton-Stephens, as well as defraying expenses and facilitating meetings of the Sm’algyax Committee and the Ts’msyen Sm’algyax Authority. The Ts’mysen Sm’algyax Authority was
established under the auspices of the Tsimshian Tribal Council, and has been facilitated by the Aboriginal Education Council of the school district since the tribal council was disbanded.
The Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council of Canada
awarded a research grant to The Spoken Land project, for which Margaret
Anderson was the primary researcher. The funds from this grant facilitated much
of the work on this database.
The University of Northern British Columbia has provided support
through Dr. Anderson’s research time, by providing research accounting services
for the three-year SSHRCC grant that
facilitated much of the work on this project, by hosting the online version of
the Living Legacy Sm’algyax Talking Dictionary and generous assistance by
computer support personnel.
The lexical database for the Sm’algyax
Living Legacy Talking Dictionary was developed initially using SIL’s
Shoebox software. It was subsequently shifted to SIL’s LinguaLinks
software in order to facilitate inclusion of sound and image files. In 2009 the
project was migrated to SIL’s FieldWorks software. The process of setting up
the initial database was managed by Tonya Stebbins, and the shift to
LinguaLinks was initially handled by Stebbins. Margaret Anderson then
took over management of the database, and took a training course in the use of
LinguaLinks taught by Peggy Griffin, and later contracted for some
training and support by two SIL linguists, first Verna Stutzman and
later Larry Hayashi. Hayashi has continued to provide support
through the migration to SIL’s FieldWorks software, and has also
provided excellent software tools to export the data in a format suitable for
uploading to the web. He has also developed a software solution to export the
entire database to a vocabulary manager tool that lets each learner set up an
individual practice set, and to access entries as sound, image, text or a
combination of all three; that vocabulary practice tool also includes a game
that tests users’ mastery of the content. Though there is no partnership or
affiliation whatsoever between the Ts’msyen and the SIL, the
availability of their free software, fonts, and the generous support of several
SIL linguists who contracted to provide training and consultation are much
appreciated. I wish to express particular thanks to Larry Hayashi, who has done
far more for this project than he ever contracted to do.
This project uses the Segoe UI font
for words and examples in Sm’algyax. This is a "unicode" font
that facilitates display of characters such as ü (dotted u) and Ł (barred-ell)
which are needed to represent the sounds of Sm'algyax accurately. This
font should be standard on your computer, but if you don't have it please email
Margaret Anderson and she'll send it as an email attachment: anderson@unbc.ca
Work on this project was facilitated
by the use of software to adapt the normal keyboard of a computer for the
special characters used in Sm’algyax. This software may be downloaded
free by going to the following website: www.languagegeek.com and
searching for the Sm’algyax keyboard.
This website, its format and all
component files are the property of the Ts’msyen Sm’algyax
Authority, and are protected by copyright. No part may be copied, distributed
or sold by any other individual or group. Permission to download files for
educational purposes may be requested from the Ts’msyen Sm’algyax
Authority, c/o Debbie Leighton-Stephens, Wap Sigatgyet, School
District 52, Prince Rupert, British Columbia. If permission is granted for use
of any material from this website, it is expressly
agreed that the writing system will not be altered without written permission
from the Ts’msyen Sm’algyax Authority.
Errors and Omissions
This is a living legacy, and it will
never be ‘finished’ – there are inevitably errors and omissions in the present
version as there were in previous ones. Users will note that many entries
include analysis of words into several components. Some of these analyses are
clear and will be readily accepted by fluent speakers, while others are quite
tentative and should be understood as suggestions and questions to be resolved
through continuing work on the database. Similarly, many words are listed as
derivations, contractions, dialect variants, spelling variants, or free
variants of other words, and these assignments of various types of variation
should be considered tentative as only a small proportion have yet been reviewed
by fluent speakers. The meaning and use of the proposed derivational suffixes
should also be considered highly tentative until further work clarifies these;
meanwhile, numerous examples have been provided for many of the forms still
requiring analysis, and this may assist users in grasping their meanings and
functions. Another component that should be considered tentative is the
list of thesaurus categories or semantic domains connected with each entry; the
process of assigning and confirming these remains to be completed, and entries
may include semantic domains that are incongruent with their use. Further
work based on the texts that have been and will be added to the database may
assist in clarifying some of these questions.
While many people have contributed to
this project, maintaining and editing the database for the Sm’algyax Living
Legacy has for the past ten years been done by Margaret Anderson, and all
errors and omissions are her responsibility. Please feel free to contact her
with comments and corrections at anderson@unbc.ca.
This Dictionary is a true Living
Legacy of Sm’algyax. We have tried to avoid errors, but we know that
inevitably there will be some that we missed. We are continuing to make revisions,
and would appreciate it if users let us know about errors that they encounter
so that the next version of the dictionary can be even better. Email comments
to anderson@unbc.ca. We intend to
continue to work on the database and to release updated versions from time to
time, with additional data and enhancements. If you are a fluent speaker, we
hope that you will add your own voice to this Sm’algyax Living Legacy --
call Margaret Anderson at (250) 624-4569 to book a time to do a recording, or
drop off photographs at the UNBC office in Prince Rupert for scanning.
We hope that you will enjoy using the
talking dictionary.
Select the first letter of the word
from the top left hand corner.
Scroll to the word from the list on
the left-hand side.
Click on the word. The entry will
appear in the middle.
Try typing the English word in the
top right hand corner. If the English word exists in the list, it will
automatically scroll to it.
Click on the Tsimshian equivalent found
underneath the English word. The Tsimshian entry will appear in the middle.
Many of the entries have recordings.
Look for button
and click on it. Please note that not all words have associated sound files
yet, but we will keep adding sound files over the coming years.