Michael Rodriguez | Calgary Herald | December 13, 2021

Myrna Powderface (right) and elder Kathleen Poucette (left) participate in a workshop with The Language Conservancy. PHOTO BY SUBMITTED/THE LANGUAGE CONSERVANCY

Newly developed resources are set to bring on a new generation of Stoney language speakers.

With the help of United States non-profit The Language Conservancy, the Stoney Nakoda Nation and educators hope the new tools will aid in the preservation of the language, which currently has only 2,000 to 3,000 fluent speakers.

“The people over 30, roughly, are the ones who can actually speak and understand the language,” said Cherith Mark, language and culture co-ordinator at the Stoney Education Authority, which is responsible for the education of around 1,000 students in four schools across southern Alberta.

With most children in the Nation learning English as their first and sometimes only language, some important cultural stories and teachings are at the risk of being lost, furthering the value of the new resources.

“All of our teachings are done in (Stoney) … In order to really, really understand the essence of it, it’s done in the language and it’s very important,” Mark said.

The new materials will be used to educate Stoney Nakoda youth, who often hear the language but don’t necessarily have the tools to speak or write it. The culmination of three years of work contains three picture books, a beginner-level textbook and an alphabet colouring book, as well as digital resources including a 9,000-word dictionary, a vocabulary-building app and a media player that accompanies the textbook.

Preserving a language is no easy task, but new technology is slashing the amount of time it takes to compile such resources.

“Instead of taking 20 years to build a dictionary, we can do one in about 12 months,” said Wilhelm Meya, CEO of The Language Conservancy, which has helped preserve more than 50 endangered languages.

“That’s really important for communities, especially in times when there’s not a lot of speakers or they’re becoming more endangered.”

Over the past three years, The Language Conservancy has worked directly with Stoney Nakoda Elders to compile words, their meanings and how to use them. Meya said the end product is a historic boon for the Stoney Nakoda Nation.

“This is the biggest dictionary ever in that language, and will basically form the cornerstone and the foundation for all the subsequent work for generations ahead,” said Meya.

“Even during the process, we lost some of the speakers that were involved in recording — some very important speakers. And that just shows the urgency of this entire effort.”