SENĆOŦEN.org – a language-learning website dedicated to the preservation and revitalization of SENĆOŦEN – is now live thanks to funding from NIȽ TU,O Child and Family Services Society (NIȽ TU,O) and the hard work of the SENĆOŦEN.org team.
The SENĆOŦEN.org project is a cultural revitalization initiative headed by the SȾÁSEN department of W̱SÁNEĆ School Board (W̱SB). With funding from NIȽ TU,O, the project’s Head Supervisors Tye Swallow and SX̱EDŦELISIYE (ŦE/ȻŦE) (Renee Sampson) oversaw the new website’s development over the course of several years and recently launched the site for the public.
The website provides a unique opportunity for learners all over the world to study SENĆOŦEN any time of day or night, at their own pace, by using a variety of multimedia resources. In this way, the SENĆOŦEN.org project makes SENĆOŦEN available to an entirely new generation of learners.
The website itself is engaging and full of activities for every style and level of learner. On the website’s home page, for example, visitors can find unique ways to learn SENĆOŦEN, including a featured word of the day and even a Wordle-style SENĆOŦEN game. The home page also links to important resources like a downloadable SENĆOŦEN keyboard, and SENĆOŦEN.org’s sister site, First Voices, which is also rich with SENĆOŦEN learning tools.
In addition to the home page resources, the website features four pages for deeper learning. The first page – the ĆELÁṈEN¸ḴEN (Ancestral Voices) page – features stories by Christopher Paul, Earl Claxton, Sr., and Phillip Pelkey. Each of the over two dozen stories is read aloud by either Paul, Claxton, or Pelkey, as the screen displays line by line transcription in both English and SENĆOŦEN, creating a truly immersive learning experience.
The next page is a searchable dictionary, allowing learners to search for individual words or explore lists of words grouped by category, such as plants, dwellings, placenames, and numerals. The listing for each word includes both the written English, written SENĆOŦEN, and an audio file demonstrating the correct SENĆOŦEN pronunciation.
The third page is a “Lessons” page, which currently includes audio, video, and written resources for studying certain aspects of the language, such as lessons about the alphabet, colours, and numbers.
Finally, the website features an entire section dedicated to learning the nuances of SENĆOŦEN grammar.
The SENĆOŦEN.org team plans to add even more information and resources to the website in the coming year.
To create the many multi-media resources available through the website, Swallow and SX̱EDŦELISIYE are working in partnership with a group of SENĆOŦEN language champions, including:
– PENÁW̱EṈ
– SELILIYE
– XELIMELWET
– PENÁĆ
– MENEŦIYE
– STIWET
– XEDXELMEȽOT
– J,SIṈTEN
– SŦX̱ILEMTENOT
– WENWONELWET
– XLAXELWET
– ȻOSINIYE
– I ¸ ÍY ¸ MELWET
– SX̱EDŦELISIYE
– NENSIMU
Swallow and SX̱EDŦELISIYE also took care to ensure the information on the website is presented in a culturally appropriate way, working closely with a Junior Language Apprentice, Coast Salish artists, and the website developer to create and implement Coast Salish designs throughout the site.
With such a comprehensive collection of SENĆOŦEN language-learning resources for students of every level, SENĆOŦEN.org is a critical hub for the preservation and revitalization of SENĆOŦEN, and an example of what it can look like to revitalize traditional languages in a modern way. As an organization dedicated to supporting Coast Salish children & families to stay connected to community and culture, NIȽ TU,O is grateful for the opportunity to fund this project and looks forward to witnessing how it helps recenter SENĆOŦEN in the lives of current and future generations of W̱SÁNEĆ.
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