BC's unique linguistic heritage

British Columbia has an extraordinarily rich linguistic heritage, being the ancestral home of more than half of the Aboriginal languages of Canada. Unique to this territory, these languages are globally renowned for their diversity and complexity. The tragic reality is that all of the 32 surviving First Nations languages of BC are critically endangered, many facing the loss of their last generation of fluent speakers within the next decade. The loss of any one of these languages, which have flourished for millennia being passed from generation to generation as rich and vibrant oral traditions, constitutes an irreplaceable loss of a living expression of intellect, of specific cultural understanding, of a vital link to the past, and potential keys to our collective well-being, health, and sustainability.

The FNLG program was initiated in 1997 as part of UBC's commitment to community-based collaboration with First Nations peoples, in recognition of the profound importance of these languages and of the cultural traditions they represent. Come learn a First Nations language!

Click on the map for more information on BC's languages.

FNLG Summer Course

FNLG 480: Endangered Language Documentation and Revitalization
Summer 2013 one week intensive: July 22 - 27

This course offers a critical study of the historical, social, cultural, political, and economic factors impacting on language loss, retention, and revival. You will explore not only the seriously endangered status of BC's First Nations languages, but also the global context of massive language extinction and the erosion of complex systems of human knowledge.

Learn about research methodologies for collaborative, community-based, transdiscplinary documentation and revitalization of Indigenous linguistic heritage.

For more information, please click here.

FNLG Job Postings

Posted: January 15, 2013

Assistant Professor

The First Nations Languages Program in the Faculty of Arts at the University of British Columbia invites applications for a tenure-stream faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor in the field of Endangered First Nations/Aboriginal Language Documentation, Conservation, and Revitalization.

Applicants are expected to have a Ph.D. at the time of appointment (or to have progressed to the point where completion of the Ph.D. is imminent) in a discipline directly relevant to the documentation, conservation, and revitalization of endangered languages, cultures, and Indigenous knowledge systems. Applicants will demonstrate a record of or clear potential for excellent research, teaching, curriculum development, publication, and student supervision. Applicants will also have a strong commitment to mentoring Aboriginal students, and a history of success in ethical engagement and respectful collaboration with Aboriginal communities, organizations, and/or institutions. Experience in curriculum development for and/or the teaching of endangered languages would be an asset, as would expertise in information, archival, and/or museum studies.

Deadline: February 19, 2013

For the complete advertisement and details on specific application requirements for this position, please click here.

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Associate or full professor / Chair

The Faculty of Arts at the University of British Columbia invites applications for a tenure-stream faculty position in the field of First Nations Language Documentation, Conservation, and Revitalization. Appointment at an advanced rank (Associate Professor or Full Professor) will be considered, and candidates with experience in institutional collaboration with Indigenous communities are strongly encouraged to apply.

Review of applications will begin February 19, 2013 and will continue until the position is filled.

For the complete advertisement and details on specific application requirements for the FNLG Chair position, please click here.

Upcoming Events

2012-2013 Lecture Series on Endangered Language Documentation & Revitalization

‟Methodologies and Elicitation Techniques for Prosodic Documentation”
Click here for abstract

Speaker: Colleen Fitzgerald (University of Texas at Arlington)
Date: Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Time: 12:15 - 1:15pm
Location: UBC Buchanan D Rm. 323

From Dr. Fitzgerald's website:
I have been working with the Tohono O'odham Nation, particularly members at the tribal college and the new cultural center, to create digital versions of documentation in order to support language revitalization and maintenance and create materials, as well as the cultivation and transfer of skills to tribal members. On the Oklahoma front, I [am collaborating] with the Chickasaw Language Revitalization Program ... in ways that document the language in order to support revitalization and second language acquisition goals. With Dr. Mary Linn of the University of Oklahoma, we are running an NSF-funded 2012 Oklahoma Breath of Life Workshop, geared to tribes with no first language fluent speakers. The focus is on building databases and teaching linguistics so that community members can better make use of existing documentation on their language in terms of teaching and learning it. The Osage, Otoe-Missouria, and Natchez communities all sent participants to the successful 2010 OK Breath of Life Workshop. I am also conducting training for Native American language teachers and community members, especially in terms of providing a foundation in phonetics and phonology to support their language teaching and learning activities. On this front, I have taught at numerous Oklahoma Native Language Association Workshops.

The Lyle Wilson Haisla Project

Click to enter -- A Haisla Vocabulary: Words to accompany the exhibition (Maple Ridge Art Gallery: May 5-July 28, 2012) and catalogue, Paint: The Painted Works of Lyle Wilson.

Our Program

The First Nations Language Program (FNLG), at the University of British Columbia, offers courses in various First Nations languages, develops educational materials, and conducts research on BC's endangered languages, in collaboration with First Nations communities and cultural institutions. For more details, click on the fish-links to the left.

Contact

Administrative Office
(604) 822-2512
Faculty of Arts, UBC
Buchanan E-256, 1866 Main Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1

Patricia A. Shaw, Director
patricia.a.shaw [at] ubc.ca

Project Office
Faculty of Arts, UBC
Buchanan E-260, 1866 Main Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1

Awards

In 2003, the First Nations Languages Program at UBC was awarded the Alfred Scow Award for outstanding contributions to undergraduate student experience and learning environment.