New online tribal dictionary to help keep language alive

A new Passamaquoddy language program is creating a different kind of dictionary -- one that you can hear and see -- to help keep the language alive and teach the younger generation to become fluent speakers. The online tribal dictionary with video and audio also will allow different Passamaquoddy speakers to add new words or their own speaking of the words. The two-year project was outlined to the community at Pleasant Point during a meeting on January 14.
"We want the community to own this, to be part of this," says Donald Soctomah, the tribal historic preservation officer, who is the director of the project. To assist him, a Passamaquoddy Language Reacquisition Committee, which is made up of fluent speakers, has been formed.
During the unveiling of the project, Robert Leavitt, co-author of the dictionary, which was published in 2008, explained that the entries in the dictionary have been loaded onto a website, so one can type in a word, such as snow, and find all of the Passamaquoddy words concerning snow. The website will show the definition and sentences using the word. One also can hear someone say the word and use it in a sentence and then can watch a video of people talking about a snowstorm, so the site "will be very much alive," Leavitt noted.
A total of 75 videos have been loaded onto the website so far. Subtitles accompanying the videos can show the words in both English and Passamaquoddy or just in Passamaquoddy. While watching a video, one can click on a word, which will take one to the entry in the dictionary, and then go back to the video.
The dictionary has more than 18,000 words, but there are fewer than 400 fluent speakers of the Passamaquoddy-Maliseet language. It's one of the last Native languages left on the east coast with that many people who can speak it fluently.
The editors will keep adding words to the dictionary and video and audio recordings to the website. Eventually, people will be able to add their own material by contacting the dictionary's editors with any possible changes.
"We're bringing it all together for people to learn the language and contribute their own experiences and knowledge and making it available for the whole community," noted Leavitt.
Ben Levine and Julia Schulz of Watching Place Productions of Rockland are partnering with the project to train people to shoot videos of people in the community speaking the language, and Margaret Apt, the community research coordinator for the dictionary, will be transcribing the videos.
Levine pointed out that the website "is good for kids," since they can access to words by watching the videos. "It's a more fun kind of way to learn the language, especially if you're not a big reader or not big with spelling."
Soctomah agrees, noting, "Kids love videos. This is one way they can spend their time there."
The recordings will capture the voices of male and female and older and younger speakers from various Passamaquoddy communities. This kind of recording facilitates practice for users and encourages them to focus on the pitch‑stress patterns of the language. "It's important to hear a person talking," Soctomah says about learning the inflected, verb-based language. Inflection often changes the sounds and spellings of both verbs and nouns in Passamaquoddy.
The website, at <http://vre.lib.unb.ca/passamaquoddy>, is still under development. It will be officially launched in 2012, and Soctomah says that updates about the project will be provided to the community four times a year. By the end of the second year of the project, sound files for all online dictionary entries will be available through the website or a CD‑ROM edition.
Funding for the Passamaquoddy Language Revitalization Implementation Program is from a $385,674 grant from the Administration for Native Americans, with a $115,000 in-kind contribution.
Indian Township Tribal Chief Joseph Socobasin was delighted to receive word about the language grant, stating, "This comes at a critical time in our history. We must all work together to keep this part of our culture alive."