Saanich Dictionary and Electronic Text Archive

FAIN: PD-50021-12

University of North Texas (Denton, TX 76203-5017)
Timothy R. Montler (Project Director: December 2011 to November 2016)

compilation of a comprehensive online dictionary of Saanich, a dialect of Northern Straits Salish spoken in Vancouver Island, British Columbia, together with a digital audio collection of transcribed and translated speech. The dictionary would also be available in print format.

Saanich is the most vital dialect of Northern Straits, a severely endangered and under-documented Salishan language of North America. Although there is great interest among the Saanich people in preserving the language and a growing number of speakers of Saanich as a second language, Saanich is today spoken fluently as a first language by only a small number of elders living on southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. I have investigated Salishan linguistics for over 30 years focusing primarily on the languages and dialects of the Straits-sub group. From 1980 to 1991, I conducted field work and published on the Saanich dialect. In 1992, I was asked by the Klallam people to help in their efforts to preserve and revitalize their language. For the past 20 years I have helped them develop language documentation and revitalization material and have just completed a large, comprehensive dictionary of the Klallam language that will be published in 2012. I have now returned to focus on Saanich with the intent of producing a dictionary similar to and exceeding the breadth and depth of the recently finished Klallam dictionary. The primary aim of this project is the production of such a dictionary together with a digital audio collection of transcribed and translated speech. The dictionary database will be built so as to be easily formatted for both print and on-line versions. It will be designed to be both accessible to Saanich language learners and useful to scholars of language and culture. The secondary aim of this project is the linguistic training of a group of Saanich tribal members for their efforts in the preservation and revitalization of their language.

Associated Products

SENĆOŦEN: A Dictionary of the Saanich Language (Book)
Title: SENĆOŦEN: A Dictionary of the Saanich Language
Author: Timothy Montler
Abstract: The SENĆOŦEN language historically has been spoken on the Saanich Peninsula of southern Vancouver Island and islands in the Strait of Georgia, today divided by the US-Canada border. SENĆOŦEN—also known as Saanich—is now the first language of fewer than ten people, as English has replaced it in everyday use. However, because of revitalization efforts that began in the 1970s with David Elliott Sr., who developed a unique SENĆOŦEN writing system, a large and growing number of people are learning to speak it. SENĆOŦEN is increasingly being used in both ceremonial and casual settings and, thanks to the W̱SÁNEĆ School Board, classes in the language are taught at all levels, with an immersion curriculum also offered. This volume is the first complete SENĆOŦEN-English dictionary and also includes a brief introduction to the language and English-SENĆOŦEN, affix, and root indexes. SENĆOŦEN: A Dictionary of the Saanich Language is based on audio recordings made with twenty-six elders, all native speakers. Their words, sentences, and stories made this dictionary possible.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: https://uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295743851/sencoten/
Secondary URL: http://saanich.montler.net
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 9780295743851
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

SENĆOŦEN Sənčáθən (Web Resource)
Title: SENĆOŦEN Sənčáθən
Author: Timothy Montler
Abstract: Links to various SENĆOŦEN tools: How to Pronounce SENĆOŦEN Saanich Language Classified Word List Outline of Saanich Language Morphology and Phonology Alphabetize SENĆOŦEN Convert Saanich Language Phonetic into SENĆOŦEN Convert Uppercase SENĆOŦEN to Lowercase Senćoŧen
Year: 2016
Primary URL: http://saanich.montler.net

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