New Language App Means More Than Word

For thousands of years, Aboriginal words have been passed along orally from generation to generation. Now, in this era of tweets and touch screens, there is a rich and growing cache of talking dictionaries and the University of Victoria, along with the Tlicho Community Services Agency (TCSA), has just launched the Yati Dictionary App for the Tlicho language.

Yati means “word” or “language.” Tlicho is one of the Dene languages of the Northwest Territories. The app contains over 1,300 words and phrases with sounds, pictures and more and is intended for people who know the language well and for language learners. Users can compare their voices to professional studio recordings of elders and others speaking the language.

Senior Tlicho language coordinator and current UVic student Rosa Mantla says the app "moves us toward the future in promoting our language. It is like an elder talking to us.” Current UVic student and TCSA language coordinator Tammy Steinwand-Deschambeault worked closely with Dr. Leslie Saxon and programmer Chris Coey of Uvic’s linguistics department in developing the app.

Version 1.0 of the app was released by iTunes on May 18 and can be downloaded for free on iPod, iPad or iPhone: http://bit.ly/JfREt3. The database of words comes from the online Tlicho dictionary (http://tlicho.ling.uvic.ca), which the app co-developers have been researching and supplementing for close to 10 years.

The UVic linguistics department is publishing high-tech language tools in collaboration with communities. “The key element of our academic and technological innovations has been the community initiative,” says department chair Dr. John Esling. “It’s a long history of interwoven collaboration.”

In July 2012, the linguistics department will welcome Dr. Peter Jacobs of the Squamish Nation as an assistant professor specializing in Indigenous language revitalization. He’ll be teaching in UVic’s new master’s program: http://bit.ly/JAb95P.

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