Carrier Linguistic Committee facts for kids
The Carrier Linguistic Society (CLS) is a special organization for the First Nations people known as the Carrier Nation. It was officially started in British Columbia in 1973. The CLS has offices in Fort St. James, British Columbia, and also has a strong presence online.
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What is the Carrier Linguistic Society?
The Carrier Linguistic Society works to keep the Carrier language and culture strong. When it was first created, the CLS set out several important goals. These goals help guide all the work they do.
Why Was the CLS Started?
The CLS was founded with many important aims. These goals help support the Carrier people and their language:
- To help people of the Carrier Nation learn to read and write their own language.
- To create learning materials like books, guides for teachers, and visual aids. This also includes songs, dictionaries, histories, and traditional stories.
- To train teachers so they can teach the Carrier language. This program could also help other language groups in British Columbia.
- To create jobs for people who teach and work on language projects.
- To encourage young Carrier people to go to college and pursue careers.
- To protect the unique Athabaskan culture of the Carrier people.
- To make schools better by including the Carrier language and culture in lessons.
- To publish as many books and materials as possible in the Carrier language, when money is available.
- To share information with everyone about the projects they are working on.
- To manage how money is found and used for their programs.
- To make sure that all learning materials and teacher training meet high quality standards.
How the CLS Helps the Carrier Language
The Carrier Linguistic Society is well-known for creating the writing system used for the Dakelh/Carrier language. This system uses letters from the Latin alphabet. It is the most popular way to write the Carrier language.
Books and Learning Materials
The CLS has published many books. These include dictionaries that are in both Carrier and English. They also make beginner books for learning the language. These materials are great for people learning a second language or for use in classrooms. They are available in different Carrier dialects.
The CLS has also published many short stories and traditional texts translated into Carrier. These help people learn the language. Just like the dictionaries, these are available in different Carrier dialects. You can buy many of these books at the CLS bookstore in Fort St. James. The bookstore also has workbooks, CDs, DVDs, songbooks, and storybooks.
Online Learning and School Programs
The Carrier Linguistic Society has worked with Nak'azdli Elders and the First Peoples' Cultural Council. Together, they created an online platform called FirstVoices. This website helps people learn, teach, and save the Dakelh language.
The CLS has also played a big part in creating Carrier language classes for eight local schools. They also worked with the University of Northern British Columbia. This partnership helped create a special diploma program. It teaches about First Nations Language and Culture, focusing on Dakelh/Carrier.
What Has the CLS Published?
The Carrier Linguistic Society has published many important books and resources over the years. These publications help preserve and teach the Carrier language and culture. They include dictionaries, workbooks, teacher's manuals, and collections of stories. For example, they published the Central Carrier bilingual dictionary in 1974. They also created workbooks like Nak'azdli Bughuni. The CLS continues to publish new materials.
