Wingapo!

RECLAIMING OUR LANGUAGE

The Language Committee* has been busily working this summer to revamp our offerings for the 2011-12 school year.  We feel, as a result, we have a range of activities that will appeal to a broad range of tribal members and other interested language students.  We will explain the different formats we will offer, arrange the classes according to “enrollment” and offer a very different approach with two classes while maintaining the traditional methodology for teaching language that the more experienced speakers of the language may find preferable.  Total configuration at present will be three class offerings, contingent on enrollment.

1. One new offering will be the Algonquin Alphabet, researched, compiled in chart form and put on our Dropbox by Ian Custalow.  Ian is a product of the Military Language School at Fort Ord and a member of the Mattaponi Custalow Family.  I have asked Ian to teach this alphabet because a few of the traditional students have said this helps greatly with pronunciation.  We were exposed to his work in the Spring classes.  However, we do not have any proof that our people at Belle Plains used this alphabet…but they may well have in their trading activities.  In modern usage, the Patawomeck will be well advised to learn this alphabet.  If you want to get an idea of what this study will entail, enrolled students can go to the Dropbox and look at Ian’s charts.  I will be happy to answer any questions students have about the procedures in the class:  mwcof61@cox.net or 540-479-3448 landline.  Also, Ian may be contacted via email at ian@custalow.com- -he is the expert on this new offering.
2. Another new concept in instruction was formulated by Johnny Mac “Many Paths” Chinn of Warsaw, VA who is a member of the Patawomeck Tribe, born and raised in the white house across the street from DP’s museum and White Oak Primitive Baptist Church.  He would like to see the YOUNG children in the company of their mother or father studying vocabulary and phrases two Sundays a month at the Firehouse. The parents would be given worksheets to practice the children in between the two classes per month. Class time would be spent in learning pronunciation of the vocabulary and the conversational phrases. Other fun activities, age appropriate, would reinforce the learning and absorption of the cultural and historical aspects of our people. 
3. Nokomis [Becky Guy] and Walkncrow [Gary Cooke] will continue to lead the class in a more traditional language approach to instruction. 

Movement among the three classes will be fluid and can be used to “make up” a missed regular class or just to satisfy interest in other aspects of language study.  We will, in all three classes, be striving for the same goal:  ease and facility with speaking our Old Language.  The Strachey dictionary will continue to be the basis of our instruction, although Chief Green has introduced a Passamaquoddy-Maliseet dictionary to the instructors this summer and it has “modern words” we can add, like “shortstop” nekosantuphat—one who moves fast.  Some linguists feel our language is very similar to the Algonquin Passamaquoddy language which has remained “alive” whereas ours died out.  The final goal of any language instruction, however, is TO COMMUNICATE with one another! PLEASE indicate your interest in one or several of the above classes by emailing the NUMBER [1, 2, or 3] of the class along with your NAME, PHONE # and/or email to the attention of Becky Guy at mwcof61@cox.net or to the Patawomeck Website c/o the webmaster link.  Once we get the interest tabulated, we will arrange the time and place the classes will be held.

Kenah   [Thank you!]
Nokomis  [Becky Guy]

Download a Class Registration form here!!!

Here are audio links to past class lessons

Class Lesson 1/27/2008

Class Lesson 2/17/2008

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