Happy Friday! Hope everyone has a good weekend – but first, here’s post S, introducing the Stoney language.
The Stoney – or Nakoda – language is a Dakota Siouan language, closely related to the language Assiniboine. It is spoken by around 3,000 people who are spread over five communities in Canada, and as a result UNESCO has classified it as vulnerable.
The Stoney language is mainly spoken by adults in the communities, but English is also used. There have been serious efforts to increase the usage of Stoney among young people, including the teaching of the language as a compulsory subject in the Stoney community school. Hopefully this will go some way to ensuring the future of the Stoney language.
Resources for learning Stoney
Native Languages: Stoney Indian Language (Nakoda)
Sources/Further Reading
Ethnologue: Stoney
Isga I?abi: Nakoda Stoney
Wikipedia: Stoney language
Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation: Stoney Language
Stoney Nakoda First Nation
Effective Language Education Practices: The Stoney Indian Language Project
And these are the languages going into the final week:
Saturday 23rd August: T – Tuvan
Monday 25th August: U – Ulwa
Tuesday 26th August: V – Vidunda
Wednesday 27th August: W – Wukchumni
Thursday 28th August: X – Xibe
Friday 29th August: Y – Yimas
Saturday 30th August: Z – Zo’é