Haida language ember carriers and language learners : Elder wisdom and family language transmission in Haida language revitalization

This dissertation examines X̱aad kíl/X̱aayda kil Haida language (X̱K) revitalization through ethnographic and linguistic perspectives. Grounded in X̱aaydas giinaa.ah Haida ways of being and situated within Haida Gwaii's historical context—where Haida people have lived for over 13,000 years—this research draws on oral history interviews with ten Elders representing the first-language (L1) speaker cohort, alongside detailed linguistic analysis of X̱aayda kil (Skidegate dialect) acquisition in a year-long, family language immersion program. The ethnographic research traces X̱K's dramatic shift from the language of a thriving nation to being suuda ḵ’uhlda whispered in secret following colonial violence, particularly the 1862 smallpox epidemic that reduced the Haida population by over 95%, and systematic assault through Indian Agents, Churches and residential schools. Through incredibly difficult times, fluent speakers carried X̱K as embers through four decades of silence, bringing it back out when the darkest times had passed, in the early 1970s. They are X̱aayda kil daas llGaayGa Ember carriers of the Haida language, who successfully carried the language to current generations of Haida. Through interviews, L1 Elders identified critical factors of language shift from X̱K to English. Their personal histories (born 1924 - 1948) converged on timing of the language story. Elders also shared wise counsel for language learning and teaching. Grounded in X̱aaydas giinaa.ah, Language Revitalization and Second Language Acquisition principles, a multi-disciplinary methodology created an immersion program involving participants across three generations (one L1 fluent Elder and four L2 learners) in eight month-long Intensive Language Periods (ILPs) over a year. Language transmission involved land-based practices, family interaction and play. To document changes in productive X̱K speech, storytelling recordings were made after each ILP, providing rich data that identified structural phonological and morphosyntactic challenges for learners. Within the 38-consonant phonological system (20 not found in English), acquisition data identified challenging sounds and phonological learning trajectories, as well as learners' morphosyntactic processes in X̱K Word Order. Recommendations are drawn for X̱K pedagogy and language revitalization. This research contributes to the narrative about the Haida language and the understanding of its contemporary acquisition, and honours the continuum of X̱aayda kil daas llGaayGa.

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