Shm‘algyack a Living Language

Languages are always growing and changing as they adapt to the time. Within the linguistic community it is acceptable to create new words and to ‘tweak’ the orthography being used in order to make understanding and use more acceptable.

Because of past ways of teaching ‘oral’ languages (“I say…you repeat.”), one of the most frequent misunderstandings is the difference between orthography and dialect. Often when words are pronounced differently because of generation and/or location differences, it leads to a spelling that is not consistent. Simply put, orthography is generally used to explain the way a word is written and the dialect is the way the word is pronounced.

As a language becomes more extinct the fluency of those that can still speak becomes less accurate and more dependent upon memories. It becomes even less accurate if it was not a first language. Remembering that these languages were originally oral makes a good orthography even more important.

And, when different orthography’s are created, it is not necessarily a bad thing until it is brought into the classroom where a curriculum is being used. Then it needs to be consistent or there will be confusion. When the student reaches a higher level of understanding the orthography is generally not a problem.

In conclusion, it is our belief that when someone is interested in learning a language, they need to define what their goal is: a) total fluency, b) conversational fluency, c) some fluency (root words and/or phrases), d) the ability to read and/or write it, or e) for culture reasons. Once your interest is defined, then you can choose whatever orthography is available to accomplish your goal. Remembering that for the serious learner a language cannot be memorized with any amount of success. Only those methods that will allow the brain to figure out what it is learning will the retention rate increase, and then the fluency will follow.

In regards to our curriculum it is the first time that speaking 'Tsmshian's, with a speaking teacher, created their own orthography. This begs the question, "Is it the only right one?" Of course not! But, for our students, we need to have as much consistency in our materials, as possible, in order to achieve a sense of purpose and achievement with as little confusion as possible.

On this website you will find many examples of this latest orthography with the hope that many will be able to learn to speak and understand their language in a more user-friendly manner.

The preservation of a language is more than being able to speak. It is the preservation of a culture. It is who we are and where we come from.

As the Language Goes …..So Goes the Culture.”