Youth Today, Language Leaders Tomorrow
A new program through the Yukon Native Language Centre focuses on revitalizing traditional First Nations languages
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It’s raining, it’s pouring (but it’s still all right)
If it’s right as rain, it’s as it should be; it’s normal and expected; it’s right on track, exactly as anticipated. It also refers to a congenial frame of mind, or even a state of physical comfort.
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If Bob’s your uncle …
The idiom Bob’s your uncle is commonly heard in Britain. Perhaps you’ve heard it watching British mysteries or British sitcoms.
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Should auld acquaintance be forgot?
Truth be told, I had always thought that “Auld Lang Syne” was some saintly old soul and it was just this year that I realized and appreciated, for the first time, the depth of meaning beneath these lyrics.
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The lost camel of an ancient Persian fairy tale
In Persia, there once was a wise king with three sons. He mock-banished the young princes from his kingdom so they could go out and test themselves against the dangers of the real world. Their journey became a fairy tale known as “The Three Princes of Serendip.”
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The writing’s on the wall…
They’re ookey and they’re spooky … and perhaps one of the ookiest and spookiest of the household was Thing T. Thing, the disembodied hand affectionately
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Not my circus…
Josephine explores where people started giving up their circus Send in the … elephants. I can’t help it; as a little girl I disliked clowns.
Taking flibberties with the (Widdle) English language
How do you solve a problem like “flibbertigibbet?” Unless you had a grandmother like mine, that’s a word you’d probably never heard before Oscar Hammerstein II used
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Three letters that could save your life…
SOS. Many of us know (or think we know) what these familiar letters stand for. We may have even sent out an SOS, a time
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Here’s mud in your eye…
I had cataract surgery; you know, where they pop out your lens and pop in a new and improved one. Out with the old, in
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Teslin students win national award
hàtìnas.àxh Community School won 2019 Canada’s Coolest School Trip. A photo essay shares Tlingit culture & promotes Tlingit language.
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P and Q can make for some perky Saturday hookups
The last entry in this space provided a platform for a more-or-less true tale of undeserved punishment recalled (and still resented) from the mists of
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Sometimes language smacks you in the microphone
I’ve already mentioned how easy it was to provoke calls on my radio open-line show in Charlottetown in the 1970s, by inviting listeners to share
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Let’s learn Gwich’in: Dagoo Gwich’in Ginjik
Jesus Christ shat’in iindhan—Jesus loves me. Nichih gwanat’in—looking forward Nohjuu Ts’an—looking back Ohtsii Kwaa—Don’t waste. Ch’iitsii gwadal—hardware Taih kak zheh gwichoo—mansion on the hill Diiti’
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Shoo’ii and Sheek’aii – Dinjii Zhūh Dinētl’eh — ChiH Ahaa
Our long time “Didee and Didoo” cartoonist and poet Allan Benjamin from Old Crow is excited to introduce his new Shoo’ii and Sheek’aii cartoons and poems. These new characters will appear in Gwich’in and English.
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Let’s learn Gwich’in: Sree Nanh – Month
Learn a Gwich’in calendar
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Let’s learn Gwich’in: Sreendit (Spring)
Let’s learn Gwich’in: Sreendit (Spring)
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Didee & Didoo: Let’s Learn Gwich’in, Colours – Vah Ch’itr’idi’ee – Chih Ahaa
CARTOON: Allan Benjamin Colours – Vah Ch’itr’idi’ee – Chih Ahaa Jidii Zraii – Black Jidii Dagaii – White Jidii Ditsik – Red Jidii Vee –
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Teaching language through song from Québec to the Yukon
Multilingual Quebec musicians Andrée Levesque-Sioui and Kyra Shaughnessy are in the Yukon this month for a series of workshops with high-school students. The workshops are aimed at promoting bilingualism in the Yukon and are conducted in French and the Huron-Wendat First Nation language.
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Let’s All Learn Gwich’in
Let’s All Learn Gwich’in with Allan Benjamin from Old Crow
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Three little words on the same little page
Just for the heck of it, let’s take a look at three English words that, on the surface of things, appear to have a lot in common.
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Let’s All Learn Gwich’in
Let’s All Learn Gwich’in With Allan Benjamin from Old Crow Gwich’in Expressions: Gwich’in Ginjik Native Language Dinjii zhuh ginjik jihtth’ak I understand Native language Lée
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Let’s All Learn Gwich’in
Gwich’in Expressions: Gwich’in Ginjik Native Language Dinjii zhuh ginjik jihtth’ak I understand Native language DZHii. BIRDS Jidìi nah’ìn? What do you see? Jii viiʻidzèe tʼiinchʻuu.
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Let’s All Learn Gwich’in
Vadzaih… CARIBOU Jidìi Kàgwanah’in?… What are you looking for? Vadzaih eenjit nahālzrīi… I’m hunting for caribou Ddhah kak vadzaih Tr’anah’in… We see caribou on the
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Let’s All Learn Gwich’in
Our long time “Didee and Didoo” cartoonist and poet Allan Benjamin from Old Crow is excited to introduce his new Shoo’ii and Sheek’aii cartoons and
Let’s All Learn Gwich’in Read More »
North Words
“Exploring the Frontiers of Language” will be the theme of this year’s edition of the North Words Writers Symposium, which will be held in Skagway
Take the Gwich’in Language Challenge
Take the Gwich’in language challenge. It’s a challenge from Norman Snowshoe, the former Gwich’in Tribal Council vice president. He said, “If you learn one Gwich’in
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Is That Thing Called a Knick-knack, or Bric-a-brac?
Recently, I was meandering through my trusty Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (shorter, as in not quite as gargantuan as the Encyclopaedia Britannica). This is a
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A Gang of Elk, An Obstinacy of Bison
Buffalo are associated with four collective nouns. A herd, a “gang”, a troop and, our favourite, an obstinacy of buffalo.
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Learning About Ubuntu in Namibia
My African friends think that Yukoners are cannibals. When I told them the story about the Sourtoe Cocktail I expected the usual reaction: laughter and
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Collective Nouns for Birds Near and Far
On water geese are a plump. in flight, geese are a skein. We look at collective nouns for geese, eagles and ravens.
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Collective Nouns For Animal Groups- Near and Far
A Late Middle Ages hunting fraternity began a game of inventing animal group names. Some were collected in The Book of Saint Albans
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Future Past
Young Alex DeLarge and his gang of droogs aren’t choosy about whose lives they wreak mindless havoc on. From the down-at-the-heels to the well-heeled, the
Learning her Mom’s Language
“Dänch’á Éh ma,” I begin the conversation with my mother in a standard Southern Tutchone greeting, uncertain and nervous about my speaking abilities. “Éyigē shrō
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Three Weeks in Iceland
Hvernig segir maður, “I’m completely lost” á íslensku? What’s that, you say? Icelandic is one of the most difficult languages to learn? On second thought,
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Off to Skagway to Explore Language
By the time you read this I’ll be “Exploring the Frontiers of Language” in Skagway, attending this year’s edition of the North Words Writers Symposium.
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My Day in Court
On February 16 I picked up my roommate, Taylor Tiefenbach, from the Erik Nielsen International Airport. His flight was due to arrive at 3:05 p.m.
A Different Type of Rendezvous
You can keep your fishnets and feathers stored for this Rendez-vous. But you don’t have to. If you can’t help but whip them out for
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What’s in a Name?
In approximately 100,000 years since we began to speak, we’ve classified and described plants. Carl Linnaeus devised a system of naming using two Latin names
The Font (Fount?) of Wisdom
Times New Roman, that’s how I roll. In the world of font, I know I’m backing one tired, old horse. But there’s something undeniably comforting
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When ‘cool’ is not cool
Just as a reformed smoker is often the first person to complain about a hotel room that smells of tobacco, I shall now complain bitterly
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Do You Speak AWG?
The Beatles forever changed our musical landscape with the simple phrase, “You say goodbye, I say hello”. This week, hundreds of visitors from across the
Multicultural Miscommunication
Cher Yukon, Comment ca va? Today I am not recounting a funny or touching incident. Instead I would like to share just one of the
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