Report on the Status of B.C. First Nations Languages

• Main Authors: Herbert, Tracey, Boechler, Shay
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: British Columbia; Canada; First Nations
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10125/25272

British Columbia, Canada, is rich with a great diversity of First Nations languages and cultures. B.C. is home to 60% of First Nations languages in Canada with 34 unique languages. In 2010, we took a close look at this diversity with the publication of our Report on the Status of B.C. First Nations Languages. Based on input provided by First Nations communities, the report outlined a detailed picture of the language situation in the province with regard to numbers of speakers, semi-speakers, learners and language resources. For the first time, we were able to present an accurate snapshot of the state of B.C.’s First Nations languages, with the goal of providing useful information for First Nations leadership, governments, communities and language stakeholders to use in revitalization efforts at all levels. We aimed to provide evidence for the urgency to act, and give direction on successful language revitalization strategies to inspire action. We believe that progress was made toward achieving our stated goals; the release of the report resulted in thousands of citations in the media, increased financial support and more attention from the general public. Four years later, we are very pleased to present the second edition of the Report on the Status of B.C. First Nations Languages. This report presents the current status of B.C. First Nations languages and highlights examples of successful community-based language revitalization strategies. The 2014 statistics show that while progress is being made in terms of increased semi-speakers, much more work needs to be done while fluent speakers are still with us. First Nations leadership, community members, all levels of government and the general public all have a role to play in language revitalization efforts.