Secwepemcésk ̓ E: Secwépemc Personal Names and Naming
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Secwepemcésk̓ e: Secwépemc Personal Names and Naming by Theodore Gottfriedson Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Linguistics Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences © Theodore Gottfriedson 2019 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2019 Copyright in this work rests with the author. Please ensure that any reproduction or re-use is done in accordance with the relevant national copyright legislation. Approval Name: Theodore Gottfriedson Degree: Master of Arts Title: Secwepemcésk̓ e: Secwépemc Personal Names and Naming Examining Committee: Chair: Nancy Hedberg Professor Marianne Ignace Senior Supervisor Professor Ronald Ignace Supervisor Adjunct Professor Date Approved: April 17, 2019 ii Ethics Statement iii Abstract This research addresses the subject of Secwepemcésk̓ e, Secwépemc personal names and naming, in order to increase knowledge about our traditional names, and help to revitalize the use of Secwepemctsín names as an important domain in the use and knowledge of our language. It is a contribution to the overall revitalization of our endangered language. To recover Secwépemc traditional names that our ancestors from Skítsestn and Tk̓ emlúps were given during the 19th and early 20th centuries, I worked with archival records such as Baptisms 1867-1882 and Marriages 1873-1874 from the Kamloops Catholic Diocese; the 1881 Canada Census (Yale Division); the 1877-1878 Joint Reserve Commission Census; and early band lists from the 1920s. In focus group sessions and interviews, I discussed these with a group of Secwepemctsín speaking Elders, mainly from Skítsestn, who provided translations, correct pronunciations, the meaning and context of names, and cultural background information. The information from these sessions, a literature review of previous ethnographic writings and analyses of names by ethnographer James Teit, and research completed by Drs. Marianne and Ronald Ignace all combined to provide a comprehensive examination of Secwépemc names and practices of name-giving. In addition, these works, combined with the focus group sessions with Elders, revealed various categories of Secwepemc names, including ancestral names that derive from spirit-guardian quests (étsxem) but were then passed down to keep the memory of ancestors alive, as well as nick-names that refer to characteristics of a person, and names that directly name the guardian spirit of a person. To enable better understanding of the linguistic structure of Secwepemcésk̓ e, I provide a linguistic morpheme gloss of names across these categories, in the hope that this will enable new generations of Secwépemc to engage in naming practices true to the practices and protocols of our ancestors. iv Keywords: Secwepemc, Indigenous Personal Names, anthroponymy v Dedication Firstly, it is important to thank the Elders who have endured and held onto the things that make us Secwépemc, I am grateful for your strength and perseverance in the face of what were insurmountable odds. Without your indomitable spirit, we would have nothing left to save and be truly lost. I would also like to thank the Elders at the beginning of my language learning journey who took the time to share our language, teach me our beautiful language, and inspire me to continue learning our language: Lizzie Thomas, Mildred Gottfriedson, Clara Charlie, Vivian Williams, Daniel and Loretta Seymour, kukwstsétselp. A special thank you to the Elders who in later years continued to unselfishly pass on their knowledge: Daniel and Leona Calhoun, Christine Simon, Amy Slater, Garlene Dodson, Julie Antoine, Doris Gage, Bill Pete and ‘The’ Mona Jules who through her many years of hard work and dedication to our language, is the undisputed Dr. of Secwepemctsín, kukwstsétselp. Thank you to my supervisor, Dr. Marianne Ignace, for all your guidance, support, patience, and your many years of dedication to the Secwépemc, ell re xqweltén-kt. Yerí7 re skukwstsétsemc! I would also like to thank Tk̓ emlúps te Secwépemc (TteS), with special emphasis to the Education Department, for all their support. Through their actions TteS has demonstrated that their belief in the importance of revitalizing our language goes beyond words. vi Thank you to my family: mom, dad, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews, kukwstsétselp for all your support and especially for the loud gatherings and laughter; having a supportive extended family such as this, truly allows us to be who we are. Thank you to my wife Sharon, ren sxuxwyéyem – “my one” who is a true partner and confidant; and my children: Ted, Alexis, Emma and Mackenzie, ren púp̓ smen – “my heart” kukwstsétselp for giving me the greatest joy of all, fatherhood. vii Table of Contents Approval ............................................................................................................................ ii Ethics Statement ...............................................................................................................iii Abstract ............................................................................................................................ iv Dedication ........................................................................................................................ vi Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ viii List of Tables .................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures.................................................................................................................... x The Sounds of Secwepemctsín Written in the Practical Alphabet ................................... xi Chapter 1. Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 2. Literature Review ..................................................................................... 10 Chapter 3. Methodology ............................................................................................ 14 Chapter 4. Data Analysis ........................................................................................... 19 Chapter 5. Conclusion ............................................................................................... 37 References ..................................................................................................................... 38 viii List of Tables Table 1. ésq̓ t suffix ................................................................................................ 23 Table 2. éscen/élst suffix ....................................................................................... 23 Table 3. qín/qen suffix ........................................................................................... 24 Table 4. étkwe suffix .............................................................................................. 25 Table 5. ín̓ ek suffix ................................................................................................ 25 Table 6. íts̓ e7 suffix ............................................................................................... 26 Table 7. el̓qs suffix ................................................................................................. 27 Table 8. el̓cken, l̓cken suffix .................................................................................. 27 Table 9. (s)tím̓ t suffix ............................................................................................. 28 Table 10. Warrior names ......................................................................................... 32 Table 11. Adapted Christian names ........................................................................ 35 ix List of Figures Figure 1. Skítsestn Elders Group (excluding: Dr. Ignace and Ted Gottfriedson) Front Row L-R: Leona Calhoun, Amy Slater, Daniel Calhoun, Christine Simon Back Row L-R: Dr. Marianne Ignace, Julie Antoine, Ted Gottfriedson, Doris Gage Missing: Garlene Dodson ............................... 13 Figure 2. Brainstorming Session ............................................................................. 16 Figure 3. Baptisms (1867-1882) and marriages (1873-1874) from the Kamloops Catholic Diocese ...................................................................................... 17 Figure 4. Elder Christine Simon’s explaination of the name Kekéwqen ................. 29 Figure 5. Elder Christine Simon’s explanation of the name Sentéws ..................... 30 Figure 6. The Calhoun Family Tree ........................................................................ 36 x The Sounds of Secwepemctsín Written in the Practical Alphabet Vowels Description Usage a similar to a in father ah in Eastern Secwepemctsín é similar to a in tan a in Eastern Secwepemctsín e similar to a in alone or unstressed e is deleted in Eastern Secwepemctsín in the (schwa) e in enough surroundings of syllabic l, m, and n and semi-vowels w and y i similar to ee in feet or retracted to ia before throat sounds (uvulars and pharyngeals) ea in beam o similar to o in rod or augh in naught u similar to oo in noon retracted to o before throat sounds (uvulars and pharyngeal) Consonants Plain stop Glottalized stop Fricative Plain resonant Glottalized resonant Labial p p̓ m m̓ Dental-lateral t t̓ ll n, l n̓, l̓ Alveolar ts ts̓ s Palatal y y̓ Velar-plain k k̓ c r r̓ (rare) Velar-rounded kw kw̓ cw w w̓