HOW I LEARNED THE LANGUAGE: THE PEDAGOGICAL STRUCTURE OF THE TALTAN LANGUAGE By Hotseta Na-Dene Oscar Dennis BA University of Northern British Columbia, 2000 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTERS OF ARTS In FIRST NATIONS STUDIES THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA November 2014 © Oscar Dennis 2014 UMI Number: 1526478 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Di!ss0?t&iori Publishing UMI 1526478 Published by ProQuest LLC 2015. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Abstract This thesis investigates the morphological structure of Taltan, a northern Athapaskan language. This thesis does not examine the morphemic properties of Taltan from a linguistic perspective. Instead, this thesis focuses on the pedagogical structure, which has been neglected and misunderstood in the previous research and literature, from a second language learning experience. This thesis also examines the cultural differences between Taltan and English, the translation language. Based on the morphemic findings, and observed behavior governing syllable structure, I argue that the Taltan Language is structured around the pronouns in a way that is patterned into the paradigms with a consistency that simplifies the learning process when a second language learner understand how it works. The thesis also points out how deeply the cultural understanding of the universe is embedded in the structure and nature of the language. I Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................... I List of Figures..................................... IV Acknowledgement.............................................................................................................................. V Chapter 1. BACKGROUND TO THESIS__________________________________________ 1 Welcome ................................................................................................................................1 Introduction...................................................................................................................................... 1 The Current Taltan Language Program............................................................................................ 4 Language Revitalization...................................................................................................................5 The Rationale/Purpose of the Study..................................................................................................5 Taltan Language...............................................................................................................................9 Tl’abandt’In ................................................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 2. LITERATURE REVIEW..........................................................................................14 Comprehensive Resource Material.................................................................................................14 Barriers to Understanding the Language and Culture......................................................................15 Cultural Knowledge.......................................................................................................................22 Written vs. Oral Differences.......................................................................................................... 23 The Iskut English Dialect............................................................................................................... 25 Objective ........................................................................................................................................27 Chapter 3. METHODOLOGY................................................................................................... 29 Oral Tradition.................................................................................................................................29 Traditional Tahltan Worldview...................................................................................................... 31 Respect and Peaceful Co-existence: Its Impact on How to Say What You Say...............................32 My Tahltan Perspective Framework...............................................................................................34 Chapter 4. RESEARCH DESIGN AND ANALYSIS..................................................................41 Data Collection Techniques............................................................................................................41 Technology and the Speech Environment.......................................................................................43 Data Analysis................................................................................................................................ 46 Interpretation................................................................................................................................. 47 Chapter 5. BASIC TALTAN LANGUAGE STRUCTURE....................................................... 51 Word-phrases.................................................................................................................................52 Format of the Tables...................................................................................................................... 54 Terminology.................................................................................................................................. 55 Pronouns and Grammatical Person.................................................................................................56 Possessives and Grammatical Person............................................................................................. 59 The Possessive and Postposition.....................................................................................................60 Chapter 6. BASIC PATTERNS __________________________________________ 62 Basic Personal Pronoun-marker..................................................................................................... 62 Intransitive and Transitive Phrases ................................................................................................. 63 Basic Intransitive Phrase................................................................................................................63 Basic Transitive Phrase.................................................................................................................. 64 Basic Intransitive Pattern Two........................................................................................................65 Chapter 7. PATTERN ONE .......................................................................................................67 Intransitive Phrase..........................................................................................................................67 Intransitive Verb-phrase and Postposition-phrase...........................................................................69 Chapter 8. PATTERN TWO.......................................................................................................70 II Transitive Pattern Two - A.............................................................................................................70 Transitive Pattern One - B...............................................................................................................71 Transitive Pattern One - C...............................................................................................................72 Chapter 9. ANIMATE & INANIMATE___________________________________________ 75 The Animate and Inanimate Pronoun Form in Questions................................................................75 Building a Simple Pronoun-phrase..................................................................................................76 Changing Concepts with the Personal Pronoun.............................................................................. 76 Chapter 10. DUALITY ________________________________________________________ 79 Dual Intransitive Verb-phrase.........................................................................................................79 Counter Stem..................................................................................................................................80 Chapter 11. CLASSIFICATORY VERBS ...................................................................................82 Mass Classificatory Stem............................................................................................................... 82 Classificatory Kinship.................................................................................................................... 83 Mother, Father and Children .........................................................................................................