Elementary school students are lending their voices to a project teaching non-Hul鈥檘鈥檜mi鈥檔um speakers how to pronounce new street signs in downtown 颅Duncan.
Seven intersections in Duncan are now marked with bilingual signs, in English and Hul鈥檘鈥檜mi鈥檔um, thanks to a partnership between the Cowichan Tribes, the Downtown Duncan Business Improvement Area and the City of Duncan.
Installing signs was just the start.
Youngsters from Alexander Elementary School pitched in to take part in a pronunciation project, headed by teacher Kelly Girvan and Claudia Sylvester, Hul鈥檘鈥檜mi鈥檔um culture and language advisor at Alexander Elementary School.
Girvan and Sylvester worked with seven Hul鈥檘鈥檜mi鈥檔um students practising pronunciation. Their voices were recorded and put onto audio clips on the Cowichan Valley School District鈥檚 Indigenous Education website.
To learn how to pronounce the words, go to abed.sd79.bc.ca.
As well, the business association is developing handouts for businesses next month featuring QR codes that can be scanned to link to pronunciations.
鈥淲e have come a long way to share our language and we are finally coming back in keeping our language alive with our students today,鈥� Sylvester said. 鈥淭hey are hungry and keen to learn the Hul鈥檘鈥檜mi鈥檔um鈥� language.鈥� Sylvester said she is thankful that her parents and grandparents taught her the language, which she is now passing on to the smun鈥檈em (children).
Student William McAllister, 8, who pronounces 鈥淵uwen,鈥� or First Street in English, said it鈥檚 an honour to learn Hul鈥檘鈥檜mi鈥檔um. 鈥淚t is a sacred language and I鈥檓 glad to be one of the people learning it.鈥�
Candace Spilsbury, chair of the board of education for the Cowichan Valley School District, said the district is working to enhance Hul鈥檘鈥檜mi鈥檔um鈥� language instruction throughout its schools.
Amanda Vance, executive director of the business association, said she hopes people will be inspired to learn Hul鈥檘鈥檜mi鈥檔um.