Sealaska Heritage Institute released new language learning apps in X̱aad Kíl and Shm’algyack this month. The apps are the first of their kind and are meant to open doors for learning the endangered Indigenous languages.
Leah Urbanski with Sealaska Heritage Institute recently demonstrated a new game app. It let’s you choose which language you want to practice — Lingít, X̱aad Kíl or Shm’algyack.
Urbanski picked X̱aad Kíl, the Haida language. Her phone screen filled with animated sea creatures.
“So it’s all kind of live animals floating around the screen,” Urbanski said. “And then whenever you click on it, this guy just pops up out of nowhere.”
A harbor seal appeared in the corner of the screen, looking at us. When Urbanski tapped on it, its X̱aad Kíl name appeared: X̱úud.
There’s also a game with a forest full of birds native to Southeast Alaska, a quiz game and more options on the Lingít side. The app is called SHI Language Games.
This app and two others released this month are SHI’s first attempt at putting X̱aad Kíl or Shm’algyack, the Tsimshian language, in app form.
The new language apps, much like the Lingít one SHI released several years ago, are called SHI: Learning Haida and SHI: Learning Shm’algyack.
They have phrases, vocabulary and a breakdown of the alphabet, with recordings to help learners pronounce each sound right.
The X̱aad Kíl voice users hear is Skíl Jáadei Linda Schrack, and the Shm’algyack is Shiggoap Alfie Price. Price and Schrack worked with a team of language experts to create the apps.
The X̱aad Kíl and Shm’algyack apps are a bit thinner in content than the Lingít app right now, but Urbanski said that will change.
“For right now, this is what we have,” she said. “But we’re going to continuously keep adding to this as we go along, just gathering all the kinds of vocab that we need.”
She said these apps are another way learners can engage with X̱aad Kíl and Shm’algyack.
“I think getting language out there and in as many ways as possible is important, especially with our ever-evolving world,” Urbanski said. “Technology is one of the things that a lot of people use.”
Apps are especially helpful for younger learners, she said, and they’re all free to download from app stores on iPhones and Android devices.
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