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For years the Alutiiq Museum
staff has worked with community members and Alutiiq elders to help revitalize
the Alutiiq language. That push led to an Alutiiq studies program at Kodiak College
and various language courses offered throughout the community. Last week the
efforts were further recognized when the museum came out with a new book, The Alutiiq Orthography: Kodiak Dialect. April
Laktonen Counceller co-wrote the 100-page paperback book with linguist Jeff
Leer. She said the funding for the book came from the National Science
Foundation.
-- (Alutiiq Book 1 :23 “But
the real start of the project … orthography.”)
Counceller
said members of the nonprofit were working to create a stable Alutiiq writing
system and provide resources for people looking to understand the writing
process.
-- (Alutiiq Book 2 :33 “So
after that initial ... and other details like that.”)
While
still working on that manuscript, Counceller learned about a funding
opportunity with the National Science Foundation and decided to put in an
application to create a manuscript for Kodiak’s dialect. The museum received
the funds, and for more than a year Counceller worked diligently with Leer to
get the book into print-ready form. She said the project could not have been
done without the help of Alutiiq elders.
-- (Alutiiq Book 3 :28 “We
needed to use a lot of … throughout the process.”)
Counceller
said necessity was definitely the mother of invention for this project. In the
future she hopes to add a writing course to the Alutiiq studies program at the
college and needed a textbook for the class.
-- (Alutiiq Book 4 :31 “Because
I’m developing … for those people as well.”)
But
unlike most college textbooks, this one comes for free.
-- (Alutiiq Book 5 :25 “Yes,
because the entire … to order copies from them.”)
Copies
of the book are available at the Alutiiq
Museum.
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