Nicole Rosen, Canada Research Chair in Language Interactions in the Department of Linguistics studies Canada’s vast linguistic diversity and works with organizations such as the Conseil jeunesse provincial (provincial couth council) of Manitoba and the BC Métis Federation to address the language rights of groups such as recent immigrants and First Nations, Métis and Inuit children. She also focuses on Manitoba’s diverse population to spark innovation in the study of past and present interactions among official; heritage; and First Nations, Métis and Inuit languages.

“What interests me most is understanding the interactions between people and languages that are in close proximity to each other,” she says. “My research aims to discover what language tells us about the interactions between people, but also how language changes as a result of these interactions. This relationship goes both ways.” Rosen says this could include vocabulary, expressions, pronunciations and overall sounds producing distinctive accents that coexist harmoniously. 

Rosen highlights bird species that borrow sounds from surrounding birds, singing differently depending on their location, like a dialect. “We never say that birds sing badly or that they should express themselves differently. It should be the same for the diversity of accents. It is so lovely to hear these differences that reflect the mosaic of people,” she concludes.

To read the full research profile, please follow the link to the Government of Canada.

United States President Donald Trump has recently been commenting on accents while meeting foreign leaders and taking questions from foreign journalists. Trump praised British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s “beautiful” accent, saying he would have been president 20 years ago if he’d had that accent.

He didn’t answer an Afghan journalist’s question, saying her accent was “beautiful” but that he didn’t understand it, and he completely dismissed the question of a journalist from India during a joint news conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he didn’t understand his accent before abruptly moving on.

Read the full story here. 

National Indigenous Languages Day was first celebrated in Canada in 1993. Originally meant to encourage public awareness of endangered languages, it has expanded to provide an opportunity for conversations about many other benefits and opportunities including educational and economic benefits to both Indigenous communities and the broader Canadian society.

An endangered language requires more support than just teaching new speakers to use it in the home. To bring a language back, it takes an overall effort to build up both human and teaching resources. This can be accomplished through teaching individuals how to understand, speak and write the language, how to respect and acknowledge the teachings and knowledge built into a language, how to use the language in professional settings, how to teach the language to others, and how to document the language by creating resources such as dictionaries, textbooks, worksheets and videos.

Universities can play a pivotal role in supporting Indigenous language revitalization efforts through their courses, their experts, their resources, and their cultural programs and supports.

UM currently offers language instruction in Ojibwe and Cree. Students are supported in their learning with language tutors, resources and language drop-ins led by Elders. Courses help to teach the languages along with the history and structure of the languages. This combination assists those looking to not only learn to speak and understand but also to teach others; to help grow the number of speakers in Manitoba. Academics and graduate students in the Faculty have also provided their expertise in the development of various resources to document Indigenous languages; helping to secure their existence into the future.

Proficiency in Indigenous languages can open-up diverse career opportunities. In sectors such as education, healthcare, government and public service, social services, and law, there is a growing demand for professionals who can communicate effectively with Indigenous communities in their own languages. Documentation and transcription professionals are also in demand. Industries across Canada including resource and environmental management, arts and media, publishing, and tourism and hospitality have an increased need for bilingual speakers. Bilingualism in English or French and an Indigenous language can increase employability and the ability to serve Indigenous populations more effectively.

Over the next two years, the Faculty of Arts is working to expand the Indigenous languages program offerings to help meet the growing occupational demand and to make the programs more accessible to adult learners and those outside of Winnipeg.

With the growing interest in learning Indigenous languages from both a cultural and economic perspective, there are more courses and programs being offered in K to 12 schools, universities, and by community groups than ever before. “The more programs and supports we can offer to new learners, the better chance we have to document and grow the languages,” said Dr. Lorena Sekwan Fontaine, associate professor and department head of Indigenous Studies, “with the additional benefit of developing speakers who can turn their new language skills into a variety of job opportunities.”

As we celebrate National Indigenous Languages Day in 2024, let’s take a moment to celebrate the work that’s been done so far and look forward to continuing the tasks necessary to revitalize Indigenous languages in Canada.

Learn more about the Department of Indigenous Studies and the Indigenous languages minor.

Learn more about the Department of Linguistics.

Are you interested in meeting people from other cultures and sharing about your culture and Winnipeg? The Language Partner Volunteer Program, at UM’s English Language Centre (ELC), is an excellent opportunity to participate in a rewarding experience with an international student! Our students are eager to practice their spoken English with fluent English speakers in Winnipeg.   

The English Language Centre’s Intensive Academic English Program (IAEP) prepares international students who meet the academic admission criteria, but not the English language proficiency requirements, for degree study.  The Language Partner Volunteer Program supports IAEP students in practicing their informal listening and speaking skills outside of the classroom and in making personal connections in Winnipeg. Participating in this program is an excellent opportunity to share and learn about diverse cultures and to practice cross-cultural communication! Volunteers also help students build their confidence by providing information about living and communicating in a new cultural environment.

Volunteering is open to UM students, alumni, staff and members of the community.  All UM students are eligible for recognition on their Experience Record (Co-Curricular Record) if they meet the 10-hour minimum requirement in a year (Volunteerism & Participation category).

To participate, volunteers must:

• be 18 years or older
• be fluent in both written and spoken English
• commit to volunteer for a minimum of 7 hours in a term (approx. 1 hour per week)
• manage scheduling to find a time and place to meet on or near the Fort Garry campus
• be able to travel to meet in public (at least to Fort Garry Campus)
• have lived in Winnipeg for at least two years, and/or Canada for five years to have knowledge of the city and its resources and cultural diversity

Participating in the Language Partner Volunteer Program is a rewarding experience for everyone! Be a difference-maker today!

If interested in becoming a language partner volunteer, please contact elclanguagepartners@umanitoba.ca or 204-474-9251

The symposium is titled: Nothing Without Sound: Jesuits, Indigenous Languages, and New Dialogues. It celebrates the arrival of the exhibit: Writing the Word, Cultivating the text: a Jesuit legacy of Indigenous language tools, on loan from The Archive of the Jesuits in Canada. The exhibition will be mounted across the hall from the Fr. Drake Library at St. Paul’s College.

Dan MacLeod, interim director of the Jesuit Centre for Catholic Studies in St. Paul’s at the U of M, says: “We have worked in a very productive partnership with the archive to bring the material here. The exhibition incorporates Indigenous languages and perspectives into our physical space here at St. Paul’s, and the symposium on November 16 includes important presentations, especially our 2017 Jesuit Lecture presented by the Provincial of the Jesuits in Canada, Fr. Peter Bisson, S.J.”

MacLeod notes that the exhibition and symposium address the need for Reconciliation with Indigenous people in Canada.

“I think that among the larger goals of reconciliation at the University and in our smaller community at St. Paul’s is the pursuit of a sincere accounting of how Indigenous perspectives can be better incorporated into our work,” he explains. “Because of continued threats to Indigenous languages, the exhibit and symposium will provide an interesting way for us to facilitate discussion and expose students and scholars to perspectives on language in both technical and social aspects.”

In addition to Fr. Bisson speaking about Jesuit efforts toward reconciliation, the symposium includes presentations on a variety of Indigenous languages from a number of perspectives from across North America: from archivists, linguists, and historians. Speakers include scholars breaking new ground on these issues, as well as emerging scholars and people working with Indigenous languages outside the academic community.

MacLeod adds: “The Jesuit Centre launched a course on Indigenous-Catholic relationships this fall, so we feel the symposium and the exhibition are part of a sustained effort by St. Paul’s to pursue reconciliation.”

This event is made possible by a grant from the University of Manitoba’s Indigenous Initiatives Fund.

The symposium is on November 16, 2017, and will be held in Hanley Hall, St. Paul’s College

Speaker list:

Morning Session (9:00-11:30 am)

Theresa Rowat, Director, The Archive of the Jesuits in Canada – “Jesuit Documents, Indigenous Voices: subjectivity and stewardship in a time of reconciliation.”

Dr. David J. Costa, University of Miami (Ohio) – “The Jesuit Illinois Manuscripts and the Miami-Illinois Language.”

Dr. John Steckley, Humber College, “Building Word Bridges Across a Cultural Divide: Jesuit Linguistic Work with the Wendat.”

The Jesuit Lecture (1:00-2:00 pm)

Fr. Peter Bisson SJ, Provincial of the Jesuits in English Canada – “All Our Relations: The 2017 Jesuit Lecture.”

Afternoon Session (2:00-3:45 pm)

Dr. Mary Ann Corbiere, University of Sudbury – “Learning Nishnaabemwin: Strengthening a sense of rootedness.”

Chantale Cenerini, University of Manitoba, “Finding the balance: Grounding a Michif language project in Indigenous epistemologies.”

Carol Beaulieu, Indigenous Languages Manitoba – “The Continuum of Indigenous Languages.”

For more information, please contact: 

Jesuit Centre for Catholic Studies

St. Paul’s College, University of Manitoba

Phone: 204-474-9165

Email: catholic@umanitoba.ca